Veterans Road field name debate continues

After years of uncertainty and debate over the name of the field along Veterans Road and the gazebo beside it, the Yorktown Town Board voted in May to formally name the park “Jack DeVito Field Veterans Plaza” while keeping the gazebo’s existing name, “The Lion Jack DeVito Memorial Gazebo.”

But while the board approved the name in a 3-1 vote, the decision has left some stakeholders questioning the process, with critics arguing that the name places too much emphasis on DeVito at the expense of recognizing veterans.

Councilman Ilan Gilbert voted against the resolution, saying there should be a distinction between the Jack DeVito Memorial Gazebo and Veterans Field.

Following an earlier request from members of the Veterans Advisory Committee, Supervisor Ed Lachterman recused himself from the May vote because of his involvement with the Lions Club and veterans organizations.

Some local veterans called the word order both confusing and disrespectful because it gives the appearance that both the gazebo and field are named for DeVito — a longtime Lion who was also a veteran. The problem, they say, is that the field is supposed to honor all veterans from the town, not any one individual.

Maj. Michael Sheridan, who, along with Carl DiLiberto and Alex Mandara of the Yorktown VFW Post 8328, has been leading the effort to rename the field, told Yorktown News that the issue remains emotional for veterans.

Sheridan called seeing the name every time he exits the VFW post (which is directly across Veterans Road from the park) particularly hurtful.

“It’s a fresh slap in the face every single day,” he said

According to Sheridan, the board's May 12 decision—and the speed with which the town replaced the sign along Veteran's Road—makes the name a “dead issue” for the VFW and the Veterans Advisory Committee. But he and other veterans remain unhappy with the outcome and said the concerns surrounding the name are not going away.

“We wish to honor all veterans. All veterans is me, my son, my cousins, my nephews, my brothers, my father, all of my uncles, and my great grandfathers,” Sheridan told Yorktown News after the new sign went up. “And [the field's name] is just one thread tied to one veteran in this town.”

Sheridan said he was disappointed with the outcome and argued that previous boards dating back to the gazebo's construction in the early 1990s “may have failed to follow their own proper procedure,” leaving the matter “dangling for the future to solve it.”

He called the resolution passed in May a “pseudo resolution” and said there was a depiction of a sign that “we weren't allowed to see."

"No member of the audience was allowed to see it,” he added.

He was back before the Town Board on July 21 to remind officials of the need to to “honor all veterans at Veterans Field on Veterans Road.”

The family of Jack DeVito, which operates the Jack DeVito Foundation and A. DeVito & Son, Inc., a general contracting and real estate development firm, has repeatedly said it supports veterans and that the naming was not intended to recognize DeVito’s military service. While DeVito was a veteran, the family said the original honor was intended to recognize his decades of community service in Yorktown following his untimely death in 1993.

"We are grateful to the Yorktown Town Board for their decision to retain the Jack DeVito name at the field and continued acknowledgment of his service to community and country,” the foundation wrote in a May 26 statement to Yorktown News. “While we recognize there are differing opinions on the naming, we have the deepest respect for our veterans and the sacrifices they have made for our country, and we hope the Town Board will continue to work toward ensuring they receive the honor they deserve."

Gilbert said his opposition was not a vote against honoring DeVito, but rather a disagreement over how the site should be designated.

“To the contrary, Mr. DeVito made meaningful contributions to our community as a coach, a civic leader, and through his involvement with youth athletics, and I fully support recognizing that legacy,” Gilbert told Yorktown News in May. “However, I believe the town had an opportunity to resolve a long-standing ambiguity in a way that fairly honored all parties.”

For decades, the location has been referred to by various names, including the sixth grade school field, YCC Field, the field at the Albert A. Capellini Community and Cultural Center, Veterans Field and the Jack DeVito Veterans Memorial Field.

Gilbert said that during his time as town supervisor, the location was referred to as the “Jack Devito Memorial Gazebo at Veterans Field,” which he believed appropriately recognized both DeVito and veterans.

“Many in our community—particularly our veterans—feel strongly that the designation ‘Veterans Field’ should be preserved as a tribute to those who served our country, simply as veterans field,” Gilbert said. “A gazebo was built during the 1990s by the DeVito family and the Lions aptly dedicated that gazebo as the Jack DeVito memorial gazebo.”

Gilbert believes the name that was approved “did not adequately reflect that balance” and said he feels that “it overly emphasized the DeVito designation and diminished honoring our veterans.”

Councilman Patrick Murphy, who read the resolution, said the goal was to find a compromise after decades of disagreement.

“For more than 32 years, our community has struggled to find a resolution that properly honors both our veterans and Jack DeVito,” Murphy told Yorktown News in May, days after the resolution was approved. “When we entered this discussion, we expected that a compromise would be necessary. Instead, we found ourselves at an impasse. That is why we worked to create what we believed was the strongest and most inclusive solution: naming the field Jack DeVito Field and establishing Veterans Plaza.”

Murphy, who noted the deep emotions involved for all parties, said the matter “has been unresolved for too long” and placed the current board in what he called “a very difficult position.” He added that he believes the goal “was to finally bring closure in a way that respects everyone involved.”