Long-Awaited Brentwood Skate Park Opens At Roberto Clemente Park

BRENTWOOD, NY — After years in the making, residents of Brentwood officially have a skate park.

Enthusiastic skaters, community groups, parents and kids joined Islip Town Supervisor Angie Carpenter, state officials and members of the Islip Town Board at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, marking the unveiling and grand opening of the long-awaited Roberto Clemente Skateboard Park in Brentwood.

The plaza-style park is in the 8,000 – 12,000 sq. ft. category and includes rails, ramps, steps and quarter-pipes. It was designed by Nelson + Pope and SITE Design Group Inc., the California firm responsible for legendary Tony Hawk’s own backyard skateboard area, a press release said.

“When I took office in 2015, we made it one of our foremost priorities to rehabilitate and rededicate this park to the residents of Brentwood and in doing so, met with members of the skating community to discuss and collaborate on the creation and design of a much-desired skateboard park," said Carpenter. "We have kept that promise, and have delivered even more.”

The opening of the skate park is a tale of triumph, after overcoming obstacles.

Roberto Clemente Park which was forced to close in 2014 after eight companies illegally dumped toxic waste into the park.

It reopened in 2017 under Supervisor Carpenter’s leadership, and in subsequent years, has seen the complete renovation of the Olympic size swimming pool, new poolside amenities including sunshades, picnic tables and chairs; the addition of a separate, enclosed, state-of-the-art spray park and playground; new sidewalks and a newly paved parking lot.

Islip town officials originally approved contracts for a spray and skate park to be built in 2019, according to a report in Newsday.

When the pandemic hit, the project came to a halt.

With increasing costs of materials due to the pandemic and recent inflation, the Town of Islip no longer had enough finances in its budget to construct the park, she said, and the town attorney advised tabling the matter.

In May 2021, the office of Attorney General Letitia James delivered $627,000 to the Town of Islip from the toxic waste compensation to "be used to improve public park facilities in the Brentwood community, including Roberto Clemente Park."

Assemblyman Phil Ramos also assisted in the park's financing, securing $700,000.

In May 2022,the Islip town board passed a resolution approving a change of zone last week to apply for and accept $450,000 in grant funding from Dormitory Authority of the State of New York for the construction of the Roberto Clemente Skate Park.

The total cost of the skateboard park was $1.25 million, a release said.

Preparations for the new plaza-style skateboard park then began in June 2022.

“This has been a long time coming, and I think about this momentous opening as somewhat symbolic to the park’s history as a whole,” said Carpenter. “With every pound of rebar laid, and each square-inch of concreate poured, we have worked to rebuild trust, and as we stand amidst this now beautiful park, we have given the community and the entire Town, a recreation destination they can truly be proud of.”

The Supervisor applauded NYS Assemblyman Phil Ramos for his unwavering partnership and commitment to the project.

"Our community is excited that the dark chapter at Roberto Clemente Park is over, and that our community can move forward stronger than before," said Ramos. " I am proud that I successfully secured the needed $700,000 to help fund the Roberto Clemente Skate Park and give our children a safe place to play. I thank Supervisor Carpenter for her continued partnership. This bipartisan project demonstrates how much we can get done for the residents of our community when we all work together."

Several youth activists also advocated for the construction of the skate park.

The Brentwood Youth Advisory Board led a rally in June to push for the park's funds.

Alberto Melgar, a recent graduate of Brentwood High School, created a petition to for the Attorney General's office to obtain the settlement money in order to fund the skate park.

"I think there's a lack of safe recreational facilities, like parks our community," he said. "I thought that working and fighting for this skate park will create an amazing environment for kids to go and play safely."

Although he doesn't skate himself, Melgar said he recognized how much a skate park would mean to his peers.

"I was actually going to start learning. I'm really excited to learn with a skate park," he told Patch in June. "I already bought my skate board, and I'm ready."