Final push to raise enough funds for Village basketball court project

A final fundraising push was publicized this week for the refurbishment and expansion of the Cow Harbor Park basketball court, less than one week before the Northport Village Board meets for a public workshop to discuss project specifics. A resolution to approve the project, which has shifted over time to reduce costs and complete construction in phases, is expected to appear on the agenda of the March 5 board of trustees meeting. 

“We are reaching out for help covering the final $3,900 that will get the court built,” reads a message shared on the project’s GoFundMe page, which was started by members of the Northport High School 1995 Long Island Champion Boys Basketball team. “The ‘Magic Number’ that gets the court built to plan specifications is $180,000,” the message continues.  

To date, fundraising efforts have brought in over $93,800, with an additional $75,000 state grant awarded for the project. Private donations further increased the total funds raised. 

“We are focused on raising the final amount before March 1 so that the Village can pass the resolution to begin construction at the next board meeting,” the GoFundMe states. To expedite the process, This time, the team is asking for donations to be made not on its GoFundMe page but via personal checks made payable to “Eaton’s Neck Youth Club” to expedite the process. 

In January 2023, the board authorized Northport Village Mayor Donna Koch to issue bids for the public work necessary to complete the revitalization project. The project plans that went out to bid included the 3,300-square-foot basketball court (a size that resulted from a compromise between the team and Koch), a 550-square-foot rain garden, a black vinyl-coated chain link fence to run along the back and street-side of the court, and a hardscape walkway to run along the harbor-side of the court. When the bids came back at costs well above what was raised, with the lowest bid at $336,700, Northport Village Deputy Mayor Meghan Dolan, who is spearheading the project, moved quickly to secure additional sources of funding with Huntington’s Environmental Open Space & Park Fund (EOSPA) committee. 

In October 2023, after some Village residents who opposed the project spoke out against it during EOSPA and Huntington Town Board meetings, the committee’s 5-2 vote to approve funding wasn’t enough to move forward. 

The plan now is to execute the project in two phases in order to move forward, using donated funds to complete the entirety of the basketball court, new basketball hoops, and new fencing to replace what’s currently there. The plan for phase one is the same as what was sent to bid in January, Dolan said, with minor changes to the court’s elevation and the shape of the fence. The Northport Village Highway Department will be handling demolition and site preparation work for this phase of the project. No other funds are expected to come from the Village.

Dolan is continuing her work with EOSPA in hopes of funding the second phase of the plan, which includes a rain garden and masonry in the area around the court. 

With project bids in place to complete phase one, the cost comes to $180,000, just under $4,000 shy of what was raised with over 290 private donations and the state grant.

“About two weeks ago, when the final plan came in, we learned that we were about $20K short [of the $180,000],” 1995 team member Thomas Radman told the Journal. “Since then, a few extremely generous Northport residents have nearly closed that gap. As of today we are only $4,000 short! We are grateful to have inspired so many people to give back to Northport, and if anybody wants to be part of that final push to get the court built, I hope they'll donate this week so we can get all the necessary resolutions passed at the next board meeting.”

The Village of Northport will be holding a “Basketball Construction Workshop” on Tuesday, February 27 at 10am in Village Hall. The public is welcome to attend, but there will be no public participation. Board members are expected to discuss project finances and the use of the Village highway department. 

If you’d like to donate to this project, organizers are asking that you send a check to Eaton's Neck Youth Club, Inc., PO Box 22, East Northport, NY 11731. 

You can find more information about the basketball court project here.