AVALON – Mention Armacost Park and you are likely to find yourself involved in controversy in Avalon.
The park, at 74th Street and Third Avenue, is a one block wide and three blocks long suburban refuge and nesting habitat. As far back as 2015, there were dueling efforts to “save the park,” with protests and even a press conference.
The issue then was a serious disagreement over vine-and-understory removal efforts by the borough. Both supporters of the project and those in strong opposition to it resorted to signs that called for saving the park.
At the April 12 Avalon Council meeting, three residents brought the park up during public comment. The spark for the discussion was a part of the borough’s capital plan that lists $740,000 for 74th Street park improvements.
One resident, Martha Wright, raised the issue and asked for greater clarification in a letter to the council earlier this month. Wright has been asked to save her budget questions for the public hearing on the 2023 budget, which is scheduled for April 26.
Two other residents followed Wright to the podium to argue that the park is “perfect” the way it is.
During the meeting, Assistant Business Administrator James Waldron explained that many potential projects make it into the multi-year capital plan, but no actual project would proceed without a full and public understanding of what is to be done and what is to be accomplished. Waldron said no current plan exists for any intervention or change to Armacost Park.
In correspondence responding to a query, Business Administrator Scott Wahl said, “Oftentimes, placeholders are inserted in budgets. Sometimes they come to fruition and sometimes they don’t.”
Wahl added that Mayor Martin Pagliughi has said that “if there is significant work to be done in the park, there needs to be a well thought out plan with stakeholder involvement.”
He added that no such plan exists or has been started.
