Harbor Island beautification project gets underway

Written by Paige Rentz

Thursday, 02 September 2010 14:42

After more than two and a half years of planning and fundraising, the most recent project by the Harbor Island Conservancy (HIC) has gotten underway.

“It’s been a long time in the making, and we’re glad we’re finally here,” said HIC President and founder Fred Longacre. The most noticeable change for passersby will be a new sign at the pocket park and a new all-weather gazebo to replace the old guardhouse at the park’s entrance. A matching sign was installed this week on the wall by Orienta Avenue.

Over the coming weeks, the main thrust of the project will be completed. Trees along the medians in the park’s entrance are being dug up this week, and a new irrigation system will be installed by the first or second week of September. New plantings, including salt-resistant crepe myrtle trees, will be staged in along the area over the course of a month.

More than 300 feet of fencing will be replaced in the next two to three weeks, and new plantings in the pocket park area will accompany the new sign there. The current grasses planted in the area, which are so tall they obscure the view of the harbor, will be transplanted down along the wall by the boat ramp and replaced by dwarf varieties.

The project emphasizes consistency and low-maintenance, with irrigation systems and landscaping designed to minimize mowing and watering by village employees. In addition, the vision of the conservancy includes matching signs throughout the park, including at the base of Fenimore Road, where a haphazard collection of signs often informs drivers of local events. Instead, the members of the conservancy will install a bulletin-board type sign that will be consistent with the rest of the design in the park. Longacre emphasized that the $85,000 project was privately funded through donations by members of the Larchmont and Mamaroneck communities. A $6,000 grant from State Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer (D) funded the purchase of the gazebo. The fundraising and planning work for the project was handled by the conservancy’s 19-member board, led by the project committee of Longacre, his wife Julia, Joan Boyd, John Farris, Cheryl Lewy, June Ottinger, Burt Rosner, Ernest Wong and Jose Zeilstra. The members are working with contractors from Unique Signs, Acorn, Nabel’s Nursery and Future Fencing on the project.

“The conservancy could not do what it does without the approval and support of the mayor and Board of Trustees and the tremendous cooperation of [DPW Superintendent] Tony Iacovelli and the Department of Public Works down at the park,” said Longacre. “We feel blessed to have so many people in such support of our program. While it is privately funded, we consider ourselves partners with the Village of Mamaroneck.”

Village Manager Richard Slingerland said that the conservancy’s work has been a boon to the village, especially during a time when village employees have so many projects to be completed. “The Harbor Island Conservancy has been a great help on a lot of levels to really improve and beautify the park,” he said.

The conservancy does not yet have any concrete plans for its next project, Longacre said. “All sorts of things are crying out.” Many people are interested in landscaping around the pavilion, he said, so that will be on the list of things the conservancy will likely consider. The group began by funding a new playground at Harbor Island in 2007, which they will continue to maintain, and Longacre said they are likely to continue supporting programs like the Mariners summer camp program, for which they purchased kayaks and life preservers.

Longacre said his dream would be to install a smaller version of a botanical garden on the Orienta side of the park.

For the time being, however, the current project will be their main focus. The conservancy doesn’t have all the funds yet to purchase all the signs they would like to, which will extend the work into next year, Longacre predicted.

“I think we’re off to a pretty good start,” he said. “As long as people remain generous we can continue to have a presence.”

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