New Artwork for Greenport Carousel Pinnacle of Village's Journey As Family Destination

GREENPORT, NY — It took a village.

Members of the Greenport carousel committee, along with Bill von Eiff, gathered in Mitchell Park Wednesday for the unveiling of new carousel rounding boards created by artists to depict North Fork scenes.

The rounding boards, created by Marla Milne, Enid V. Hatton, Cindy Pease Roe, and Keith Mantell, were paintings of photos found in a book about the village; the paintings were digitalized and transferred to vinyl by von Eiff of Reflective Image of Greenport.

The original artwork will be sold at silent auction to raise funds for the interior scenic panels, which will be a second stage of the project.

Former Greenport Village Mayor David Kapell, who was thanked by Gail Horton of the carousel committee for his vision in creating Mitchell Park and bringing the carousel to Greenport from Riverhead, where it stood for years on the former Grumman property in Calverton and was enjoyed by scores of employees at Grumman's annual picnic, reflected on the day the carousel was brought to Greenport in 1995.

The carousel is a 1920 Herschell-Spillman wooden carousel, and it was a gift to Greenport that brought joy to the community, including a sea of elementary school students who, under the direction of former Greenport Schools Superintendent Charles Kozora, wrote letters to Mr. Grumman asking for the carousel to be brought to the village.

"It was a great community effort," Kapell said, of the move. The carousel, stored at Stidd Systems in Greenport, was assembled in just a few hours. And then, he said, with electric needed, resident Bill Swiskey was called over on a Sunday to "jury rig" the carousel and get it running for its first go-round in the village.

The carousel, Kapell said, symbolizes the past and future hope of Greenport. "It's a wonderful thing. Eventually every one of these kids that have ridden the carousel will have kids and bring them right back here. It sows the seeds for the future of the village."

Since the carousel first illuminated the night in the village, Kapell estimates that approximately two million riders have hopped onto a bedecked wooden horse and taken their turn reaching for the brass ring.

Remembering his own childhood spent on the Central Park carousel, Kapell said the beautiful painted horses, lights and music create indelible forever memories imprinted on hearts and souls. The carousel, he said, "is a fantasy, in a kid's mind. It's magical."

When the carousel first arrived in Greenport, an array of residents turned out to help, including current Trustee Julia Robins. Over the years, the carousel was stored not just at Stidd but also at Barstow's Shipyard and at the corner of Front Street, Horton said.

Horton kicked off the festivities and thanked the many assembled who've played a role in not just the carousel's journey, but in transforming a downtrodden Greenport into one of the premiere destinations on the North Fork.

Mitchell Park opened officially with a ribbon cutting ceremony on June 29, 2001.

As he worked, von Eiff explained that an acetate was used to clean the rounding boards before placing the artwork, which was printed on conforming vinyl with a clear overlay, carefully onto the carousel and smoothing out the bubbles.

Smiling as he watched his vision for Mitchell Park and the carousel continue to unfold, Kapell said, "I'm just so glad to see the ongoing commitment of the community to the carousel. It looks great."

With an eye toward the future, Kapell said he'd like to see the village remain true to the original design of Mitchell Park, created by SHoP Architects after a design competition.

Mitchell Park was SHoP's first high profile project; Kapell's first meeting with the architects took place in an apartment with the principals and their dog. Today, they have grown and emerged on the international canvas, designing the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and with a long string of well-known projects including 111 West 57th Street, the Domino Sugar Factory redesign and Essex Crossing.

Another designer who sent in a resume during the park's design competition was James Corner, the man who went on to become the lead designer behind the High Line in New York, Kapell said. "Two of the most important architects in the country," vied for the Mitchell Park project, he said.

Kapell looked back at the village board during the times when he was shaping the vision for the park and credited Horton for being the "swing vote", along with former Mayor George Hubbard Sr., who advocated for creating a public park and not developing the waterfront Mitchell parcel with condos or other businesses.

When he was elected in 1994, Kapell said his first aim was to dismantle the village's controversy-mired police department and then focus on the blighted Mitchell property, which was "in foreclosure, with a bank that was also in foreclosure."

The parcel, he said, held promise.

"There was amazing possibility," Kapell said. And with the Grumman property for sale, and all eyes on the future of that parcel, Kapell said his laser focus was solely on bringing the carousel to Greenport as a gem in the crown of all Mitchell Park could possibly become.

The road wasn't always easy, Kapell said. "There were so many pieces that had to fall into place." How it evolved, he said, was "serendipitous."

When asked how the idea formed for what would become today's Mitchell Park, complete with an ice rink, marina, an amphitheater and the carousel, Kapell said he was, and is, a real estate broker, and saw potential. He thought, "There's got to be a deal here," he said.

And that deal, he said, could involve creation of a sprawling, 3.4 acre village park, the "village green" Greenport had never known.

Remembering the early days, Robins said blankets were brought to carry all pieces together for assembly; she then described how the carousel is physically constructed. Originally, she said, the carousel was used as part of a traveling circus and erected in a field at every stop.

As the key village faces who have rallied since the beginning to see the dawn of a new day in Greenport hugged and smiled, they remembered the "renaissance" of the village. And they all nodded when Horton said, simply, that those early days, when passion and vision brought a dream to life, were unforgettable.

"It was magical," she said.