Community Board #5 took quick action at their May 13th meeting in Middle Village, to lobby the Parks Department for ‘getting the play-lights right,’ at Principe Park, but nothing has been corrected at the park and hoopsters are still concerned. The lights on the sports field are reportedly scheduled to stay on until 10PM, however the three areas flip off at various times well before 10. The park has synthetic turf soccer and baseball fields, tennis courts, basketball and a hard surface softball field, which is used as six pickle ball courts. The pickle ball area is heavily used. The basketball courts are also busy, but according to testimony at the public forum Wednesday from Kyle Beauchamp, a street-ball hoopster from Liberty Park known as “Uncle Kyle,” the basketball lights shut off at 8:35. I’m not sure why lights at the other two lighted sports areas are shut off at 9:30 or 9:35? “It’s about safety for those who play until the posted time of the park’s closing,” said Beauchamp.
Steve Fiedler, parks committee chairman at the board asked for the full board to immediately vote to advocate to the parks department to get the timers back to keeping all the lights on until 10PM. “I don’t know why they turn off early,” Fiedler said after the meeting, but admitted that they were intended to stay on 10. “I’m going to get them to fix it,” he said. The board voted unanimously in favor of Fiedler’s proposal. But as of Monday, May 25th the lights at the basketball courts continue to turn off at 8:35. When we contacted Beauchamp Tuesday morning he wondered just who was ‘asleep at the switch here.’
