Thursday, October 1, 2026
Twelve months ago, the Hendrickson Park administration building was heavily damaged when it filled with three feet of water in a storm. Eight inches of rain fell on Valley Stream in a matter of hours on Aug. 14, 2011, overflowing the lake and leaving the building in need of major repair.
Today, it is open again, rebranded as the Hendrickson Park Community Center. Gone are the village Recreation Department offices which have been moved to the Firemen’s Field clubhouse across town. Gone are the sheetrock walls and wood paneling, replaced by cinder blocks and plaster.
The building re-opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony last Friday afternoon, ironically at the tail end of another heavy rainstorm. But this time, there was no threat of water entering the building. And even if it did, the building is designed to handle a flood, as the inside has been reconstructed with waterproof material down to the epoxy floors. Even the electrical outlets have been moved at least four feet above the floor.
“The design was simple,” Mayor Ed Fare said. “The floor can be wet. We can come in and mop it out.”
Much of the inside has been reconfigured. There are now five meeting rooms which can be used for recreation programs, community groups and private parties. The bathrooms have all new fixtures.
All the rooms now have names. The large room at the north of the building, where the Silver Threads senior group used to meet, is now the Burgundy Room. At the south end is the Lake Room. In between are three rooms named after old neighborhoods in Valley Stream — Foster’s Meadow, Rum Junction and Tigertown.
The lobby is more open and brighter than it used to be. There is a reception desk, but there will be no computers or paperwork kept in the building. A new vestibule was built.
Fare praised the efforts of the village workers who spent months working to repair the building. Many of them were on hand for the re-opening celebration including carpenter Jimmy Neil, who served as the project’s foreman.
“Everybody put their blood, sweat and tears into here,” Fare said. “It was definitely a group effort.”
