Promised funds haven't arrived for unkempt Lindenhurst park

<p>A Lindenhurst park is still waiting for state funding it was promised three years ago for much needed renovations.&nbsp;</p>

News 12 Staff

Feb 23, 2018, 7:54 PM

Updated 2,418 days ago

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Promised funds haven't arrived for unkempt Lindenhurst park
It's been three years since a state grant was secured to renovate a park in the village of Lindenhurst, but the money still hasn't arrived.
Kristin Fusaro is a busy mom who lives a few houses from Lt. Edward Weckerle Memorial Park at the intersection of John Street and North Ninth Street. For the past three years, Fusaro has spearheaded an effort to get a facelift for the little neighborhood park from a bygone era.
Fusaro put together petitions and held craft fairs in order to get the park some money and attention. She says the community would like to see the park cleaned up and made more accessible for people with disabilities. 
Former state Sen. Michael Venditto (R-8th District) obtained state grant money in 2015 for the village of Lindenhurst, which included $100,000 for upgrades to the park.  But Fusaro is frustrated that the check has never been sent.

“We really just keep getting stonewalled,” she says. “We can't get a solid answer on where it is or when it's coming.”
State Sen. John Brooks, a Democrat who defeated Venditto in 2016, blames state Senate Republicans who must sign off on the grant but have not yet done so. He says enough of the political games.

“We have a grant application that was approved,” says Brooks. “Give them the money so we can move on. I don't need to be going back and forth, he said, she said kind of stuff that's going on here. It's just foolish.”

Meanwhile Fusaro says the park remains uninviting, empty and unused. Residents say 50-year-old equipment and gravel on the ground need to go.

News 12 Long Island reached out to state Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan, who issued a statement saying that the paperwork has been completed and the project is moving forward.