Iron Point Playground Becomes Reality In Flanders Saturday

This article was written by Lisa Finn. 

A community came together on Saturday to build a playground for its children.

After over a year of planning and fundraising, the playground at Iron Point Park in Flanders came to life through the efforts of residents and volunteers. Dozens of volunteers came out to lend their time and talents, including Southampton town board members, the Southampton Town Youth Bureau, members of the Flanders Fire Department, the Flanders-Northampton Volunteer Ambulance, the Flanders, Riverside and Northampton Community Association, the Southampton Town Parks and Recreation Department, and a number of residents and youth from the community. 

The playground was designed with input from Flanders youth and contains equipment intended to accommodate 5 to 12 year olds.

In March, Nancy Lynott came before the Flanders, Riverside and Northampton Community Association to discuss the "build day" and recruit volunteers.

Community help was not only critical, Southampton Town Councilman Chris Nuzzi said -- but a condition of the grant. The playground had to be built by community members. Although a contractor had already installed 18 necessary posts, help was needed to erect play equipment, Lynott said.

The build day included refreshments; the playground vendor was onhand and the playground was already been designed. "

The Southampton Town Youth Bureau, Lynott said, won a $15,000 "Let's Play" construction grant last May from the Dr. Pepper/Snapple group, to be used to create a new playground at the site in conjunction with the Kaboom! organization.

Iron Point Park is located at the end of Wood Road Trail, off of Route 24 in Flanders.

Plans for Iron Point Park designate 22 acres of the 144 acre parcel for a park, incluing a playground and a Little League ballfield, already in place. The playground, Lynott said, will be a minimum of 2500 square feet.The first phase of the project includes installation of equipment for five to 12 year olds, with toddler equipment to follow.  The grant, Lynott added, requires Southampton Town to work with a select group of venders that discounted the playground equipment.

For some time, Lynott said, kids from the Flanders/Riverside community have been asking for a playground. "There really is no playground right now between Route 105 and Hampton Bays," Lynott said. "This was their idea.

"Outdoor and active play is very important for kids, especially these days, when there are so many distractions from physical play. It's very important, but right now, the kids who live in this community have no access without someone having to drive them someplace else," Lynott said. "It's great for their health, and great for their social development."

The playground will also benefit families who come to watch Little League games at the park, Lynott said.

The Dr. Pepper/Snapple Group grant was awarded as part of the company's "Let's Play" program aimed at getting kids active and fixing up 2000 playgrounds nationwide by the end of 2013, Nuzzi said.

Since receiving the grant the Southampton Town Youth Bureau has been working to raise matching funds, a requirement of the grant.

Fundraising events have included a car wash and jewelry party and support from FRNCA, the Bayview Pines Civic Association, the Town of Southampton and Riverhead Building Supply.

“The playground will be a great addition to the park and will be ready for young families to enjoy right in time for the start of the Flanders Little League season,” Nuzzi said. "This has been a community desire for quite some time and is a perfect complement to the existing ballfields. I'm excited to continue to work with the residents on this park project, another step in the the development of an amazing public resource in a great community."