Christmas came early to the Village of Massapequa Park by way of a $75,000 grant from Nassau County to assist in the transformation of Brady Park to become handicapped accessible. The money comes from a grant through federal funds. 
“Brady Park was built back in the early ‘90s so we have been looking to upgrade the park and make it handicapped accessible,” said Mayor Jeff Pravato on how the village received the money.
“We came across this federal grant that the county was able to get for us. We will raise the additional $25,000 through bonds. We are happy to get this done and the park will be good for everybody to use. All kids need to enjoy this park and it’s a great move for the village,” he continued, adding that the completed project goal is set for the spring.
Village Administrator Peggy Caltabiano and Purchasing Agent Chris Botti shared the future plans of the park.
“The biggest expense for the park is putting in a poured in place surfacing which makes it safe for all children. They hope to have an ADA pull along and an ADA ten spin where children of all abilities can spin around safely,” said Caltabiano. “All of this, however, is subject to change pending on the cost and approval by Nassau County to see that it is completely compliant with ADA standards. Brady Park is a beautiful place and the thought of keeping anyone out of it is distressing because it is so nice,” she continued, stating that the park will now allow handicapped children and young children to come and enjoy what the park has to offer.
“It also will allow the parents to sit around and relax and watch the kids. It’s all fenced off and it’s a safe environment,” said Botti.
One of the challenges to creating a handicapped park at Brady Park is the space limitation. Sal Romanello of Playsafe Playground Systems weighed in on the matter touching upon ADA compliance and play equipment.
(Photos by Cynthia Paulis)
“There is an equation that we have to adhere to and it is basically the number of elevated components. There is a ratio if you have a certain number of elevated components you have to have ground level components and you have to have transverse steps and ADA compliant steps,” said Romanello. “The truth of the matter is if they are in a wheelchair they are not going to make full use of that structure unless they are crawling across the structure itself, which isn’t practical or realistic. Ramps are what we would like to see but unfortunately when we are limited by space or in budget it is more of a challenge.”
Romanello added that to rise one foot high, a 12-foot long ramp would be needed. Fortunately, there are other successful features to the park.
“The ten spin is a big hit with all of the jobs I have done,” said Romanello of the merry-go-round that all children can play on and participate in.
Throughout Nassau County there are very few handicapped accessible parks. Imagine being a child and wanting to play with your peers but you can’t because you are in a wheelchair and limited in what you can do. This can be a very isolating experience for any child. Lisa Egry, a mom of two children understands this problem, as one of her children is healthy and the other child Sean, has cerebral palsy and has been confined to a wheelchair.
“When Sean was growing up there was nothing for him to go on unless I was with him holding him, because his trunk control was an issue,” said Egry of her son Sean, who is now 17. “When he was much younger, I could stuff him into a swing that had the support until he got too big. You take a child that has a wobbly upper body and you put them in a swing and either are going to fall or the first thing they do if they are a little startled, they are going to let go.”
Egry added that her other son is two years older, so growing up and trying to take both of her kids to the park and doing the same activities was difficult.
“My older son was a typical developing child and Sean wanted to do everything he did. It was a big obstacle,” said Egry. “Looking back now, I would have done things differently because I had to be with Sean constantly. It has made a huge impact on his independence now as a young adult because he couldn’t do any of those things and play with kids his own age so he seriously shies away from having personal contact with kids his age. This is such a wonderful thing to be able to have kids be among their peers independently.”
Brady Park is not the only park that is now handicapped accessible. Jones Beach and Eisenhower Park also have handicapped accessible parks where children of all abilities can play together in an integrated environment, which fosters friendship and acceptance of people from all walks of life.
