08 Jun ESSEX COUNTY EXECUTIVE DIVINCENZO ANNOUNCES UPGRADES TO ESSEX COUNTY YANTICAW PARK BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL FIELDS Infield Synthetic Playing Surfaces and new drainage and irrigation are Installed
Published on June 8, 2024
Nutley, NJ – Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. announced that improvements to the baseball and softball fields in Essex County Yanticaw Park in Nutley were completed on Thursday, June 7th. Synthetic playing surfaces were installed on the infields as well as new irrigation and drainage systems. 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 and athletic 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.
The John Henry Walker Memorial Baseball Field and an adjacent Little League baseball/softball field have an improved underground drainage system, irrigation system and a synthetic playing surface on the infields of both fields. The outfields of both fields remain as natural grass. New fencing, covered dugouts, bleachers for spectators, pathways, a retaining wall and landscaping have been installed. In addition, the pathways around the two sports fields are repaved and additional landscaping planted.
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 Yanticaw Park and Branch Brook Park.
French and Parrello from Wall received a professional services contract of $91,925 to design the field improvements. Zenith Construction from Orange was awarded a publicly bid contract of $1,994,450 to perform the construction work. The Essex County Department of Public Works monitored the project to ensure delays were avoided. The project was funded with grants from the Essex County Recreation and Open Space Trust Fund and the American Rescue Fund.
Revitalizing Essex County Yanticaw Park
In 2003, the playground was upgraded with new equipment and a rubberized safety surface and, in 2006, it was named the “Essex County Frank A. Cocchiola Playground.” Pathways were repaired in 2006 and Park Drive was reconstructed and repaved in 2008. In 2010, the John Henry Walker Field and two baseball fields along Passaic Avenue were renovated and regraded, pathways in the western section of the park were repaired, the basketball court and the field house on Park Drive was renovated, the bocce court was modernized, perimeter fencing was repaired, and sidewalks and steps were reconstructed. Also in 2010, the three fields off of Park Drive were named as the “Essex County Carmen A. Orechio Recreation Complex” in honor of Mr. Orechio for his more than 40 years of public service as President of the NJ State Senate and Mayor and Commissioner of Nutley. In 2016, Essex County partnered with the Nutley Educational Foundation, Nutley Public School District and the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission to develop an outdoor classroom and amphitheater on the banks of the Third River. In 2019, the basketball court was modernized.
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, golf driving range, two miniature golf courses, five off-leash dog facilities, a castle and the Presby Memorial Iris Gardens. Land for Yanticaw Park was acquired between 1911 and 1914. At 28.75 acres, it is the 11th largest park in the Essex system.