By:LARRY MAIER
Residents say park falling apart
In the not-so-distant past, on sun-soaked weekend afternoons during the spring and summer months, Silver Lake Park would be filled with wedding parties gathering to take pictures on the serene and charming grounds, a longtime Baldwin resident remembers.
The park was always manicured to the max; it was impeccable, said Vinnie Orzano, who has lived on Hillside Court, a cul de sac across from the park, for 23 years.
Lately, however, Orzano and others say the county park has fallen on tough times and is a shell of what it once was. Residents say the grounds are poorly maintained, that the lake and canal waters are filthy, smelly and potentially dangerous, and that the park has gained a reputation among teenagers as a place to hang out and party after dark.
Michelle Van Wickler lives across from Silver Lake on Foxhurst Road, with her husband, Robert, and their children. Van Wickler remembers that when she used to visit the park as a child with her grandparents, it was flawlessly maintained. There were colorful flowers planted in beds and sprinklers were run to keep the grasses lush and green.
It's just not that way anymore, she said.
To motorists who pass by the park on Foxhurst Road, the grounds look beautiful, but a closer inspection reveals a park falling apart, Van Wickler said. In the summer, the weeds growing up through cracks in the sidewalks are up to my knees.
Van Wickler and other neighbors say the park's walkways are always covered with dirt and goose droppings and that the once green grasses have dried out.
Steve Kirsch grew up in Baldwin and has lived on Hillside Court for 22 years. He, too, remembers Silver Lake Park's glory days.
There used to be two full-time attendants in the park ... it made a big difference, Kirsch said. Now, he says that the maintenance and care the park receives leaves a lot to be desired.
Nassau County spokesman John Zaher said Silver Lake Park is regularly maintained
