Many of us who live around Moore Park in Westfield are very unhappy, and concerned about the latest addition to the park, namely the ice skating rink.
It has been an eyesore all winter, a huge wading pool with an electric orange snow fence border. The winds have turned it into a giant lint trap from downed branches blowing up against it. The fence has been ripped apart, and has been hanging down on a number of occasions.
The backhoe used to put up the water riser has torn through the root systems, and killed several pine trees. There has been mud on 20 feet of the sidewalk all winter long. The street lights have had their wattage amped up so bright you have to squint to walk under them.
The high intensity stadium light has also been turned on. It shines so brightly you can read a newspaper in the middle of the night anywhere in the park. It shines in my bedroom window (and I am sure other people's too) so brightly it is like having three night lights burning, even with several layers of curtains. This makes it very difficult to sleep.
I have seen the Recreation Department staff watering the ice at night for one to two hours on several occasions. This was on nights when a forecast of 40 degrees had been given for the following days.
I have heard complaints from a number of people. Some of the comments are: It's an eyesore, it was a flop when it was up in Welch Field, why bring it down here, what is that thing, why wasn't it put in Welch Field, it ruins the park, this park is too small to have sporting events, they are sacrificing the many to please the few, there are four other sports parks in town, why ruin this one.
This residential park is a small, quaint, village park, a place of beauty, a place with a back drop of beautiful Victorian homes. The bottom line is, these houses are our homes, we live here. We already have to put up with the 20 portable toilets, and a huge dumpster for the arts, and crafts festival.
Then there are the Civil War re-enactors firing off canons and rifles across the street from our homes. This is terrifying to the neighborhood pets. It cracked one of my windows, and I have had pictures fall off the walls.
For years during the Farmers Market, there were as many as six horses tied to the trees on the corner. They were stripping the bark off the trees, digging up the roots, all while taking care of their business there. This took place for five months of the year, every Saturday.The manure was never cleaned up, the urine also had a very strong smell. They now have been moved down the street to a hitching post in front of a sub shop.
In closing, this area is already so congested, and people drive way too fast on Elm Street making it very dangerous for children, car, and pedestrian traffic. I am asking the mayor to reconsider his decision to have the ice skating rink and other sports activities in Moore Park.
We, the people who live in this area, would greatly appreciate it.