Northport Village plans to “piece out” long-awaited basketball court project

At the July 6 Northport Village board of trustees meeting, Trustee Meghan Dolan provided an update on the “Northport Cow Harbor Park Basketball Court and Landscape Improvement,” a project first presented to the public exactly two years earlier, in July 2021.

The Village is currently working with the Town of Huntington because money raised via a GoFundMe campaign, plus a $75,000 state grant, did not cover the entirety of the project, Dolan explained. The plan now is to use the raised funds to complete the court, fencing and drainage. Dolan is working with the town’s Environmental Open Space & Park Fund (EOSPA), “who is aware of and supportive of the project,” she noted, to fund the remaining parts of the plan, which include the rain garden and masonry. “Nothing is set in stone and we are still working behind the scenes,” Dolan said.

The project plans that went out to bid in 2022 remain the same and include a 3,300-square-foot basketball court, 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.

If all goes to plan, the project will be divided into two parts: One that will be covered by the grassroots fundraiser initiated by the 1995 Northport High School (NHS) basketball team and state grant, and the other by EOSPA. The Northport Village Highway Department will be handling some of the demolition and site preparation work itself, clearing trees and completing tasks related to drainage.

“The Village of Northport is going to shoulder that financial responsibility internally,” explained Assistant to the Mayor Don Tesoriero. “We’ve been working on getting estimates, piecing it out and we’re going to get it to completion,” he said.

“I’m sure it’s pretty obvious, but this project needed to get done whether it was fundraised or not,” Dolan said at the meeting. “That area of the park is in terrible shape and it’s the first thing you see when you drive in. There is so much opportunity for improvement there… It’s a project we would have to do anyway. Now is an opportune time to make it work and figure out what makes the [most] sense financially for everybody.”

The Village hopes to get started with court construction in the fall, after Cow Harbor Day. Additionally, Northport Village resident Arlene Handel has donated $300,000 for bathroom renovations in Cow Harbor Park, which was approved at the January 17 board of trustees meeting.

A Two-Year Recap
It’s been two years since the NHS 1995 Long Island Champion Boys Basketball team launched a GoFundMe campaign to renovate the dilapidated basketball court at Cow Harbor Park in Northport Village. The court hasn’t been maintained in decades, with geographic mapping records indicating that it was constructed some time in the 1970s.

“Groundbreaking on the new court will be March of 2022,” reads the fundraiser page, which has amassed over $68,000 to date in resident contributions.

In December 2021, the former Northport Village board announced that, in collaboration with New York State Senator James Gaughran, they had procured a $75,000 State and Municipal Facilities (SAM) grant, enabling the Village to begin reconstruction of the court. “I look forward to working with Trustee Weber and the Village Board in making this project a reality,” said Senator Gaughran at the time. “It is my hope that community children will find this an inviting and safe space while enjoying the beautiful surroundings Northport Village parks have to offer.”

Three months later, a new Village board took office and plans related to the court project were stalled. The 1995 team that began the grassroots effort to procure donations presented again at Village Hall, with detailed plans including a resurfaced and larger court, hardscaping, seating, fencing and a native rain garden. A public hearing took place at the American Legion in July 2022, where dozens of residents spoke in favor of and against the court, due mostly to confusion about the proposed size and tree removal requirements. Fifteen ribbons were tied around park trees for a week before the hearing with no indication of their purpose.

A compromise was made on the court size (64’ x 48’) among Mayor Donna Koch and the 1995 team and new plans were submitted by engineering firm Holzmacher P.E., allowing the project to go out to bid in January 2023. Of the four bids received by the Village, the lowest was $336,700 from Green Velvet Landscaping of Bay Shore. Other bids included one for $366,200 from Laser Industries Inc.; $498,000 from The LandTek Group; and $589,985 from KJB Industries.

At the February 7 Northport Village board meeting, Trustee Dolan, who has been spearheading the project, said “We are moving quickly to secure additional sources of funding and hopefully we’ll know pretty soon,” adding that everyone, including the 1995 team and Mayor Koch, remains excited about the court and landscape improvements. Within a week, Dolan and fellow trustee Dave Weber met with EOSPA to discuss the project. Doug Trani, a member of the 1995 NHS basketball team and project organizer, presented the plan to the committee. “We are honored to have Town of Huntington leadership as the newest member of our team to get this project completed,” Trani said at the time.

Today, the Village has decided to piece the project together in order to move forward, using donated funds for one part of the plan, demolition and preparation labor provided by the Northport Village Highway Department, and an anticipated contribution from EOSPA.