By Anthony Rifilato
Through a campaign called Pennies for Ponies, Obergh and others began reaching out to schools across Long Island in 2006 in an attempt to save the historic landmark. The first 42 schools to raise $2,000 get to name a carousel animal, and so far 14 have reached that goal, the latest being the Number Six School in Lawrence, Obergh said.
For Obergh, whose daughter attends the Progressive School in Merrick, the support has been overwhelming: Pennies for Ponies has raised $28,000. "We've been doing all right," she said. "But kids are wondering, When are we going to ride it? We're getting frustrated on this end. We have heard nothing."
Obergh said that though Pennies for Ponies continues to raise money, a definitive plan for the carousel's future home and operation has yet to be put forward by Nassau County, which purchased the carousel in 1998 for $854,400. At times, she said, the group has been met with skepticism by potential donors during its fund-raising efforts.
A proposal to return the ride to Baldwin was announced in 2005 by Legislator Joe Scannell (D-Baldwin), to the chagrin of Obergh and others, who believe the carousel should be accessible to all Nassau County residents, since schools throughout the county are contributing to its restoration. "They're so set on it coming back to Baldwin that they're not thinking about the whole county," Obergh said.
She said she believes the carousel should go to the Cradle of Aviation Museum, where it has sat in a hangar, awaiting an extensive restoration. "It's been in storage for 11 years, and the county has had 11 years to really think about this," Obergh said. "It's just stalling and stalling."
Is a location just around the corner?
But Scannell insists that finding a suitable location for the carousel in Baldwin is only a matter of time, and that one site is at the top of the list: a vacant, county-owned property next to the Baldwin Historical Society on Grand Avenue. The site, which is several blocks north of Sunrise Highway, is ideal, Scannell said, since it is relatively close to a Town of Hempstead revitalization project on Grand Avenue, near Merrick Road.
"What's great about that property next to the Historical Society is that it's centrally located in Baldwin," Scannell said of the roughly 3 acres of space. There is also ample parking, since a Town of Hempstead parking lot with 150 spaces is nearby, he added.
"We have a list of potential sites, and the Historical Society is at the top, Milburn Pond is second and the Cradle of Aviation is third," Scannell said.
He explained that the cost of the project, including the carousel's restoration, could total just over $2.4 million.
Scannell said he is planning to use $430,000 he has allocated for capital improvements for the restoration, in addition to any money raised by Pennies for Ponies. He also said that Suozzi has pledged up to $1 million for a building to house the ride. Suozzi could not be reached for comment at press time.
Scannell said he would request an additional $1 million in the Legislature this month so that the building can have amenities such as heating and air conditioning and restrooms. It may also have a party room, a playroom for kids and a kitchen, as well as a vendor on the premises, so that it would draw people to the area.
While Obergh and others criticized Scannell for having no real plan for the carousel's operation and maintenance, Scannell said that the county was contacting a private vendor who would potentially operate the carousel and the 5,000-square-foot building that would house it.
But would a carousel generate revenue, and would people come to Baldwin to ride it? Scannell believes it would, and likens the project to the carousel at Hempstead Lake State Park, which charges $350 to book private parties and has a vendor on the premises, he said. "If that one is successful, this one can be as well," he said. "Here we're taking a carousel that is more historic and putting it in a central location in town. I'm encouraged that five years down the road, it will be the economic draw I know it will be."
But some aren't convinced. Obergh and others say that Baldwin is not a suitable location for the carousel, and that it would fare better at the Cradle of Aviation in Garden City.
"Scannell was talking about the parking lot next to the Historical Society, and it will not do well there," Obergh said. "A carousel by itself would not sustain itself. We understand that he wants it in Baldwin, but in reality, it's not the best place. It won't draw enough people to sustain it. Who will go there just to ride a carousel? No one."
Obergh said she would not be completely opposed to the ride's return to Baldwin, if there were a better plan. "If they had a beautiful plan and building, it would be good," she said. "But it would have to be well maintained and funded. We're wondering if, in 20 years, is it still going to be maintained?"
How big a draw?
But Scannell said the carousel would be a draw, and people would come to Baldwin. Others, like Baldwin resident Brendan P. Earls, said that it wouldn't be the first time people came to town to ride the carousel, and Scannell's proposal has the support of many Baldwin residents.
"It's a Baldwin icon, and I think it's something that's really important to bring back to Baldwin," said Earls, who is forming a nonprofit group called Friends of the Baldwin Carousel in an effort to promote the ride and return it to town. "We know people will come to Baldwin - they always came to Baldwin to see the carousel. And businesses nearby are going to benefit."
But some argue that people came to ride Nunley's in the past because it was at Nunley's Amusement Park, which had other activities and rides. "When the carousel was at Nunley's, there were other amusement rides," said Dee Cruz of the Baldwin Community Association. "I don't think that it's going to draw people or large crowds just to put their kids on a carousel for five minutes, unless there was another attraction with it."
It is the other amenities - a party room, food stand and playroom for kids - that Scannell hopes will be the linchpin that boosts the number of visitors. "It's not going to be a stand-alone attraction," he said. "It's not just going to be a building for the carousel; there has to be something else."
Still, as Scannell works to reach that goal, nothing has been finalized, and there has been criticism by some residents and others concerning who would operate the ride and maintain it. The Carousel News and Trader, a trade publication, recently criticized the county for not considering putting the carousel in a museum, which would have a higher visitor rate and other attractions, as well as a staff that could maintain the ride.
"The county keeps trying to bury the carousel in an out of the way place," wrote Dan Horenberger, the publisher. "Just another example of why politicians shouldn't be in charge of a carousel."
But Scannell said that he is keeping an open mind, and that although he is considering the Cradle of Aviation, he believes that Baldwin is the carousel's true home. "People are asking me to keep an open mind and I am," he said. "But it would be a great economic stimulus for Baldwin. With the Town of Hempstead revitalization project coupled with the return of the carousel, it would be an economic boost for Baldwin's commercial area."
This month, Scannell said, the county is set to issue requests for proposals to get the ride restored by a private business or group with experience. "The county will do research on who restores carousels and then issue the RFPs," he said.
Once that process is completed, Scannell said. it could take 18 months to restore the carousel, and that the project could be completed in 2008.
But Baldwin resident Steve Kirsch, who opposed a proposal earlier this year to move the carousel to Silver Lake Park, said that while Scannell's heart is in the right place, he believes other locations need to be considered. "You can't be so provincial that you insist it comes back here," Kirsch said. "We don't own the thing, the county does. Yes, there's history and sentiment, but taxpayers footed the bill for its purchase."
Regardless of where the carousel goes, Obergh said that Pennies for Ponies is committed to donating the funds for its restoration. "No elementary school student has ever rode the carousel," she said. "We'd like to hear some answers, and want what's best for the carousel and the children in Nassau County."
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