22 Sep ESSEX COUNTY EXECUTIVE DIVINCENZO ANNOUNCES UPGRADES TO ESSEX COUNTY BRANCH BROOK PARK BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL FIELDS Three Diamonds will have Synthetic Playing Surfaces Installed on their Infields
Published on September 22, 2023
Newark, NJ – Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. announced plans to modernize the baseball and softball fields in the Essex County Branch Brook Park Northern Division with synthetic playing surfaces on the infields on Friday, September 22nd. The upgrades will reduce maintenance and maximize use of the fields. It is part of the County Executive’s ongoing initiative to revitalize the Essex County Parks System and provide the most up-to-date recreation facilities.
“The community relies on our Essex County Parks System for fields and facilities to support recreation programs. Therefore, it is imperative that we come up with new ways to make it easier to maintain our fields, provide up-to-date playing conditions and maximize use,” DiVincenzo said. “Improving the infields with synthetic surfaces is a way to address the condition of the field and preserve more natural turfed areas in our parks,” he added.
“This park is the pride and joy for so many people because it is right in our backyard. It’s extraordinary to see what is being done here. This is proof that bucolic settings can be created no matter where you are,” Senate Majority Leader and Deputy Chief of Staff Teresa Ruiz said.
“Not being able to use the fields after it rains has always been a complaint. This is an impressive undertaking by the County Executive to improve the park for our youth. It’s amazing to see how much is being done to improve the lives of our residents,” said Newark North Ward Councilman Anibal Ramos said.
“People have been playing baseball in Branch Brook Park since the early 1900s. This project is a continuation of Joe D’s commitment to the community. Thank you for the ongoing investments you are making to revitalize Branch Brook Park,” said Thomas Dougherty, President of the Branch Brook Park Alliance.
“These are incredible improvements to the park that are creating opportunities for positive activities for our youth,” Essex County Administrator Robert Jackson said.
Known as the “three diamonds,” the area behind the Cherry Blossom Welcome Center includes a full-size baseball field and two Little League/softball fields. After rainy weather, the fields are often not able to be used because of standing water that takes time to drain. To address this, an improved drainage system will be installed and the infield portions of the three fields will be updated with a synthetic playing surface. The outfield areas of the three fields will remain as natural grass. New fencing, covered dugouts, bleachers for spectators, pathways and landscaping will be installed.
The concept of updating the infields with synthetic playing surfaces and leaving the outfields with natural grass was first introduced in the Essex County Parks System at Brookdale Park. Because of the success of the project, it was replicated in Branch Brook Park.
French and Parrello from Wall received a professional services contract of $88,000 to design the field improvements. The Landtek Group from Amityville was awarded a publicly bid contract of $3,068,000 to perform the construction work. The Essex County Department of Public Works will monitor the project to ensure delays are avoided. The project is being funded with grants from the Essex County Recreation and Open Space Trust Fund and the American Rescue Fund.
Revitalizing Essex County’s Branch Brook Park
The Branch Brook Park Alliance has been the primary partner with Essex County to revitalize Branch Brook Park, which opened in 1895. More than $50 million of upgrades have been made throughout the Park through this partnership. Park enhancements have been supported with grants from corporations, the New Jersey Green Acres program, the Essex County Recreation and Open Space Trust Fund, philanthropic organizations and community members. In addition, the Alliance has sponsored a variety of programs to clean the waterways, spruce up the park, maintain the cherry tree collection, develop an urban farm, among other activities.
The Ballantine Gates on Lake Street were preserved and refurbished in 2020. The Branch Brook Dog Park was opened in 2019. A new synthetic grass surface was installed on the Robert Clemente Baseball Field in 2019. Synthetic grass surfaces were installed on the Ray Dandridge and Jerome Greco Little League Fields in 2018. A bronze bust of Frederick Law Olmstead was dedicated in 2018 and a bronze bust of Mendelssohn was restored and rededicated in 2017; both are located in the Prudential Concert Grove. A playground designed with a cherry blossom theme was opened at the Essex County Cherry Blossom Welcome Center in 2015. The Barbara Bell Coleman Welcome Center and Concourse Hill upgrades, along with the opening of a two-mile, synthetic surface walking track, creation of a children’s garden at the Cherry Blossom Welcome Center, renovation of a well in the Park’s Northern Division, the rehabilitation of the Reservoir Walls in the Park’s Southern Division and modernization of the Clifton Avenue basketball courts were completed in 2014. The bronze statue honor the late tennis legend Althea Gibson was dedicated and the 20-court tennis complex named in her honor received a complete makeover in March 2012 and the field house in the tennis complex was renovated in July 2012.
A multi-phase project to upgrade the lakefront in the Southern Division was completed in April 2012. It included the restoration of the historic Prudential Lions statues and balustrade, the rehabilitation of two buildings for restrooms and public meeting space, updating the music court with new pavers and landscaping. The music court overlooking the lake was dedicated as the “Prudential Concert Grove” to recognize the corporation’s ongoing support to restore the Park, and a memorial cherry tree grove was rededicated in honor of Kiyofumi Sakaguchi, who was President and CEO of Prudential International Insurance at the time of his death.
The renovation of the historic Octagon Fieldhouse in the Essex County Stephen N. Adubato, Sr. Sports Complex was completed in April 2011. Completed in 2010 were a project to pave the park roadway, upgrade walking paths, and install historic lighting in the section of the park from the Cherry Blossom Welcome Center to Heller Parkway, the planting of 600 Cherry Trees and other trees throughout Branch Brook Park and the paving of the park roadway from Mill Street to Washington Street.
In September 2009, the Middle Division Recreation Complex was renamed as the “Essex County Stephen N. Adubato, Sr. Sports Complex,” in honor of the founder of The North Ward Center and Robert Treat Academy. In August 2009, a synthetic surface football/soccer field was constructed and named after NFL Hall of Famer and Barringer High School alumni Andre Tippett. Earlier in 2009, a “demonstration project” in the Branch Brook Park Extension enhanced landscaping, added Cherry Trees, improved pathways and modernized entranceways into the park from Franklin Avenue. The Bloomfield Avenue Bridge that passes over the Middle Division was rehabilitated in 2009.
The Cherry Blossom Welcome Center was renovated and transformed into a year-round showplace to raise awareness about the Japanese Flowering Cherry Blossom Trees in 2008. A replica of the historic Octagon Shelter in the Southern Division of Essex County Branch Brook Park was built in 2007 and the baseball field complex known as the “three diamonds” was upgraded in 2007. The baseball/softball complex in the Branch Brook Park Middle Division was reopened in April 2005 after a remediation and modernization project, and the historic restoration of the Park Avenue Bridge was completed in 2005. Entrance enhancements, new fencing and landscaping along Clifton Avenue and Mill Street, and a major improvement project along Lake Street have made the park more inviting.
The Essex County Park System was created in 1895 and is the first county park system established in the United States. The Park System consists of more than 6,000 acres and has 23 parks, five reservations, an environmental center, a zoo, Treetop Adventure Course, ice skating rink, roller skating rink, three public golf courses, a miniature golf course, golf driving range, four off-leash dog facilities, a castle and the Presby Memorial Iris Gardens. Branch Brook Park was created in 1895 and is the first park in Essex County’s system. At 359.72 acres, it is the largest county park in Essex.