Glen Cove City Council Members had a heated debate regarding renovations to the Morgan Park sea wall and pavilion at the Tuesday, Sept. 24 city council meeting.
“It seems anytime you question anything that has anything to do with Morgan’s Park, it’s not the mayor’s agenda to have a conversation about it,” said Council Member Kevin Maccarone.
There were two proposals concerning Morgan Park on the agenda.
One proposed that LandTek Group rehabilitate the park’s pavilions for $218,229. A second resolution proposed that LandTek rehabilitate the sea wall for $194,526.
Mayor Pam Panzenbeck made both proposals.
Pazenbeck said there are major sections of the bricks missing in the pavilion. She said that areas of the pavilion are roped off due to the dangerous conditions.
“Once they fall down, we will never have them,” she said. “They’re historic pavilions.”
Maccarone said he was concerned about LandTek’s qualifications for the project.
“I’m very familiar with LandTek,” Maccarone said. “I know that they build turf fields. I know that they build sports courts. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen them bid or be involved in anything with general construction or building of sea walls.”
“LandTek did the first phase of work on the sea wall when we completed 75% of the sea wall with the first DASNY grant that we had a couple years ago,” said Ann Fangmann, executive director of the city development agency
This phase of construction occurred in 2022, she said.
“We have a $500,000 grant now, which is going to address the other 25% of the sea wall, what we call the tea house at the end of the sea wall and the three pavilions,” Fangmann said.
Fangmann said the previous work on the sea wall was deemed satisfactory by the city.
Maccarone said he had concerns over the company’s ability to complete masonry work.
“They’re calling it masonry,” Fangmann said. “But it’s really the restoration of, it’s the rehabilitation of the sea wall, which has different components to it.”
She said that the work LandTek will complete on the pavilions will help stabilize the columns, which are currently threatening to collapse. The pavilions will be further restored at a later phase of the project.
“LandTek did approximately $500,000 worth of masonry work at the front of the firehouse,” said Vincent Martinez, working supervisor of the public works department. “So they are capable of doing that type of work.”
Maccarone made a motion to table the proposal until the Oct. 8 council meeting. The motion was voted with three in favor and four opposed.
“These are projects we’ve been working on for a very long time,” said Panzenbeck. “And to all of a sudden decide that two weeks more of notice when, it’s ridiculous.”
Maccarone said his questions were not taken seriously because they concerned Morgan Park.
“I guess I’m ridiculous because I questioned something that had to do with her beloved Morgan’s Park,” Maccarone said.
“You question anything with respect to Morgan’s Park, it’s absolutely off limits, and you get called ridiculous in public,” he said.
Council Member Danielle Fugazy Scagliola said that the proposals were on the pre-council meeting agenda.
“Why didn’t we talk about it in pre-council if it was an issue?” she asked Maccarone.
Maccarone said he did not have a conversation with every council member regarding the proposal. He said other council members do the same.
“Marsha oftentimes doesn’t say anything between a council meeting and then comes out and has all these questions and asks for more time,” Maccarone said.
Council Member Marsha Silverman said the circumstances were different between her questions and Maccarone’s.
“Kevin, most of the things I question are added after pre-council and we don’t have an opportunity to discuss,” she said. “So you’re pulling me into something that I have nothing to do with.”
“You had an opportunity to ask questions a week ago. You did not, and now you’re raising it,” Silverman said.
Five council members voted in favor of the first resolution, and two opposed it. Six council members voted in favor of the second resolution, and one opposed it.
Panzenbeck said the board “values everybody’s opinions.”
