Venditto: Let's Build Plainview's Turf Field

Oyster Bay keeping a promise he made to the community, is moving forward with town efforts to build a new artificial turf field complex in Plainview.

Venditto's surprise announcement came Friday in direct response to a series of stories and a resulting wave of in Patch this week about the propects of a

In his statement, issued on Venditto's Public Facebook page, said:

“Despite the difficult economic times all levels of government are experiencing, the Town of Oyster Bay is going to honor our commitment to build a turf field next summer in Plainview, with the goal of being ready for play at the start of the 2013-14 school year, subject to the approval of the

Many in the Plainview community -- including , Board of Education and community activist  -- have long advocated for a turf field similar to one built in neighboring Bethpage with town-wide funds.

In these town-school district partnerships, the bulk of construction costs are borne by the town while school districts typically pick up portions of the maintenance obligations.

"This proposed project will benefit both the Town of Oyster Bay and the Plainview-Old Bethpage School District and reflects what can be accomplished when various levels of government work together to do the right thing for their residents," Venditto statement continued.

"The new turf field will be constructed on (Plainview-Old Bethpage) School District property with financial resources coming from the town," Venditto said.

Venditto listed other town investments in the Plainview-Old Bethpage community, including a new community center, two renovated ball fields at Haypath Road Park, a new basketball court at a park on Beaumont Drive, pool and tennis court upgrades at Plainview-Old Bethpage Park, and a new, modern track at the high school field.

"Be assured that the town remains committed to the Plainview-Old Bethpage community and serving the needs of its residents,” Venditto's statement concluded.

The statement came as a direct result of two recent short stories in  asking residents how they feel about the turf field issue in light of the town's recent committment to a  at Farmingdale's Allen Park.

What followed was a flurry of sensible discourse on the part of Patch readers about the turf field's benefits and the best place to put it. You can read those original articles and comment threads  and

Patch will have additional reaction to this proposal as news becomes available.