Friends of Scarsdale Parks Urges the Village to Preserve Green Space

(This letter was written by the Friends of Scarsdale Parks)

Dear Mayor Arest, Village Board Members, Village Manager Marshall, Planning Board Chair, Parks & Recreation Superintendent Gray, Public Works Superintendent Coleman, Board of Education, and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Drew Patrick:

Friends of the Scarsdale Parks, Inc. (FOSP), a 501(c)3 New York State charitable organization founded in 1957, has long been and remains dedicated to the conservation, restoration, and protection of Scarsdale’s green spaces and ecosystems.

Village parks, recreation fields, and schoolyards are essential elements of what makes Scarsdale a vibrant community. These resources should provide healthy and safe public spaces for Scarsdale's families. But the serious health risks posed by artificial turf are well researched and documented. They include the exposure of children to artificial turf’s toxic substances that can be ingested and inhaled, more frequent and severe injuries from the compacted surface that artificial turf creates, and a markedly increased heat index given off by artificial turf.

Aside from the health, safety, and environmental hazards posed by artificial turf, FOSP is opposed to the proposed conversion of any of the grass recreational fields in Scarsdale Village to artificial turf because of the damage it causes to local ecosystems by reducing natural water-absorbing grass and soil, and the adverse impacts synthetic turf installations could have on the village’s management of stormwater. In addition, enormous costs are associated with the maintenance, disposal, and replacement of this harmful, short-lived synthetic material.

FOSP encourages the village and school district to plan instead for the conservation of existing green spaces, for planting additional canopy shade trees annually, and for better maintenance of the village’s and school district's natural ecosystems.

Sincerely,

Members of the Board, Friends of the Scarsdale Parks, Inc.:
Betsy H. Bush
Kay Eisenman, Scarsdale Village Trustee, emerita
Madelaine Eppenstein, FOSP President
Timothy B. King
Jeannie Mackler
Richard Reuter
Cynthia V. Roberts, FOSP Vice President