November 15, 2005

A “MIRACLE (FIELD)” IN WESTCHESTER

---Rogowsky and Alvarado secure funding

for athletic field for special needs kids---

Thanks to the efforts of county legislators Marty Rogowsky (D-I-WF, Harrison) and José I. Alvarado (D-I-WF, Yonkers), a “miracle” field of dreams is coming to Westchester. The County Board of Legislators last night unanimously approved funds to transform a small dirt “pick-up” field at Ridge Road Park in Hartsdale into a custom-designed baseball field that will accommodate wheel chairs. The new field will be the county’s first baseball field designed specifically for kids with special needs.

Rogowsky, an avid baseball fan and player, said he was especially pleased that kids, including those confined to wheelchairs, would now be able to experience the game he loves. “I remember how important baseball was to me as a child,” said Rogowsky. “When I learned about the Miracle League’s program to partner with local communities to build rubberized turf baseball fields, I was immediately enthusiastic about bringing the organization to Westchester. This is another opportunity for disabled kids to see that there are no limits to what they can accomplish.”

The National Miracle League, a non-profit organization based in Conyers, Georgia, partners with communities to build rubberized fields that are wheelchair friendly. Over the last five years, the organization has helped to build 22 fields; another 62 are under construction. The Miracle League operates like a traditional Little League, promulgating standards and rules of play that the teams that use the fields follow.

The county will construct the field using $525,000 in funding from the county’s Legacy Program, a Spano initiative that works to preserve parkland and build athletic fields.

“It’s important that we use the Legacy Program to improve the quality of life for as many segments of the population as we can reach,” said Alvarado, Chair of the Board’s Committee on Parks and Recreation. “With the Miracle Field, we’re appropriately expanding the reach of the Legacy Program to serve kids who were always on the sidelines but who now will have a chance to get in the game.”

County legislator Thomas Abinanti (D-I-WF, Greenburgh) said he was proud that Greenburgh would be the site of the new field. “I’m proud that my district was chosen as the site for this new field,” said Abinanti. “This will give kids who face enormous challenges every day just to get through the day a place to have fun and to feel ‘normal.’ I am pleased that the county stepped up to the plate to make that possible.”

The field is expected to be ready for play next summer.