By Ashley Pavlakis
Cover Photo: The playground at Charles P. Toner Park (Credit Ashley Pavlakis)
Growing up, going to the park felt like a privilege. Whether that was a reward for being good that day, or simply, a cool activity to do with friends. Nostalgia is the feeling of hearing your elementary school is next up for a playground upgrade. Smooth swaying swings, more intricate jungle gyms, and the smell of fresh mulch were like hitting the lottery as a child.
Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R-Kings Park), a longtime advocate for the public spaces across Town, has recently given Smithtown public parks a new look. Renovations for parks across the town’s six hamlets took place at the beginning of 2023. Under Wehrheim’s tenure, Smithtown’s recreational facilities have been recognized as the finest in New York State. Wehrheim, a former parks director, has been able to tackle parks and recreational facilities in the Town of Smithtown with passion. His drive to provide Smithtown residents with the best possible facilities to enjoy the outdoors is unmatched.
“It’s all about quality of life…When I go to Flynn Memorial Park and see the KPY [Kings Park Youth] little league teams show up there, just the look on their faces and the smiles on these kids is extremely rewarding. The parents and the children growing up in this town deserve to have class A facilities,” said Wehrheim.
Hoyt Farm Nature Preserve, the Town’s flagship park, is best known for its recreational and educational facilities which began with Edwin and Maria Hoyt in 1910. The Hoyt family reconstructed the land and fostered it into a place where people could come to be immersed in nature. In 1968 the farm was officially open to the public. Having been around for centuries, the park was due for an upgrade. Hoyt Farm holds a house museum, waterpark, nature center, playgrounds, and picnic areas on the 133-acre property. With the generosity of the Cosentino Realty Group, Hoyt received new pavilions, barbeque stations, bocce courts, a playground area, and a new water tower.
“The updates, it’s not just Ed [Wehrheim] and the Board members that help me out. My staff here, we’re always going through changes. There are always things being built and reconstructed. My staff has great ideas and I let them run with it, that’s why the park looks so good,“ said Jeff Gumin, caretaker of the Hoyt Farm Nature Preserve.
Charles P. Toner Armory Park has been a staple park in Smithtown for years. Learning, fun, and exercise can happen all in one place. The Armory is right behind the Smithtown Public Library- Nesconset Branch and brings a wealth of facilities for children and adults to enjoy. The playground and water park areas are the perfect destination for children to exhaust their energy on a sunny day. The roller hockey rink, tennis/pickleball courts, and soccer fields are ideal for athletes, both competitively and leisurely, to practice their skills. The designated pathway is a great way to get steps in with a friend. Aside from the well-maintained recreational facilities, the most well-known structure in the park is the gazebo. Newly renovated and ready for summer tribute band concerts to hit the deck and bring Smithtown residents together on summer evenings. Beginning in October, there are plans to upgrade the sports fields to turf and bring them up to par with everyone else.
Little League baseball and softball players know Browns Road Park all too well. Situated right in between Browns Road and Gibbs Pond Road, the park is almost always cohabited by teams hosting practices or games. The sponsorship banners proudly hang from the chain link fences, perfectly visible from home plate where the batter envisions blasting a homerun over them. For a while, the fields were standard dirt and grass. The constant use takes a toll, and the fields eventually begin to show signs of wear and tear. The fields recently received upgrades to turf, the outfield fences, backstop replacement, as well as brand new dugouts with roofs. The new renovations require less upkeep and allow for the teams to get more use out of the field, even when it rains.
Smithtown Landing Country Club is the perfect place to play a round of golf on their nine and eighteen-hole courses. The Country Club is home to more than just golf, as they have a pool, event spaces, and recreational areas for children. It’s common to host weddings at country clubs and Smithtown wanted to maintain its status as one of Long Island’s premier venues. The club received updates to the event spaces starting with the cafeteria, and the bar & lounge area in the Riverview Room. Across the path, Merrywood Cottage received a new bar and updated kitchen interior. The Nissequogue Room upgraded to cathedral ceilings, giving the room a more spacious feel. Perhaps the most exciting renovation for those looking to beat the heat is the state-of-the-art HVAC systems that were installed in all three venue spaces.
“Something that I did that was different from the previous administration, because we had a triple-A bond rating, was that I used capital budget borrowing. Each year, incrementally from 2018 to now, I borrowed money at low interest rates on long term bonds to be able to accomplish what I wanted to accomplish. Borrowing it the way we did was fiscally responsible, and it worked,” said Wehrheim.
Moriches Park received new turf fields, putting in a new turf soccer field and completely upgrading their baseball and softball fields to the popular turf design.
Amongst all the renovations that took place over the last year, the most important renovations were those that benefitted the handicapped. A majority of the Smithtown parks that received upgrades were also made more handicapped accessible. Renovations include upgrades to the walkways, new ramps, and accessible bathrooms. The playground equipment now includes more sensory driven pieces aimed toward younger children. Everyone should be able to enjoy going to the park and experience it to the best of their ability.
“When we do a park, we also fix the bathrooms up. All of those bathrooms are ADA-compliant now, they’re much more friendly for individuals who might be confined to a wheelchair or walker. All of the concrete, sidewalks, and walkways are handicap accessible,” said a spokesperson for the Town.
Enjoying the outdoors is a thing of beauty for Smithtown Residents as they get to take advantage of the updated facilities right in their own neighborhood.
