At a Jan. 22 meeting of a ballfields advisory committee, representatives of the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy, which is overseen by the Battery Park City Authority, said that no cleats would be allowed, the fields would be closed one or two days a week and for the entire winter, and field lights would go off at 8 p.m.

The Authority had earlier announced that wet and cold weather had kept crews from putting down sod before the end of December, delaying the work until the spring, when baseball was to be underway. The fields cannot open until about July, the Authority said, because a month is needed to prepare the soil and another two months for the grass to be strong enough to withstand play.

While thrilled about the anticipated field of dreams with a scoreboard, dugouts and lights, baseball and soccer league officials and some parents said that the Authority seemed to place a higher priority on the grass than the kids who will play on it.

“They have to understand the urgency the community feels about the timetable, the urgency of being back home again,” said Little League president Vito Suppa, referring to the displacement and disruption caused by Sept. 11. “We’re not back home again because the kids can’t play in their own neighborhood.”
The surprise ban on cleats was roundly criticized. “If they picked turf that can’t handle cleats, they picked the wrong turf,” said David Feiner, an aide to Councilman Alan Gerson and a soccer league coach, who co-chaired the advisory committee when he was a member of Community Board 1.

Feiner also chided the Authority for “making unilateral decisions.” Under a February 2001 deal, the Authority and Parks Conservancy agreed to “work cooperatively with” the full advisory committee, which includes representatives of the two leagues, Community Board 1 and local elected officials, to establish the programming, permit process, and lighting schedule for the fields.

In an interview, Tim Carey, the Authority’s president, said that that was exactly what they are doing.

“Rules haven’t been set yet,” he said. “We’re working with the advisory board and trying to develop a dialogue with the community to determine the best and most efficient way to manage the fields. We have to develop a protocol to allow the fields to recover.”

He said that rubber cleats may be allowed and that the fields would not be closed two days a week.

Judy Duffy, CB1’s assistant district manager and a member of the advisory group, said the community has to be patient, about the fields’ opening and the development of appropriate rules.

“The Authority is spending $6 million to create state-of-the-art ballfields for Downtown. They’ll be two months late, but we should be thankful.”
Like last year, the Little League is arranging to use other fields in Manhattan. It has already secured Chelsea Waterside Park, on West 23rd Street, for practices and scrimmages on March weekends, adding a month of baseball before opening day in April.