My husband and I moved to Great Neck in 1991.
The parks were pleasant places to read and relax and the concerts at Steppingstone a lovely way to spend a summer’s evening.
In 1998, Ruth Tamarin was elected as a parks commissioner, and, within a year of her service, there were enhancements to both parks and programs.
In her 15 years as a commissioner, new playground and waterspray equipment, as well as washrooms, replaced the outdated facilities at many parks; and regularly scheduled children’s programs visited these green areas throughout the summer. Year-round activities now entertain and benefit our children at the ice rink, while the redesigned Parkwood pool complex, a project Ruth Tamarin worked on tirelessly, has added to the enjoyment of countless exercisers, swimmers, learners and lazy-river rafters.
At their request, bridge and mah jongg players have their choice of poolside or air-conditioned indoor areas. For all of us, the shower and changing facilities are now a pleasure to use.
Steppingstone Park allows district residents to share with friends their enjoyment of magnificent gardens, a well-tended marina, and wonderful concerts.
Do you visit Kings Point Park for fall foliage walks or winter sledding and cross country skiing? Have you held a group barbeque there? Around town, the tennis courts are full and the playing fields well used. Children gather on the Village Green for outdoor movies, Halloween festivities, and the very special multisensory play garden.
Walk into Great Neck House to get a parking permit or renew a park card and you are likely to see a chess match, a card game or a group of friends relaxing over their game tiles. Like so many of our park facilities, it’s a comfortable place for friends and family to gather, updated and redecorated with a woman’s touch.
Through all of the changes in the parks in the past decade and a half, Ruth Tamarin has been one of the “constants.”
She has been known to weave continuity amid change, think clearly after a microburst or hurricane, work well with the other commissioners, create happiness and joy for residents while keeping within the limitations of budgets, and still juggle the ongoing maintenance and planning needs of our expansive parks district with grace and fortitude. There is a reason that members of other communities within North Hempstead would have been happy to bring our parks under their auspices. Ruth Tamarin and the commissioners she has worked with so well have made this district the envy of all others.
For members of the community who wish to express their appreciation for all she has done for us and our families since 1998, there is no better “win-win” situation than to vote for Ruth Tamarin again in 2013.
Barbara Shapiro
Great Neck
