A Hughes Mistake

The Island Now

Ignoring the wishes of a great many residents of Great Neck, the Park District commissioners voted unanimously last week not to rename the Parkwood Sports Complex in honor of Village of Kings Point native and Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hughes.

 Just like you, or most of you, we’re disappointed and baffled by the decision.

 “This is a serious decision,” said Great Neck Park District Commissioner Robert Lincoln Jr.

No it wasn’t, Mr. Lincoln. It was no-brainer.

 “We worked long and hard at it. We heard from, certainly not the majority of the community, but a cross section of the community,” he said.

 Yes you did, Mr. Lincoln, and they were overwhelmingly in favor of the renaming.

 In effort to make up for their decision, the commissioners said they discussed several options for honoring Sarah and her sister Emily at the facility. The options include hanging banners celebrating the Hughes sisters, renaming The Parkwood Olympic Complex and erecting a statue of Sarah.

 Great Neck Board of Education Trustee Michael Zarin, who first introduced the proposal to honor Hughes, said the commissioners “missed a golden opportunity” to “raise the spirits of the community.”

 They sure did.

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