Submitted by playball, Jan 12, 2008 00:32

I don't get it...I think many who object to the plan have never really set foot out on the Island. I have spent untold hours out on Randalls and Wards Island over the last 10 years as a baseball parent in CYO-Manhattan Youth Baseball. Except for the fact that the island is surrounded by water and that makes the views attractive, the place is an absolute DUMP! The playing fields are abysmal, they are laid out in a horrific design, and the "alleged" open space is nothing more that gross patches of dirt, and when it rains, MUD. Socer players and rugby players who play in the "open" areas play on patches of weeds, broken glass, and rocks. And trust me when I say this: NOBODY goes to Randalls Island to sunbathe, as was alleged by Mr. Seigel during the court hearing...... As for the ball infields, they are now a safety hazard, with broken glass, infields with big holes and uneven grading so that chidren playing on them are more likely to be injured. There are no restrooms for the thousands of people who use the park every weekend; parking is unsupervised and laissez-faire, making it incredibly dangerous for young children. The RISF plan optimizes the land use to provide the most opportunities for the thousands of baseball, softball and soccer players who yearn for more and better playing facilities by putting more ball and soccer fields in the same amount of space. It provides provides for additional restrooms in logical spots to make being out there more pleasant. It controls traffic flow to minimize the pedestrian dangers that currently exist. It eliminates the huge patches of swamp in the middle of the island and makes it usable land; the cluttered unkept areas near the edges of the Island are a haven for RATS!! I know, you have to watch out for them when you use a ballfield located near the water. Why would ANYONE not want to take advantage of private financing to make a terrific public facility? Would the critics of the plan to complete the renovation of Randalls Island have also preferred that dump of a track stadium that used to occupy the space remain where Icahn Stadium and the beautiful soccer fields next to it now exist ? What the RISF plan does is bring the rest of the Island up to those standards. What is so wrong with that? The alternative is what? More of the same?!?

Note: Comments are screened, and in some cases edited, before posting. We reserve the right to reject anything we find objectionable.