By Scott Brinton
The only trouble for the 16-year-old is that he has nowhere to perform the stunts for which the bike is intended. In North Merrick where he lives, there are no parks for stunt bikers. The closest are found in Suffolk County.
His father, Dave Basile, 36, drives him out there as often as possible. The more than hour-long trek, however, is difficult to make frequently for the busy union electrician.
Chris, though, is passionate about performing bike stunts, particularly jumps off a ramp. So, he and numerous other North Merrick and North Bellmore teenagers ride in the only places they can -- the state- and county-owned woodlands that run along central Nassau parkways, such as the one behind the Brookside School off Meadowbrook Road.
This past week, Chris responded in an interview to the Herald's ongoing series that examines endangered woodlands beside the parkways. In the series, North Bellmore environmentalist Richard Schary cites stunt bikers as a cause for the forests' decayed state.
Chris, though, does not believe he and other bikers are destroying the woodlands. He says that, unlike the all-terrain vehicle riders, whom he believes cause the most environmental destruction, bikers confine their activities to small spaces.
He also believes the fact that dozens, perhaps even hundreds of young people take to the woods is symptomatic of a larger problem which North Merrick and North Bellmore teenagers face -- there's simply no town or county park to go to locally for recreation.
No basketball courts, no tennis courts, no baseball fields, not even a handball court.
"There's nothing to do in [North] Merrick," Chris says. "We have to go to other towns."
North-south divide
In south Merrick, there is the Town of Hempstead's Merrick Road Park, with basketball courts and baseball fields. Next door, there's a town golf course. A five-minute drive south, there's a smaller, neighborhood park, with more baseball fields, tennis courts and a children's playground.
Due west sits the Norman J. Levy Town Nature Preserve, with hiking trails, a fitness course, fishing pier and kayak launch. Due east, there's Cammans Pond, a passive park owned by Nassau County where numerous ducks and Canada geese make their home.
Just south in Bellmore, there's Newbridge Road Town Park, with a swimming pool, ice-skating rink, more baseball and football fields, and another large children's playground.
All of this, however, is for the most part inaccessible to North Merrick teenagers who cannot drive, Chris says. Biking to south Merrick is a 20- to 30-minute ride. To get there, one must cross Sunrise Highway and Merrick Road, two notoriously dangerous thoroughfares.
Between North Merrick and North Bellmore combined, there is but one neighborhood park, Fraser Park in North Merrick. It's small, with a grassy field, benches and a playground. The field isn't even large enough to play football, Chris says.
Until 2000, Fraser Park had fallen into disrepair. Then, North Merrick civic activists like Mary Ramo, now president of the newly formed North Merrick Community Association, succeeded in lobbying the town to repair it.
Chris knows that he is not supposed to trespass in the government-owned woodlands by the parkways, but he says kids have been going there for decades, and he believes it is his only choice if he wants to have fun.
Basile, Chris' dad, says that more parks were likely built in south Merrick after World War II because land was available there. But, referring to the difference in home prices between the two communities, he quickly adds, "You also have to look at the property values. That's where the money is"; that is, in south Merrick.
Basile would like to see "a nice park" for about "a 100 kids" in the North Merrick-North Bellmore area.
He knows Chris trespasses in the woodlands. He doesn't entirely approve. As vice president of the North Merrick Community Association, he says he cannot condone trespassing on government property. As a father, however, he recognizes that his teenage son needs to have some fun, and he does not believe Chris is causing irreparable harm to the environment in the forest.
"I like to know where he is and what he is doing," Basile says of Chris. "He's not destroying the environment. These kids aren't causing any trouble. They're piling up sand and jumping their bikes around."
Ramo believes the parkway woodlands are in a terrible state. "It's disgusting. It's filled with debris back there," she says. "It's been ignored back there for a really long time. Obviously, it needs to be cleaned up."
Ramo disagrees with teenagers trespassing in the woodlands, but she says, "They have no place to do anything. They can't play anywhere anymore. They can't even climb a tree around here anymore."
Without the woodland, Chris says he and other teenagers like him would "just go to someone's house and sit around."
Chris and Basile wouldn't mind if the woodland were opened to hikers and bicyclists, as proposed by Schary, who believes a regular presence in the forest would prevent vandalism there. Chris, though, notes, "There's not going to be jumps or anything. It would be for adults. There wouldn't be anything for us" teenagers.
Nassau County Legis. Norma Gonsalves (R-East Meadow) says she cannot approve of bike jumping on government land. For one, she believes it does harm the environment. Additionally, she says it would pose serious liability questions for whichever government agency permitted the activity.
She believes jumping bikes off ramps is dangerous. And she notes that the young people she recently observed performing stunts on a hastily fashioned, plywood ramp behind the Brookside School did not wear helmets. She believes a biker will eventually get hurt in the woods, and she wants bike jumping stopped before that happens.
Gonsalves, however, recognizes the need for a park in the North Merrick-North Bellmore area. The problem is that there's no available land for one, she says. Both communities are lined with houses. Only the parkway woodlands, which the state primarily owns, provide open space.
Finding alternatives
The legislator supports Schary's idea of creating a hiking/bicycling trail through these forests, saying it would make a perfect venue for local Scouting groups and people in general to explore nature.
At the same time, she would like to see Central High School District schools opened for young people on Friday nights. The Wantagh School District is trying the concept, with PTA, school-board and parent volunteers acting as chaperones.
Gonsalves says the program "has attracted a number of our teenagers in a positive way...Maybe we should look to Wantagh as an example. We don't have property, so we have to use the facilities we have more."
Many teenagers are reported to hold drinking parties around fire pits in the parkway woodlands on Friday nights. A recreation program that is geared toward young people's wants and needs could draw many away from the parties, Gonsalves believes. She plans to suggest the idea to the Bellmore-Merrick Community Wellness Council, of which she is a member.
Louis Kruh, president of the Central High School District Board of Education, says that, 20 to 30 years ago, the district used to host Friday-night socials, with parent volunteers acting as chaperones, but the socials faded out long ago.
"There's always been talk in the community that there is no organized activity for youngsters, no place for kids to go at night, no recreation center," says Kruh. "That's something that's been spoken about for years, but nothing's been done about that."
Bringing back Friday-night recreation sessions would depend on the level of interest among parent volunteers, he says.
Kruh adds that, no matter whether there's a park in the North Merrick-North Bellmore area, young people should not break the law by trespassing on government property.
"Nothing is an excuse for breaking the law," he says. "You just don't break the law because you can't find something to do," adding, "Each of the schools is open, and there are activities in the schools."
