By Matthew McGevna
The jungle Jim is tagged with spray paint, and large sand divots are carved under the swing sets.
This playground is otherwise known as Carbone Park, and now a Malverne resident is seeking to have the playground restored so children can safely use it.
Danielle Hanley-McCarren first started taking children there when she was baby-sitting for other parents. The Malverne mom also has a two-year-old son whom she preferred to take to the park because of its close proximity to her house. But when Hanley-McCarren went to the park, she quickly realized that the park was completely unfit for children.
³The safety surface is sand, and when it rains, the rain seeps through and exposes the lower layers, and if a child falls it doesn¹t absorb the impact,² she said. ³Also some additions have been made where there are metal stairs, that children can land on. The platform at the top of the slide is completely open, and when kids stand up there and start shoving to get down the slide first, a kid could fall right off the platform, and it¹s a high fall.²
Among the many things she wished to see happen to the small park, is the installation of bonded rubber on the ground, a material many modern parks are using to absorb the shock and pain from falls. She also would like to see the railroad ties that box in the play areas removed so it is more accessible to the handicapped. The new surface would also allow wheelchairs to maneuver through the park, something they can not do in the thick sand that exists. Not only has Hanley McCarren pushed for newer, safer equipment, but she would also like to see the park undergo an aesthetic makeover, such as a new fence, a new paint job, and clean-up of the equipment that is there.
Hanley-McCarren says she first took the issue to Trustee Patricia Norris-McDonald, but nothing really resulted from the meeting. She continued to lobby for support from her organization, Mothers of Malverne, or M.O.M, an organization that comprises mothers from a number of communities, and pushes for various civic initiatives, such as ³Project Enroll Now.² That initiative seeks to encourage Malverne Village residents to enroll their children in the Malverne School District rather than sending them to private and parochial schools, which is a growing trend. By getting members of MOM, such as Mary Mayo, Gina Genti, and Teresa Truncale to join in her quest, Hanley-McCarren was able to secure a meeting with Mayor Panzarella. Months later, she was sitting in a room with the Mayor, as well as Trustee McDonald, a member of the Department of Public Works, and other village leaders. After that meeting, the prospect for renovations to the park became more realistic.
³He was immediately receptive and his first concern was for the safety of the children,² she said of Mayor Panzarella. ³I told him bonded rubber needed to go down and the railroad ties need to come out, and he was on the same page.²
With the help of MOM, the mayor was able to reach an estimated figure of $60,000 for the entire project, which he submitted to Albany for state aid. Panzarella has not yet received word on the status of his request, but added that at mid-session, he probably would not be hearing from them anytime soon.
Panzarella says that the odds of getting state aid are ³very good,² but the village doesn¹t plan on waiting for the aid to arrive before they get started.
³Whether or not we get the money from the state, I¹m submitting the project cost into our budget, and no matter what, the park is gonna get done,² he said.
The mayor has toured the park himself and said that the conditions are not fit for parents to bring their children, and that his only wish was that he¹d known about the park conditions sooner. The beautification portion of the project should be getting under way sometime in April when the weather gets warmer.
As for the Mothers of Malverne, the organization plans to hold some fund-raisers to raise money for the park project as well, seeking to contribute monetarily as much as possible.
³We¹re very excited,² said Teresa Truncale, who stopped bringing her children to Carbone Park because of its conditions. ³It¹s going to be great. It¹s much needed, it¹s centrally located. This is a small community and it¹s nice to have a playground right in the center of our shopping area.²
Comments about this story? Mal-wheditor@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 205.
