Mineola Schools Detail Field Usage for Cross Street School

Community organizations in Williston Park will be losing their access to the fields at the for more than 20 days if a and the is approved.

During a presentation to the board of education and the community last Wednesday night at the , Superintendent Dr. Michael Nagler outlined the potential conflicts between the proposed Cross Street tenant and Williston Park organizations including St. Aidan’s and the little league.

“What I was trying to capture here is exactly how often they’re on the fields,” Dr. Nagler said, pointing to a series of color-coded calendars projected onto the screen which showed the schedules of the various organizations, off-days, holidays, and conflicting overlaps. The schedule followed an August to June layout in conjunction with the opening and closing of school.

Solomon Schechter holds two outside sports seasons, with the fall being longer than the spring. From September through November the fields are used “all those months,” the superintendent said. Solomon Schechter  is never on the fields on Saturdays or Friday afternoon.

The information for St. Aidan’s usage of the fields was taken directly from permits issued to the private, Roman Catholic elementary school. St. Aidan’s currently uses the Cross Street fields weekdays from 5 to 7:30 p.m. and weekends from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The permits list 22 students using the fields at one time.

“I doubt that’s 22 of the same students everyday,” Dr. Nagler said, “but that’s the usage that falls on the permits.”

The St. Aidan’s schedule runs into December and uses more weekends than Mineola public schools. They also use “practically” every field in the district, including the ones at , the and every weekend at the same time.

The schedule for the Williston Park Little League primarily falls in the spring and summer on weekdays from 5 to 8:30 p.m. and various weekend hours including half and full days.

Using their current schedule, St. Aidan’s would not be able to use the fields for 28 days. On 12 days there would be a 90 minute difference in time of use and for 11 weekend days there would be a three hour difference in usage.

The impact is less on the Williston Park Little League due to the summer schedule, but they would still lose use of the Cross Street field for 21 days as well as a one hour difference for seven days, and a three hour difference for another seven days.

“The good news is we can accommodate both of these groups on ’s fields,” Dr. Nagler said.

Meadow Drive is currently not used in the fall and on conflicted days St. Aidan’s can be moved to those fields. Williston Park already uses the Meadow Drive fields “and they would use it more fully,” Nagler said.

The move would require some improvements to be made to the infield at Meadow and stripe it for the soccer program.

Dr. Nagler is also proposing renovating the field affectionately known as the “cow pasture” at the south side of the high school parking lot for the girls softball team, which plays its home games at Cross Street, and/or age-appropriate little league barring placement of some netting in case of “sluggers” on the squad.

Space would also be available at Hampton Street’s secondary field, which is primarily used for lacrosse more appropriate for soccer, but is a bigger distance to travel.

The proposal to renovate the cow pasture was made since “all of our fields are pretty much used all year round by community people,” Nagler said. “It’s very difficult to find space in any field.”

In the end, the district would actually be gaining another field space to use for its athletic programs once renovation is completed.

Trustee William Hornberger asked if lights were a viable option on the Cross Street field.

While the lights are inexpensive to rent, “they’re terribly loud,” Dr. Nagler said because of the generators required. The superintendent felt it was “doable” to light the fields until 7 p.m.,  but afterwards neighbors “might not be happy.”

Permanent lights “were not out of the question,” according to the superintendent, save for the fact that they are more expensive than rental lights and concerns for the residents on Winthrop Avenue and Meagher Place. “It’ll light up a lot more than the field,” Nagler said.

The superintendent’s report did not specifically cover CYO sports, which utilizes some of the district’s gymnasiums.

Dr. Nagler called one idea from a resident “interesting” where Solomon Schechter would get first choice of field dates and then the rest would be filled with permits.

Mineola does not charge for field usage, only if a custodian is required for cleanup, maintenance, etc. when necessary.