Save the Spiegel Community Center Playing Field

PETITION TO PRESERVE SPIEGEL COMMUNITY CENTER PLAYING FIELD

We, as residents of the Village and Town of Pittsford, recognize the benefits of rehabilitating the Spiegel Community Center (SCC) to maintain a key community anchor in the walkable part of our Town. A majority of residents supported a $9.3M bond funding this project, which passed a Town-wide public referendum in the Fall of 2016.

The current parking plan proposed by Town officials is unacceptable.  The enlarged parking area spreads far out over the site and eliminates roughly half of the 100-year-old community playing field. This open and untouched green space has been federally listed on the National Historic Register of Historic Places (NRHP), which incorporates the entire site of the SCC.

As residents and taxpayers we urgently request the Town take immediate action to remedy this situation by engaging residents in the design process and seriously evaluating preservation alternatives before moving forward.

We favor an open review of the alternative parking plan as proposed by Mayor Corby, which includes the Village’s plan to expand on-street parking adjacent or nearby to the SCC. The Mayor’s plan would fulfill parking needs and preserve a larger and more functional area of our historic playing field.

The SCC playing field has been used by Town and Village residents for over a century. It is the last open, unstructured green space in the Village available to all residents. Let’s take this opportunity to get it right for the next 100 years.