Senator Ken LaValle, (R-Port Jefferson) and Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. (I, D, WF-Sag Harbor) joined Southampton Town officials at the Hampton Bays Community Center to announce they have secured an additional $1 million to help support the construction of Good Ground Park in Hampton Bays.

The Good Ground Park Downtown Revitalization Project, a partnership between the Town of Southampton and the Hampton Bays community, has been years in the making. After the Town purchased the property in 2001 for $3.8 million through the Community Preservation Fund, efforts to move this project forward stalled due to a lack of consensus over park design and the economic recession. It wasn’t until the current Town Board elevated the importance of this project and conducted extensive community outreach that consensus was achieved, and efforts to secure implementation funds flourished.

Since then, Southampton allocated $1.9 million in Town Capital Project funding for park construction. The Town also secured two grants from New York State to help support construction costs; one for $500,000 through the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and one for $440,000 through the New York State Office of Economic Development. The additional $1 million announced today from the State Legislators was secured through the NYS State and Municipal Facilities Program.

It is envisioned that the nearly 40 acre Good Ground Park will provide numerous recreational and educational opportunities and will be a catalyst for new, small scale, main street-style retail development that will be mutually beneficial for the park and the hamlet’s business community, encouraging visitation and stimulating economic activity and patronage at the area’s businesses and historic sites.

Senator Ken LaValle said, “I am pleased that Assemblyman Thiele and I were able to secure substantial state funding for Good Ground Park. This park will create a beautiful open space in the Hampton Bays community for everyone to enjoy.”

Assemblyman Thiele noted, “Good Ground Park is exactly what the Hampton Bays community needs. I am thrilled to be part of this historic and innovative project.”

Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst stated, “The additional funding secured by Senator LaValle and Assemblyman Thiele will go a long way to making the Hampton Bays community’s dream of a hamlet park a reality. This new park will serve as both a local and a regional asset. I cannot thank Assemblyman Thiele and Senator LaValle enough for their support. ”