Parks Upgrades Take Shape Across Brookhaven

Spray park, sports courts, trails and accessibility improvements among projects planned throughout town.

Brookhaven Town is moving ahead with a wide-ranging slate of park improvements, from a new spray park at the Holtsville Ecology Center to upgrades at Cedar Beach and plans to transform the former Dowling College athletic complex.

“We have a lot of parks improvements that are continual and coming up,” Town Supervisor Dan Panico said, outlining projects planned across Brookhaven.

At the Holtsville Ecology Center, the town is planning a new spray park along with “an array of brand new sports courts,” Panico said. Walking trails at the facility are also scheduled to be redone this year.

The improvements extend townwide, with aging recreational equipment targeted for replacement.

“We’re going to be replacing a number of playgrounds that are end of life throughout the town,” Panico said.

One of the town’s larger undertakings involves the former Dowling College athletic complex, now owned by Brookhaven. Panico said officials are developing long-term plans to rehabilitate the property while coordinating the work with a future ice skating rink.

“Rehabilitating the complex into what it should be and will be takes a great deal of planning and infusion of capital,” Panico said.

The goal is to coordinate road construction and parking improvements with the rink project rather than completing them separately.

“It’s a lot of coordination,” Panico said, “but there is a lot of positive progress that is going on.”

Accessibility is also part of the town’s parks push. At Cedar Beach, Brookhaven plans to install a new mobility mat extending across the sand to the water for people with disabilities.

In Lake Grove, the town is preparing to refurbish the exterior of the historic New Village Church on Route 25, including its windows, shutters and siding. Panico said that work is expected to move forward during the third quarter of this year.

The projects, he said, reflect the town’s broader emphasis on making visible investments in its communities.

“I’m about getting things done,” Panico said.