Five New Members Proposed For College Point Sports Association Group May Be Heading On Collision Course with Association Members

Group May Be Heading On Collision Course with Association Members
The proposed formation of a new five-member advisory board to facilitate community involvement in the College Point Sports Association (CPSA) has already struck a snag. One of the nominees, Sabina Cardali, President of the College Point Civic/Taxpayers Association, last Monday, announced plans to take over, reopen and ultimately operate the community’s shuttered athletic field. Tony Avella, President of the association, had already called for the City Parks Dept. to take over the property, and then build and operate the facility. This latest move, places some members of the two groups — the CPSA and its proposed advisory group — on a certain collision course. Construction of the community’s 22-acre sports facility has been halted since October 1997 by the Sanitation Dept. because thousands of tons of illegal fill had been dumped into the play area by the CPSA’s contractor. The new group now consists of Cardali, president of the C.P. Civic/Taxpayers Association; Fred Mazzarello, president, C.P. Board of Trade; Rev. William Cameron, pastor of the First Reformed Church; Robert Lewis, current Commander of the C.P. American Legion Post, and a retired police detective; and John Tie, an employee of Con Ed. Rather than wait for an estimated $18 million in government funding to construct the giant 22-acre sports facility, Cardali has proposed that local groups such as the college Point Civic/Taxpayers Association to take title and begin to generate funding from private sources Cardali said that it will cost another $8 million to clean up an estimated 30 tons of illegal fill. In a letter sent to local elected officials last Monday, Cardali pointed out that the Parks Dept. did not have the money or personnel to take care of the sports center. Currently, local groups were taking care of the following parks in College Point: Boy Scout, Troop 18 — 14 Ave. Park Girl Scout troops MacNeil Park 88-year-old Betty Pagen – -Poppenhusen Monument Park "The sole purpose of the advisory board is to open this sports center to finally end a year-and-a-half of local indecision," said Cardali. "This is the best way for 1,400 to be guaranteed their athletic fields." For nearly 18 months the sports association has been racked by legal and community controversy:
For the past two summers, 1,400 College Point youngsters have been scrambling for athletic facilities.
Construction on the sports facility has been halted while City and State environmental agencies conducted a search for toxic fill.
Large sectors of completed portions of the athletic facility have fallen into disrepair.
The sports association fired its contractor.