New Hyde Park's First Winter With Sakowich Park Starts Before Its New Hall Opens

"It was a barren, desolate parking lot," Mayor Christopher Devane told Long Island Press last April, describing the 3rd Avenue block by the LIRR station that once held a sock factory, a house, a deli and a laundromat. Six months after George L. Sakowich Park opened on that site, the park is getting ready for its first cold season. The building meant to carry the village's gatherings indoors is nearly finished, but it is not open yet.

That timing shapes the next several weeks in the Village of New Hyde Park. The Third Track money produced an outdoor space before the indoor one was ready. So the first winter with the new park comes while the village's events are moving out of the Village Hall basement and into a community center that has no opening date.

What the Third Track money built on 3rd Avenue

The park came out of a deal struck during the LIRR Main Line expansion. Devane told Long Island Press that former Gov. Andrew Cuomo agreed to give villages along the tracks $5 million in grants to renovate areas near the line. Over about a year, the village widened the grant's purpose so it could buy a lot, add commuter parking and build a park.

The money stretched further because a village volunteer donated equipment to demolish the old structures. The village also worked with Nassau County to move an existing police booth, which now stands next to the park's two bathrooms. The park itself has two playgrounds, one for younger children and one for older children, plus a lawn, three pickleball courts, two dog parks and a fountain.

Devane presented it as payback for the construction years. "It's a fitting end to years of construction of the railroad that the people on the south side of the village get a park," he told Long Island Press. George L. Sakowich, who died in 2005, was described by the mayor as a pillar of the village community. The park opened on Friday, May 8, according to the village's May board minutes.

The water decides when the season ends

Summer brought its own limits. In July the village closed the park from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. during extreme heat and kept the dog park closed until 5 p.m. The cold-weather limits work differently and will last longer.

Lead Park Attendant Tommy Kane reported at the September 17 board meeting that closing time had moved to 7 p.m. as the days got shorter, and he told residents to watch for more changes. In August's minutes the closing time was 7:45 p.m. That is 45 minutes gone in a month, with more cuts to come after the clocks fall back.

The larger change comes from the plumbing. According to the September 17 board minutes, Devane said that it had been "a great summer at our two parks, Sakowich and Memorial Park." He added that as the weather turns colder, the village will shut off the water, and that closes both the dog park and the bathrooms. No shutoff date was given, and no reopening date either. For dog owners, the closing will come with the weather.

That matters more at Sakowich than at most parks because of who is allowed to use the dog park. The village's Parks & Recreation page says the dog park is for village-resident dogs only. Residents age 5 and older need a Park ID to enter any part of the park, dog park included, and dog owners have to provide vaccination proof and a photo of the dog. The dog park took effort to get into, and once the water is off, it stays closed until the village turns the water back on.

A hall that was supposed to open in 2024

While Sakowich went from parking lot to park in about six months of construction, the village's indoor gathering place has taken years. The Marcus Christ Hall project replaces the old hall at 1420 Jericho Turnpike, where the village held its 2022 tree lighting. Here is how it unfolded:

1. May 2023. In a letter to residents, the mayor said the new Marcus Christ Hall was still undergoing design changes and needed state approval for a $450,000 grant, with the aim of opening a new community center in 2024.
2. Early 2024. A follow-up letter said the demolition of the old hall had been donated, saving the village $75,000 to $80,000. It said $1.1 million was set aside, made up of $450,000 in state grants, a $250,000 county grant and $400,000 in tax revenue, and that a bond would cover the rest. The plan then was to go out to bid by late spring 2024.
3. May 2026. At the board meeting, department heads were recognized for construction projects backed by more than $11 million in grants, including the new Community Center, the DPW facility and Sakowich Park.
4. June 2026. According to the June minutes, the mayor reported that the village had obtained a $2.5 million bond with an AA+ rating, the kind usually used for road work, and had decided to skip the road work and rebuild a community center with it.
5. September 2026. In the September 17 minutes, Devane called the Marcus Christ Community Center "almost complete" and said the village still had to plan a grand opening.
6. October 2026. The October 15 board agenda listed a resolution authorizing a change order and additional costs with Norco Construction for the new center.

The 2024 letter credited Trustee Rainer Burger with leading the project. It described a building where "people of all ages and backgrounds will be celebrating together under one roof," with room for several organizations to use the space at the same time.

What the center is being set up to host

The September minutes show a building whose rules are still being written. Devane said the village still had to work out how community organizations would use the center, including insurance requirements, and that there might be a cleaning fee. He was firm about one point. The center will not host private events such as birthdays, bar mitzvahs or sweet sixteens, and he directed those requests to the Elks and other organizations.

What has been named so far is civic programming. The same minutes say some upcoming Veterans Benefits Briefings will take place in the new center. Devane also said he looks forward to "having many celebrations there."

Until it opens, Village Hall's lower level is still the village's indoor meeting space. The October 15 agenda lists a request from the New Hyde Park North Lions Club to use it on Friday, November 20, from 7 to 9 p.m. for a Leo Club meeting. Village Hall is getting its own upgrades as well. Devane said the wires leading into the building will go underground and that the fencing will be replaced and the parking lot repaved.

The tree lighting has left the basement but has no new home yet

Last year's tree lighting took place at Village Hall on Saturday evening, November 29. As Long Island Press reported, the New Hyde Park Memorial Band and the New Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce Choir performed, and Santa came up Jericho Turnpike on a New Hyde Park Fire Department truck. Fire Chief Tom Farina and his family flipped the switch. The village also collected new, unwrapped toys for Tricia's Kids through December 15.

The same article said 2025 was the last year the event would be held in the basement of Village Hall, and that Devane said the celebration would move to a new community center the following year. In August's board minutes, a tree lighting appeared with Halloween and Diwali on the list of October and November events, with no dates or venues. The village homepage shows a "DIWALI 2026" banner. As of this week, the village has not announced a date or location for either event. Whether the tree lighting ends up in the new building depends on how quickly the center opens.

Keeping track through the gap

A few things are worth having in hand before the weather turns.

• Park ID for 2026. To renew, email [email protected] with the subject line "2026 Park ID renewal," list each family member who needs an ID, and attach a current utility bill. New applications also need one photo per person, dogs included.
• Guests. Each resident with a Park ID may bring one guest per visit at no charge. Other village-resident guests are $5 per person per day, and children under 5 are free. Concerts and events at the park are open to the public.
• Closing times. The 7 p.m. closing reported in September is due for more cuts as daylight shortens.
• Tree requests. For the village's tree work around homes, the May minutes list DPW Superintendent Igor Sikiric at [email protected] for trimming, removal or planting requests. Sikiric also told Long Island Press the village plans to add tree cover in and around Sakowich Park.
• Announcements. The grand opening of the Marcus Christ Community Center, the tree lighting and any Diwali event will be posted on the village's events calendar, along with the board meetings where these plans tend to come up first.

The shutoff date and the grand opening are most likely to come up first in the next village board meeting's parks and community center reports.

If you live near the station or along Jericho Turnpike and want to know how projects like the Sakowich Park and the new Marcus Christ Community Center figure into what your home is worth, Pat Gaglio is glad to go through it with you. Schedule a free consultation.