The roller hockey rink at Manorhaven Beach Park opened in 2008 in an area that had previously been part of the parking lot. According to Carole Trottere, Director of Communications for the Town of North Hempstead, town officials “thought it would be a wonderful addition to the parks and recreational offerings already in the Town” as there were no other roller hockey rinks.
However, according to residents who spoke to the Port Washington News but asked not to be named, although the Town of North Hempstead spent a lot of money to build the roller rink, because the surface was allegedly not finished properly, the rink “is a pond” and is essentially unusable. One resident complained that the rink was “an egregious waste of taxpayer money.” The town, however, vehemently disagrees with these complaints. “The roller hockey rink at Manorhaven Beach Park was re-asphalted four years ago. There has been some post winter cracking that will be addressed in the coming weeks and we will also be repairing any cracks in the fiberglass boards,” said Jill Weber, commissioner of Parks and Recreation. “There are no issues with flooding as far as we are aware,” confirmed town spokesperson Trottere. “After a rainfall, the parks staff sweeps the excess water off the surface, or uses a blower, but there have been no issues with flooding,” she said.
The town paid $55,000 to purchase the roller rink in 2008. Port Washington Youth Activities (PYA) invested in the rink, paying an additional $11,000 to install the boards. PYA started using the rink in May 2008 and continues to use the rink for its youth hockey program on Mondays in April, May and June. Ron Henderson, Director of PYA, said, “I helped the town purchase this rink back many years ago. We use it for our roller hockey program in PYA. We pay for permits through the Town of North Hempstead the same as any other organization.” Trottere confirmed that PYA pays a $50 permit fee and $25 an hour, which is the going rate for use of the rink. PYA, according to Henderson, also has “the 1st right of so-called refusal if [the rink is] needed for our program.”
Henderson noted that PYA is not responsible for the repair or maintenance of the rink. “We have no plans to [further] invest in the rink and the town would be responsible for further work, not the PYA,” he said. Trottere confirmed that the town’s Parks Department maintains the rink. She was unable to provide the cost to the Town of maintenance, stating that it “is difficult to say.”
When the town purchased the rink, it was anticipated that it would be popular with individuals, families and youth roller hockey leagues. However, PYA is the only league that currently uses the rink. PYA has 32 children in its roller hockey league, grades one to six.
Yet, the rink is open to anyone who wants to use it during park hours, according to Trottere. Leagues who want to use it must secure it at a certain time, she said.
