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Park Group Rates Oval Conditions Among Poorest 

By HEATHER HADDON

While residents might rate the Williamsbridge Oval their favorite place to play soccer or hold hands on a bench, a citywide advocacy group found the Norwood park wanting, to say the least. New Yorkers for Parks (NY4P) gave the Oval a "D" in a 2002 survey of city parks released last month.

"I've been here in the good days and bad days, and I couldn't see how the park would get a D," said Sirio Guerino, a longtime Oval volunteer.

Though Guerino and other advocates might consider the rating a bit harsh, they too are critical of the park's conditions. And while a few of the problems can be immediately addressed, most require scarce city capital dollars. 

"Every area [in the park] has a different problem," Guerino said. "There's not one 
solution."

The problems NY4P recorded in their first annual "Report Card on Parks" were extensive enough to rank the Oval 128th out of 181 surveyed. Other area parks, such as St. James and Poe, also were awarded D's. Of those surveyed, 38 percent of parks received a D or below, and while 24 percent netted an A, only two are in the Bronx. 

Neighborhood parks like the Oval tended to fare poorly in comparison to high-profile green spaces like Central or Byrant parks. "There are several hundred neighborhood parks in New York City," stated the NY4P report. "These smaller, low-profile parks are in need of greater investment." The Parks Department did not return calls concerning the Oval's specific score. 

Chief among the park's problems, according to NY4P, is its "passive green space," which includes lawns, trees and landscaped areas. The group documented dead trees and areas with just bare dirt. Several large trees in the park's southern end have dead limbs. 

But Guerino commended the Parks Department for quickly planting saplings to replace two older trees near the park's recreation center, which were removed in April. The trees were infected with a fungus and removed to stop its spread.

Residents tend to see eye to eye with NY4P on the poor landscaping. While a $1.5 million makeover of a portion of the Oval's western side brought a new staircase and landscaping to the slope, adjacent areas still suffer. The divide between the lush plantings of daffodils and the untouched terrain is dramatic. Snake-like tree roots are exposed as soil steadily erodes. 

"[The Parks Department] got their money's worth with the plantings," said Guerino, who remembers when the hill was "mud soaked." "But you can see the lines of where they ran out of money. They need to expand it."

Guerino also points to less dramatic areas of erosion, such as around the benches and tree pits near the courts. Instead of grass, there's nothing but dirt.

The Oval's center field is a prime candidate for landscaping. "I could see failing the park from the field alone," said Guerino, as he looked at the swatches of uneven dirt and sparse grass patches. Fay Muir, another local park volunteer, refers to the track and field as "the dust bowl and the mud flats."

The field continues to suffer from aggressive use by soccer leagues and other sports teams. "There is never going to be grass there," said local resident George Paige. "It's been like this for the last 10 years."

While Paige recommended resodding the field, as do many park advocates, others are set on artificial turf. Bronx Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski is solidly behind turf, and Councilman Oliver Koppell has joined suit. Koppell recently put in a bid for $2 million in capital funds for the Oval earmarked for artificial turf. 

Pathways also got a low score from NY4P, and many Oval users agreed. "The paths are very uneven," said Guerino. "These have to be original hex blocks from the 1930s." The six-sided hex blocks, which are cracked and splitting apart in many areas, make up most of the park's paths. 

The poor condition of the paths creates puddles. "When it storms, the park is filled with water to your ankles," said Dolores Serina, who brings her daughter to the park.

Drains clogged by debris collecting on the paths, often from erosion, also triggers flooding. Guerino recently put in work orders for unclogging the drains, and said the Parks Department had been responsive. 

"Active recreation areas," like the Oval's courts, also received low marks. While the new tennis courts did well, the basketball areas need maintenance. Players on a recent afternoon were sticking to the one court that had been resurfaced recently, though all of the courts need their lines redrawn. 

The large court on the Oval's east side is currently wide open and unmarked. It is used for volleyball but not much else. "Why don't they put a ramp in there for kids to skateboard on?" said Norma Jean Scully, a local resident who used to roller-skate in the park when she was young. 

The bocce court area, just north of the courts, is more like grassland. "No one in this neighborhood plays bocce anymore," said Guerino, a 17-year Norwood resident. "They should put a comfort station . . . or picnic tables over here."

Though not mentioned in NY4P's survey, many advocates think the Oval's perimeter fencing should be replaced. Long stretches of the iron fencing along the park's eastern perimeter is not attached to the concrete. Pressure applied to some areas of the fence could make it topple. 

Any or all of these improvements take money -- lots of it. A comprehensive rehab of the park's paths, fences and entryways would take $5 million over three years, according to the previous Bronx Parks commissioner, Bill Castro. 

Koppell has yet to hear about his capital fund request. Decisions on capital monies, only addressed once the expense budget is finalized, will not happen until late June or July, according to Noah Franklin, a Koppell spokesman.