Skateboard Project Gets Under Way

   East Hampton Town Councilman Peter Van Scoyoc has gotten the ball rolling again, so to speak, on the renovation of the Montauk Skate Park on Essex Street.

    The East Hampton Town Board liaison to the Town Parks and Recreation Department, Mr. Van Scoyoc met on Sept. 19 with employees of the department to identify issues still needed to be addressed at the town-owned park.

The town has been sitting on $30,000 in grant money obtained by former Councilwoman Julia Prince for the work several years ago. The town also received a pledge of $32,000 for the project from a benefit in 2010 when artists and skateboarders joined forces to raise money through an art show and cocktail party at the Out East gallery in Montauk.

    Employees of the town’s Building and Grounds Department are expected to swarm the property today to repair the damaged edges of the north side of the site, which will be transformed to a basketball court from an open court that has been used in various ways, including roller skating, handball, and as a dog run.

    Mr. Van Scoyoc said this week that the first order of business after the cleanup will be to resurface the grounds. The work was not expected to begin until October, but it has been rescheduled and will start immediately. The Highway Department is supplying the materials.

    It was also reported this week that a new, appropriate boulder has been found for an already finished plaque in honor of Lars Simonsen, a young man who often used the park and was killed in a construction accident in June 2007. The park is to be dedicated in his name.