To the editor:

There is a unique camaraderie at the Lepore splash park on Main Street that cannot be replicated elsewhere. Kids can run freely around and through the sprinklers. English, Spanish, and Arabic create a melodious backdrop to the crashing parabolas of water. Parents of young children can actually relax and chat to each other – no one is fearful their child could drown (unlike at the pool). 

Further, the splash park requires no additional purchases – unlike the pool. Parents don’t have to buy kids a bathing suit, floaties, pool toys or, in Peekskill, a pool pass. The splash park is truly an accessible service to all of Peekskill’s residents. Or rather, it would be, if it were open regularly.

This past summer, I counted at least 8 occasions when the splash park was closed or closed early (during hours when it was supposed to be open). That means the splash park was closed about once a week during the limited 10 week season. At no time did the Parks Department inform residents the splash park was or would be closed. (Yet the department does send emails regarding pool closures.)

This neglect is not limited to the splash park. Lepore Park’s water fountain and drains often have standing water, which attracts mosquitoes. (I’ve seen children use the standing water in the drains as a de facto splash park when the actual one was closed.) Chunks of the poured-in-place rubber flooring are missing from the playground. (Note that poured-in-place rubber is a hazard for children and surrounding ecosystems, as described in this Herald article.) Garbage overflows from trash cans. And, there is often broken glass strewn around the park.

I have asked every branch of Peekskill’s government to address this issue, to provide Lepore Park users with a functional, clean, and safe space, to no avail. I have called the Parks Department regularly about the broken glass at Lepore Park. But the department is under the purview of the Department of Public Works, whose maintenance employees are usually unavailable to clean after 3:30 p.m. (Note: it is futile to directly call the Department of Public Works’ Superintendent, Chris Gross, because his voice mailbox is full.) My emails to City Manager Matt Alexander and Chris Gross regarding Lepore Park remain unacknowledged. I’ve spoken at council meetings about the glass at the park without any fruitful results.

Peekskill cannot continue to neglect the residents of Lepore Park, which is located across from the public housing of Bohlman Towers, and the Kiley Youth Center. According to Westchester County, Lepore Park serves an area where 77 percent of the population is at low- and moderate- income level, and nearly 2,000 neighborhood children under the age of 17. To put it bluntly, by forsaking Lepore Park, Peekskill is effectively forsaking its poorest and minority residents.

During these last halcyon days of summer, I often wished the splash pad in Lepore Park was open. Then again, I often wished that in July and August too.

Sinduja Srinivasan, Nelson Avenue

Sinduja Srinivasan is senior editor for the Peekskill Herald. She wrote this letter to the editor as a Peekskill resident, not in her capacity as a staff member.