(This letter was sent via email on 1/24/24 to those named in the line below from various Rye Youth Sports Organizations).
Dear Jon Elsen of the Rye Record, City Manager Greg Usry, Mayor Cohn and the Rye City Council,
This is an open letter from the Rye Youth Sports organizations that represent 3,000+ Rye student-athletes of all ages. We consist of Rye Youth Lacrosse (800 members), Rye Youth Soccer (1,100 members), Rye Little League (520 members) , Rye Town Youth Football (400 members), Rye Rangers (400 members), and Rye Youth Rugby (50 members). Additionally, some of our organizations have 100+ parent volunteer coaches. We speak for thousands of people and hundreds of families. Before us, many groups of Rye residents asked for better fields for their kids. After us there will be thousands more Rye residents asking for better fields for their kids.
We write to you today, united in our belief that Rye's children deserve more reliable fields. We live with this issue every season, every rainfall. And we know all too well the negative impacts it has on our members, the children of Rye. This field is on the goal line, please help us all move forward.
Mr. Elsen, as the new editor of the Rye Record, you have a tremendous responsibility to the community, especially to the children who are without a voice in politics or in the paper. We ask that you please do your homework before publishing articles that contain inaccurate information or omit relevant facts. We ask that you reach out to us to learn more about this project, and be more passionate about the needs of kids. We can help you better understand the issue, we live this every day. We ask that you provide your readers with the fair and balanced analysis they deserve. If you decide to give your opinion, or post a letter that highlights “Serious Risk” to our children playing on turf, please reach out to us to offer our insights. We can help. We have never once been contacted by a single family expressing concern about their child playing on turf. But we have been contacted many times by families complaining about the conditions of our grass fields and the cancellation rates of our grass fields. Our programs are an available resource to you.
Mr. Usry, as the City Manager you have the ability to influence the priorities of the City. At times you seem enthusiastic about a $3mln gift to the city of Rye. At other times you seem like there are better things to do. We get it, a lot goes into running a municipality. We do think there is room for this project in 2024. We ask that you please prioritize this. PRIORITIZE the well-being of our student athletes. They have waited long enough for fields. Please don’t make them wait longer.
Rye City Council members, twice in the last five years a group of parents has stood before you begging you to accept a gift of millions of dollars to support fields for kids. We are asking that you take a field already owned and operated by the City of Rye, already designated entirely for use as an athletic field for kids, and currently gravely under-serving the community because of terrible field conditions and a high cancellation rate, and bring it into this decade. Into a field that could serve the community year-round. Nursery Field has already been fully vetted with a full environmental review and hydrological analysis, and neither the environmental review nor the hydrological analysis raised any red flags about the ability to responsibly put a turf field at Nursery Field. This field has been fully vetted, and we have yet to hear any objective reason why this project shouldn’t advance. Looking at other sites for a turf field is possible, but it will cost the kids years of time, and it will cost the city not only the $300,000 already invested into the Nursery Field project, but additional funds to study additional fields which will definitely amount to another $300,000 or more. It would be financially irresponsible of the City Council to turn its back on a project that is fully funded, 90 % of the way planned, and fully vetted from an environmental and hydrological perspective.
Do the right thing for our kids and move forward with the Nursery Field Improvement Project.
Respectfully,
Rye Youth Lacrosse, Matthew Pymm, President
Rye Youth Soccer, Board of Directors
Rye Little League, Danny McCarthy, President
Rye Town Youth Football, Angel Rosado, President
Rye Rangers, Eric Bommer, President
Rye Youth Rugby, Don Alexander, President
Facts we look to in support of the Nursery Field Improvement Project:
The Need - There are thousands of youth sports athletes in Rye whose practices and games are constantly canceled due to a lack of playable outdoor space. Our programs, and our members' parents, have been footing the bill to rent and drive to out of town venues.
Zero - The number of turf fields provided by the City of Rye for our youth sports programs (we work with RCSD to use available time on the high school turf AFTER all of the varsity and JV sports' field needs are met). This is our kindergarten to eighth grade population. Zero turf fields dedicated for this population. We are not asking to turf the town, but enhancing 1 field of the current 7 grass youth fields, is a small ask.
Two - The number of current Rye grass fields that could accommodate a regulation size turf field. The Proposed Turf needs to be 345x204 (feet), at a minimum to play regulation games.. That leaves just Nursery or Rye Rec.
Current state painted Rye field measurements:
The Rye Rec Properties: Sterling 287x147, Nursery 324x200, Rye Rec 327x228
The Elementary Properties: Midland 200x120, Milton 210x150, Osborn 295x144
High School Property: RHS upper 265x175
Nursery vs Rye Rec – Nursery Field is the most closed grass field in the portfolio. In spring 2023, it had a cancellation rate of 58% vs Rye Rec of 34%. Rye Rec is also the home of two adult softball fields, and the kids’ summer camp. Both would have to be taken offline and relocated if Rye Rec was turfed.
Studies - To upgrade Nursery Field, extensive studies have been done by two independent organizations. Over the last 4+ years those studies have come to the same conclusion; no additional flooding will be experienced by neighbors and the field itself would not be harmful to the environment. These organizations also work with the City on multiple other projects. They don’t sell turf and have been reliable partners to our City.
The Money - Let The Kids Play is a nonprofit organization formed by local Rye residents to help raise funds and bring awareness to our need for playable outdoor space for kids. They are committed to covering the cost of the field up to $3mln. This will be a gift to Rye, no strings attached. The $3mln would include covering the $300k the City has already spent.
Public/Private partnerships - These are very common in our area when it comes to turf fields. Several of our surrounding communities including Larchmont/Mamaroneck, New Canaan, Darien, Wilton, to mention a few, have used this mechanism recently.
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Let the Kids Play is a project of Rye Youth Athletic Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Our federal tax ID number (EIN) is 84-2394249.
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