Patchogue Village books theater to unveil $5M parks plan

Patchogue Village has reserved the main stage of the Patchogue Theatre for 7 p.m. on Oct. 7 for what could amount to one of the best-attended hearings since the village came into existence in 1893.

On that Wednesday, engineers, landscape architects and village officials will unveil their master plan for a $5 million overhaul to the village’s five public parks.

Residents can then suggest changes.

“The constituency will get to see the initial master plan, and then they’ll be able to comment on it and adjustments can still be made, depending on feasibility of course,” explained Dennis Smith, who’s coordinating the park efforts as an assistant to the mayor and Village Board.

The $5 million was donated to the village anonymously in January.

Smith said about 400 people responded to a survey the village circulated this spring — it was offered in English and Spanish.

The survey results, which came back to the village in mid-June, were used to help hammer out the master plan.

The hope is that a huge chunk of respondents and others attend the Oct. 7 presentation.

The theater holds roughly 1,200 people.

Smith said a chunk of the $5 million will likely go toward the village’s largest park, Shorefront Park, where sagging bulkhead will have to be repaired.

Some bulkhead might even be removed for beach access.

Below are Top 5 new uses and the Top 5 new activities people are asking for in their parks, according to survey results provided to greaterpatchogue.com.

New Uses

1. Beach activities
2. Expanded landscape areas
3. Seating
4. Drinking fountains
5. Parking

New Activities

1. Walking path
2. Pond restoration with walking trail
3. Picnic area
4. Nature trails with interpretive signs
5. Shade structure

The village’s parks include Shorefront Park, Waldbauer Park, Four Sisters Park, Father Tortura Park and Belzak Park.

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Photo: Shorefront Park along the Great South Bay in Patchogue Village. (Credit: Michael White)

What new activities would you like to see in the Patchogue Village parks? (Choose 3)