Irvington – Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. announced on Thursday, July 28th that a project to develop a synthetic grass soccer field and enhance three park entrances at Essex County Irvington Park was completed. The project is part of the County Executive’s ongoing initiative to modernize recreation facilities and ensure that the county’s parks continue to meet the changing needs of the community.
“Throughout Essex, school athletic teams, municipal recreation programs and residents casually playing sports rely heavily on the County Parks System for fields and facilities. Improvements like these enable us to provide safe, first-class facilities and maximize use of the space,” DiVincenzo said. “We are pleased to partner with I-ART on another project to modernize Essex County Irvington Park and provide our children and residents with modern, safe and attractive facilities for recreation,” he noted.
“I’m always pleased to see improvements being made to our parks,” Freeholder Patricia Sebold said. “This is a great asset to the community and the upgrades we’ve made will enhance the public’s use of the open space,” she added.
“This park is a beautiful place and on behalf of the 70,000 residents of Irvington I want to thank the County Executive for the work that was done here,” said Irvington Councilwoman Andrea McElroy, who was also representing Irvington Mayor Wayne Smith and Freeholder and Councilman Bilal Beasley who both could not attend the photo op. “We appreciate the County Executive for never giving up and for remembering that Irvington Park is a vital piece in the community,” she added.
Increased usage by athletic teams from Irvington High school, municipal recreation programs and residents resulted in significant wear and tear on the natural grass soccer field in Irvington Park. To address the poor field conditions and to maximize use, a synthetic grass soccer field was installed. The field has an Essex County seal sewn into midfield and there are benches for players and bleachers for spectators.
“We are excited to have our students play on this field. It’s a tremendous opportunity for our soccer players and I know they can’t wait to begin their fall season here,” Irvington High School Athletic Director Gerhard Sanchez said.
“This is great for youth soccer. We will make good use of this field teaching our young players about the game of soccer and sportsmanship,” said Sandra Gora of the Our Youth Soccer Academy in Irvington.
Three park entrances at the corner of May Street and August Street, the corner of Augusta Street and Lyons Avenue, and on May Street by Grace Street were beautified with brick pavers and the planting of shrubs, bushes and perennials. Tree stumps and dead trees were removed and old park signage was replaced with new wood-carved signs. The County Seal was installed in the brick paver pattern at the May Street/Augusta Street entrance. In 2004, the park entrances at the corner of May Street and Grove Street, corner of Lyons Avenue and Grove Street, and Lyons Avenue received similar upgrades. In addition, new wrought iron fencing was installed around the perimeter of the park.
Remington and Vernick Engineering from Haddonfield, NJ, received an $88,753 contract to design the improvements. LandTek from New York was awarded a competitively bid contract for $1,061,056 to perform the construction work. The Essex County Department of Public Works worked with the contractors to answer questions and ensure delays were avoided. The project was funded with a NJ Green Acres grant received by the Irvington Amateur Radio Team and a grant from the Essex County Recreation and Open Space Trust Fund. Work started in April and was finished in four months.
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