By Matthew McGevna
Nassau County has recommended that the pond, nestled between Hempstead Avenue and Nassau Boulevard, share in $50 million set aside by the county as part of its Environmental Bond Act.
All told, Hall¹s Pond will be getting close to $1 million from the county to implement an ³improvement of parkland,² the term set forth by the county.
The recommendation came after a number of steps taken by officials of the West Hempstead Civic Association and other community leaders. Rosalie Norton, president of the WHCA, drafted the application on behalf of the civic association and submitted Hall¹s Pond as a nominee for the fund, stating in a Request For Funding that ³Hall¹s Pond Park has always been the focal point in our community.² The application went on to list all of the events that take place in the park throughout the year.
After the application was submitted, county officials undertook the painstaking task of sifting through the nominations and narrowing them down using a number of criteria. ³We were chosen out of a pool of about 83 or 84 nominations,² Norton said.
After the nominees were chosen, they were approved first by County Executive Tom Suozzi and then by a supermajority of the county Legislature.
The announcement came after what Norton said was four years of hard work. Community leaders made numerous calls for action to improve the park, but nothing seemed to come of it until the county passed the bond act and solicited local community leaders to draft nominations. The proposal was submitted, complete with photographs of the park and its deteriorating conditions, along with a vivid description of the park¹s value to the community.
³It¹s important because it¹s a natural resource within our community of an open space area that is unique from most communities that are not villages,² Norton said. ³How many other unincorporated areas have an 11-acre park?²
Indeed, the proposal describes Hall¹s Pond Park as ³the Cinderella of the Nassau Parks system.²
³Well, she got her invite to the ball and she¹s really going to shine,² Norton said.
What¹s being done
Hall¹s Pond Park has been approved for all of the renovations that were requested in the proposal. They include a program to control the population of geese, whose droppings currently litter the park¹s grounds, restoration of forest and the construction of trails in the wooded area north of the cleared knoll beside the gazebo, a newly restored entranceway, paving and walls. The gazebo will undergo much-needed repairs, and new benches and garbage pails will be installed.
The park will get fresh plantings as well as an irrigation system to improve the quality of the flora. The county will also fund repairs of the filter/discharge system and removal of garbage and debris that have accumulated on the grounds. Finally, separate funds have been set aside for a stormwater sediment collection basin and a baffle system just north of the pond.
Now that the work has been approved and the funds made available, a project manager will be appointed. He or she will be in charge of compiling a comprehensive list of all needed repairs and additions, and then put the work up for open bidding. Nearly all of the work will be done by outside contractors. According to the civic association, the project may take a little over a year.
The funds provided under the bond act do not include donations, association and club participation or fund-raisers. In the past, the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts have done thorough cleanings prior to events slated to take place in the park. Hall¹s Pond has been deemed a ³passive park,² and survives in large part thanks to a cooperative effort between the county and West Hempstead community leaders.
Comments about this story? Mal-wheditor@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 205.
