By:Nick Buglione
Citing safety, traffic and environmental concerns, Friends of the Park slammed the Nassau County Department of Recreation and Parks for beginning work that will add another 50 "stalls" opposite the 52 existing ones in the range.
"Friends objects to the expansion of the golf driving range because it eliminates valuable natural and developed recreation areas," said Kathleen Scott, director of Friends of the Park, an independent, non-profit association with more than 70 members.
The association learned of the plans several weeks ago, when a member noticed dirt being dug up by the range. However that member initially thought that only a new parking lot was being constructed.
Further investigation revealed, though, that the department was planning to expand the existing facility to accommodate more golfers. "If we had more capacity, we would have more golfers to come in and practice," said Doreen Banks, commissioner of the Nassau County Department of Recreation and Parks. "There are many days when there's not an available spot in the driving range."
The facelift will bring in an additional $100,000 in revenue for Nassau County a year -- a sum that is small but welcomed by the financially-strained county. Work began about a month ago and should be completed in another month, Banks said.
The new slots will be placed on the other side of the existing ones, making it a double-sided range. When work is finished, golfers on both sides of the range will essentially be driving balls toward each other.
"The driving range takes up about four acres of land, so what I'm trying to do is double its capacity without taking another four acres," Banks said. "Double-sided driving ranges are fairly common, and we're making it a little long so there's no safety concern." Construction, which will cost roughly $200,000, will include adding a new 30-spot parking lot and lengthening the 250-yard range by 100 yards.
Still, Friends of the Park maintains the expansion is unnecessary. "Eisenhower Park is over-saturated with a variety of golf facilities requiring high fees and catering to affluent segments of the public," Scott said. "This project constitutes an unwanted commercial expansion into a general public usage area of the park."
The organization is primarily concerned with the removal of what they estimate to be more than 20 healthy trees, which must come down to complete construction. Several diseased maples will be taken out as well, the group said.
Banks countered that the expansion will have a "minimal" impact on surrounding trees and added that new ones will be planted to compensate for any that are lost.
"We have just planted a multitude of trees down the central drive of Eisenhower Park," she said.
The Friends of the Park also fear that increasing the range's size, and thereby the number of golfers it can accommodate, will create dangerous traffic patterns in the area. At the very least, the organization believes a feasibility study should have been conducted.
"The expansion is poorly planned and should be halted," Scott said. "Alternative sites in adjacent Mitchel Park, which has undeveloped areas, should be studied."
Banks, however, said that traffic concerns were taken into consideration and are not viewed as significant. "I don't see [traffic] being a problem at all," she said. "It's not a heavily used area of the park."
Some local elected officials agreed with the Department of Recreation and Parks' position on the project.
Nassau County Legis. David Denenberg (D-Merrick), who is familiar with the driving range expansion, believes that it does not pose a significant threat to Eisenhower Park's natural surroundings.
"To be accused of destroying the environment to maximize revenue is silly," Denenberg said, adding that the revenue brought in from the addition is not significant enough to solve the county's financial woes. "I don't really see it impacting an astronomical amount of trees. It's not like we're leveling Eisenhower Park to make the driving range bigger.
"Eisenhower Park is not a preserve; it's a recreational park, and there's a need to put facilities there. Are there parts of Eisenhower Park that need to remain pristine? Absolutely."
County Legis. Norma Gonsalves (R-East Meadow) echoed Denenberg. "The driving range does need upgrading," Gonsalves said. "We have to keep up with the competition. We have to keep the driving range and the golf courses attractive to justify some of the fees that have increased over the years."
