Celebrate Park Opens In St. James

ST. JAMES, NY — The grand opening of Celebrate Park in St. James was rung in with a ribbon cutting on Tuesday, the Town of Smithtown and Celebrate St. James; Past, Present & Future, announced. The park is on Lake Avenue in St. James.

Supervisor Ed Wehrheim acknowledged everyone who worked together to build the new park and municipal parking lot, noting the recent growth of St. James.

“We’ve seen a full-blown renaissance here in our quaint hamlet," Wehrheim said. "People are strolling Lake Avenue again, kids are riding bikes to town again. And can you blame them? With a great park to sit and relax in, maybe take in a live performance … paired with some homemade old-fashioned ice cream just across the street … it sounds like a Norman Rockwell, picture-perfect day to me! Before I took office, I had once counted 33 empty storefronts on Lake Avenue. Now there’s maybe less than a handful. This is what revitalization looks like … Today we commemorate what can happen when a community, the good people who call it home and local levels of government can do when we all work together. Today we get to enjoy the fruits of our labor and officially welcome the people of this great town to Celebrate Park!”

The park was partially funded through community donations.

The unveiling of the park's design was held in November 2020 during a ceremonial groundbreaking event. The building in the lot was demolished shortly after. The municipal parking lot was completed in spring 2021 and has 33 parking spaces, an E.V. charging station, ornate street lighting, and two entrances.

Celebrate Park, which was completed in August, features a wrought iron custom gateway, a pavilion, a pergola, synthetic lawn, bench wall seating, personalized brick walkways that members of the community customized individually, a flag pole, benches, tables, dog fountain, and seasonally curated landscaping. Specialty string lighting frames the park and illuminates the space in the evening hours. A donor wall serves as a backdrop to the pavilion, and the pergola is coupled with original artwork by Arline Goldstein and a guide of cultural and historic sites throughout the hamlet.

In 2020, the Town of Smithtown entered into an intergovernmental contract with Suffolk County to purchase the property, formerly known as the Irish Viking. The town's plan was to build a parking lot and community park as the third phase of the St. James downtown revitalization initiative.

The Town of Smithtown got St. James residents involved in the design efforts, as well as Natalie Weinstein of Natalie Weinstein Design Associates, landscape architect Bob Retnauer of RDA and Architect; and Michael Morbillo of Enspire Design Group.

Weinstein also founded the local arts organization Celebrate St. James; Past, Present & Future, which was involved in the process.

“I, and I am sure many of you, never would have imagined this joint achievement of local government and a small band of volunteers," Weinstein said. "But this is an unusual administration and an unusual group of volunteers. Both embody the vision of economic revitalization. Both are committed to progress and both attract the talent and cooperation of some pretty amazing people. I know, because I have the privilege of working with so many of them."

Weinstein said the ribbon cutting was a symbol of turning a vision into reality, calling the old building an eyesore in St. James that was turned into a place of pride for the hamlet.

"I will forever hold scenes in my mind of children playing here, teenagers gathering here, and people respectfully walking their dogs here," Weinstein said. "This park will tell our living history for generations to come … In a world of derisiveness and division, even in our town, even when we vehemently disagree on an issue, even through a pandemic, its existence proves we can find common ground, literally and figuratively – creating a ray of light that gives us hope for a better future.”

Major donors who contributed to the park’s construction include the St. James Chamber of Commerce, The Community Association of Greater St. James, a number of local not-for-profit organizations, businesses, and families.

State Senator Mario Mattera presented Celebrate St. James, Weinstein and the Town of Smithtown with certificates.

“Here we are in this magnificent park, located in the heart of the Lake Avenue Cultural Arts District with a pavilion, a pergola, seating, and more, among over 700 bricks with inscriptions that will be read for years to come, each one with its own story, whether it’s the name of a business, beloved family members and friends," said Pat Clark, president of Celebrate St. James - Past - Present - Future. "There’s even a cow – Baby Face – who lived on the De Camp family farm in our town until the 1960s."

The event ended with a ribbon cutting at the gateway entrance to Celebrate Park.