12 Apr ESSEX COUNTY EXECUTIVE DIVINCENZO ANNOUNCES NEW SYNTHETIC GRASS PLAYING SURFACE INSTALLED ON ESSEX COUNTY WEEQUAHIC PARK LITTLE LEAGUE FIELD
Published on April 12, 2022
Newark, NJ – Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. announced on Tuesday, April 12th that the installation of a new synthetic grass playing surface on the Essex County Weequahic Park Little League baseball field has been completed. The new surface provides young ballplayers with up-to-date conditions on which to play and maximizes usage of the field. The upgrades are part of our ongoing initiative to revitalize the historic Parks System to ensure it meets the needs of residents.
“We are always updating our parks and recreation facilities to make sure our youth and other visitors have the most up-to-date field on which to play. These fields provide our youth with positive activities where they get exercise, build social skills and learn sportsmanship,” DiVincenzo said.
Other elected officials joining the County Executive at the ribbon cutting were Essex County Commissioner President Wayne Richardson and Newark Councilman John James.
The Little League Field off of Elizabeth Avenue was first updated with a synthetic grass playing surface in 2007. After 15 years, the grass surface needed to be replaced due to regular wear and tear. In addition, the field lighting was upgraded to LED lights, which are brighter and more energy efficient, and a new scoreboard was installed.
The improvements were designed in-house by the Essex County Department of Public Works, which also monitored the project to ensure delays were avoided. Athletic Fields of America from Montville was awarded a publicly-bid contract for $661,986 to perform the construction work. The improvements were funded with a grant from the Essex County Recreation and Open Space Trust Fund. The project took about three months to complete.
Revitalizing Essex County Weequahic Park
In 2021, the Feldman “Mootsie” Middleton, Jr. Community Center was replaced with a 15,000-square-foot modern building. In 2018, the Elizabeth Avenue playground was modernized with new apparatus and a rubberized safety surface and the restroom building was renovated. In 2017, The First Tee facilities were upgraded and the entranceway, parking lot and field house were modernized at Weequahic Golf Course as part of a $3.1 million project. In 2016, one of the baseball fields was modernized with a synthetic grass playing surface, new fencing and scoreboard and named in honor of the late Bill Hicks, a long-time little league and high school baseball coach. Also in 2016, the community center was named in honor of Feldman Middleton, Jr., one of the founders of the Weequahic Park Association and the Weequahic Park Sports Authority, and the playground was named in honor of activist Carl Sharif. In 2015, the playground by Building 92 was modernized with new equipment and a rubberized safety surface. In 2012, the four entrances to Weequahic Park received a facelift with traffic islands, lighting, paving and landscaping to beautify the area and enhance pedestrian and traffic safety, and the basketball courts were named in honor of the late Delano Gordon, founder of Above the Rim. Essex County partnered with the National Football League to install a new half-mile fitness course with six exercise stations in 2010. Weequahic Golf Course received a major overhaul in 2009 as part of $7 million modernization project in each of the County’s three public golf courses and the Weequahic Bridge was reconstructed for $3 million. A synthetic grass surface baseball field and four basketball courts were developed as part of a $1.8 million project in 2007. Essex County welcomed The First Tee and its nationally-recognized youth leadership training program to Weequahic Golf Course in 2006. The First Tee constructed a state-of-the-art, three-hole youth golf facility for its program adjacent to the golf course. The playground at Building 96 at the Chancellor Avenue entrance to the park was modernized with new equipment and rubberized safety surface in 2006. The Elizabeth Avenue tennis courts were rebuilt in 2004.
DiVincenzo has partnered with the New Jersey Green Acres program, the NJ Department of Transportation, the Essex County Parks Foundation, Essex County Recreation and Open Space Trust Fund Advisory Board, Weequahic Park Association and The First Tee to secure grants to fund the improvements in Essex County Weequahic Park.
The Essex County Park System was created in 1895 and is the first county park system in the United States. It has been expanded to include about 6,000 acres of land and includes 20 parks, five reservations, an environmental center, a zoo, ice skating rink, roller skating rink, three public golf courses, golf driving range, miniature golf course, five dog parks, a castle, Treetop Adventure Course and the Presby Memorial Iris Gardens. Weequahic Park is 311.33 acres, is one of the original five County parks created in 1895 and is the second largest park in the Essex County System.