Fwd: PROTECT REYNOLDS FIELD

[Douglas Rushkoff]

rush...@rushkoff.com 

Begin forwarded message:

From: Sarah Brockus <sbro...@gmail.com>
Date: June 1, 2013, 9:31:49 PM EDT
To: Juan Franco <jfr...@filco.net>, jiwon...@gmail.com, Irene235 <iren...@aol.com>,  Karen Reynolds <karenre...@gmail.com>, Sheree McNulty <sher...@gmail.com>,  Mary Lambert <Lamber...@gmail.com>, Ilene Zwirn <izw...@aol.com>, nancyhe...@gmail.com,  Jen Roos <jenroo...@yahoo.com>, Claudette Druehl <crober...@yahoo.com>,  Douglas Rushkoff <rush...@gmail.com>, Pat Murphy <p...@jrjmedia.com>
Subject: Fwd: PROTECT REYNOLDS FIELD

Hello neighbors,

 

Well the time is NOW if we all want to have a voice in what happens to Reynolds Field.  Please see neighbors flyer below.  Please, oh, please attend the school board meeting with Nick and me Monday night and possibly on June 17th.  These two days the School Board will MAKE DECISIONS on this proposal.  Two more points I'd like to make in addition to what my neighbor and others have shared below.

 

1)  Westchester Magazine show rates of participation in sports programs amongst all school systems in Westchester and ours ranked one of the lowest at 40%.  And it was rare.  others were more like 70 - 90%.  So who exactly in Hastings is pushing this?

 

2)  I've sat on the Citizens Advisory Board in 2011 and 2012 and I've been warned that the School Board has been doing everything possible to avoid upping our taxes in the last few years but that soon the rubber will hit the road around pension and health increases for teachers and unfunded mandates from the state.  Our tax levels will have to increase OR class sizes will increase and they will cut class offerings with smaller enrollment, mostly in the high school.  I'd rather save my tax dollars for this impending problem than spend it on a new field with huge track and field lighting.

 

Hope to see you on Monday night!!

 

Sarah and Nick

 

 

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Steve Zeitlin <stevez...@hotmail.com>
Date: Sat, Jun 1, 2013 at 1:45 PM
Subject: PROTECT REYNOLDS FIELD
To: "sbro...@gmail.com" <sbro...@gmail.com>, Nick Van Hoogenstraten <nickf...@optonline.net>

Please Circulate

 

GET INFORMED & EXPRESS YOUR OPINIONS ON BIG CHANGES TO

REYNOLDS FIELD & OUR NEIGHBORHOOD

 

Join us this Monday night (June 3) at an open School Board Work Session Devoted Exclusively to Options for Reynolds Field

7:00 – 8:00 pm in the Hastings High School Cafeteria

 

We support the Hastings sports program that benefits all our children, but we are concerned about the following possibilities being considered:

 

• Installation of permanent 80-foot tall stadium lights to allow many night games

• Artificial turf—both aesthetically (environmentally?) distasteful and controversial w/regard to safety

• Increased traffic and parked cars in our already congested neighborhood

• Bright lights shining in the windows of our homes

• Increased noise late into the evening

• Reduced property values as a result of noise, light pollution and congestion

 

Reynolds Field, while school property, is historically a beloved and well-used part of the community. Many residents of all ages use it extensively for sledding, jogging, informal sports and much more. Community uses of the field, along with the sense of community in the surrounding neighborhood, would be compromised by some of the renovation options.

 

If we read the information correctly on the school board website (http://www.hastings.k12.ny.us/www/hastings_district/site/hosting/Facilities/4.17.13%20rev%20powerpoint.pdf), the district needs close to $4,000,000 for urgent building repairs and upgrades. On top of that, the board is considering four specific options for Reynolds that would run from $800,000 (to simply replace the current track and make repairs) to $3,800,000 (to install lights and reconfigure the track which would involve moving one or two tennis courts.) Clearly, the tax implications for the options are quite different.

 

From 7-8 p.m. on Monday, we can listen to the board discuss the Reynolds options they are considering. The board plans to decide which option to recommend within the month. After that, the community will vote on their recommendation in the fall. It’s important to get informed on the choices and let the board know our feelings as taxpayers and neighbors of Reynolds Field. Now is the time to pay attention and speak up—before the board has decided.

 

Hope to see you on Monday night.

--


SARAH BROCKUS

program/performing arts/production
lover of all things NYC and its Rivertowns