A lifelong resident of Brentwood started an online petition that calls for officials to reopen Roberto Clemente Park as soon as possible.
The park has been closed since April 2014. As News 12 has reported, Thomas Datre Jr. pleaded guilty in March to illegally dumping contaminated materials at four sites, including Roberto Clemente Park. In exchange for less jail time, he promised the judge he would remove the debris from two sites and help reopen the park.
Last month, State Supreme Court Judge Fernando Camacho warned lawyers for Datre Jr. and others involved in the dumping scandal that he "wouldn't wait forever."
Herbie Medina, who started the petition, says the active cleanup at the site is anything but active.
"I drive past this park daily and I see no activity, no action, no trucks in and out," Medina told News 12 Long Island. "It gives the community no hope that the park will ever open."
The petition has garnered almost 700 signatures.
Islip Supervisor Angie Carpenter says more work has to be performed inside the park before it can reopen. She says the site is being excavated and is "certainly not safe."
Carpenter says a contractor is being selected to begin replacing the contaminated soil that was removed. She hopes the park will be opened by the summer of 2017.