Group seeks grant funding to revitalize Shrub Oak roller hockey rink

A group of residents hoping to restore and expand the deteriorating roller hockey rink at Shrub Oak Memorial Park appeared before the Yorktown Town Board on Tuesday to outline plans for a multi-phase revitalization project and build support as it applies for a state grant.

Built in 2001, the rink was once a community hub where generations of Yorktown residents learned to play hockey. Now, many of those same players have become parents, hoping to bring their own children back to where it all began.

Cassandra Vazquez, her husband Frank, brother Chance Catucci and Matt Lauria, members of Friends of the Shrub Oak Memorial Park Rink, appeared before the board alongside Parks Superintendent Jim Martorano Jr. and members of the Recreation Commission to discuss the project and its long-term vision.

The group is applying for a New York State Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) grant, a 50/50 matching opportunity with a maximum award of $675,000, for a potential total project investment of $1.35 million. They said the project “fully aligns” with New York’s Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP), which explicitly prioritizes ice and roller rink infrastructure projects.

While Friends of the Shrub Oak Memorial Park Rink does not need the town's approval to submit the grant application, members said they wanted to keep town officials informed, ensure everyone was on the same page and request letters of support to strengthen the proposal.

“This is a safe public place outside of home and school where kids can put down their phones and just be kids,” Cassandra Vazquez said. “But it's currently sitting cracked sometimes, flooded, and completely underutilized.”

The project is divided into phases. The first would demolish the existing rink, repair drainage issues and install a new concrete slab with sub-slab refrigeration piping at an estimated cost of $566,000. Future phases would add a new aluminum rink system with fiberglass boards and upper containment, estimated at $203,700 to $282,400, followed by a canopy that would allow year-round use at an estimated cost of about $500,000.

“What we’re trying to do right now with this grant is create that infrastructure, have that ability to do phase two,” Martorano said.

In addition to the EPF grant, the group plans to pursue other grant opportunities, explore public-private partnerships and continue fundraising efforts, including a first responders face-off game.

The group asked the Town Board to submit letters of support for the application. Residents are also encouraged to submit letters of support by 5 p.m. July 24 by contacting friendsofshruboakrink@gmail.com. The grant application is due at the end of the month, though there is no timeline for when recipients will be announced.

The group acknowledged the project would take time but said it would provide a recreational opportunity that is largely unavailable in the region.

“I think that's something that's going to be very palatable, but also an opportunity that people aren't going to have in this area,” Frank Vazquez said. “If we're 25 years removed for the last new ice rink, I mean, anybody would be chomping at the bit to, you know, manage a facility like this”