Vanderbilt Cup Races

As a follow-up to last October's The Garden City News report,  I am pleased to announce that progress is being made to restore a section of the Motor Parkway near the new parking lot at Stewart Field.

This morning Al Velocci and I met with Garden City administrator Ralph Suozzi and Garden Village historian Bill Bellmer and agree to a plan for the restoration 

Enjoy,

Howard Kroplick

Preservationists offer donation of original Motor Parkway artifacts

The Garden City News

By Editorial Team | on October 29, 2020

By Rikki Massand

At the October 15th Village Board meeting Garden City Superintendent of Public Works Joseph DiFrancisco reported that the new parking lot for Stewart Field is nearly complete.

The parking lot, which is located north of Stewart Avenue sits partly on the roadway of the former Long Island Motor Parkway, which was the first roadway in America built exclusively for automobile use. The parkway, which was built starting in 1908, was almost 45 miles long.

“Essentially the project is complete and we are still awaiting an item — there was a delay in the delivery of lampposts though their bases and wiring (in the lot) were completed, we’re awaiting the lighting. Also the handicapped railing on the ADA/handicapped ramp was completed this week and there were some minor punch list items still needed to be done,” DiFrancisco commented.

DiFrancisco commended the Parks Department staff for clearing western parts of the Motor Parkway areas behind Stewart Field. “They’ve (Parks) were working to clear the areas on its west side in order to expose the concrete there, original concrete remaining from the original Motor Parkway,” he said.

Because of the historic nature of the site, the crews used hand tools instead of heavy equipment to preserve possible artifacts.

In the last several months, objections to the parking lot project were voiced by members of the Long Island Motor Parkway Preservation Society, a 485-member Long Island history enthusiast group (www.VanderbiltCupRaces.com) founded by the former Town of North Hempstead Historian and President of the Roslyn Landmarks Society Howard Kroplick. Kroplick spoke at a Board of Trustees meeting in May to express his concerns.

In an interview with The Garden City News, Kroplick was optimistic about a new idea, as he said there is a very feasible way for Garden City to show it respects and celebrates the  history of the Motor Parkway.

Kroplick owns ten of the original posts from the Motor Parkway, and though he said each post could cost thousands of dollars, he would like to donate the posts to the village in order to improve upon the historical representation of the area.

Kroplick said that he purchased the concrete posts from a land developer who was aiming to build some homes on a parcel in the Town of North Hempstead. He removed the posts and Kroplick later paid for them, now they could go to the Village of Garden City. He called Village Administrator Suozzi 10 days ago and they discussed his vision.

“I will donate the posts to the village and they can install the posts where the lamp posts are going up, all on the north side of the parking lot spaces. There are nine to ten solid posts we picked up (purchased) when a developer purchased land, and I have never done anything with them — I have specs of the original spacing between the posts because Vanderbilt Court had five or six posts totally in place with wire. These concrete posts can be put where they are out of the way and they don’t interfere with anything — these are original and commemorative of the Long Island Motor Parkway,” Kroplick noted.

If the original posts are accepted by the village the only installation required is digging a hole of fitting circumference, pouring concrete to the bottom and lining posts up accordingly, said Kroplick. Kroplick estimates the Department of Public Works could finish this in just a day, possibly two for 10 original posts. He sees this possible donation as a clear win-win for Garden City and the Long Island history community.

The old Garden City Hotel was the headquarters for the Vanderbilt Cup Races between 1908 through 1910, with many participants, businesspeople and spectators gathering for the events. Though the section behind Stewart Field was not yet constructed or a part of the famed early 20th Century race course, it contains historic engineering.

In addition to the roadway north of Stewart Field,  the Garden City Chamber of Commerce’s headquarters on east Seventh Street was an original Motor Parkway toll lodge built in 1911, designed by famous architect John Russell Pope.

The Motor Parkway closed service in April of 1938, and in March of 1989 its Toll Lodge was moved from Clinton Road to its current home, east off Franklin Avenue and on Seventh Street.

On Monday, October 26 Kroplick emailed Garden City Mayor Theresa M. Trouvé Village Administrator Suozzi, Trustee Brian Daughney and Village Historian Bill Bellmer with “goals” in mind for the historic posts and the Parkway project. He hoped to demonstrates to Suozzi, DPW staff and Parks personnel how these posts originally worked to form a barrier, connected with original ribbon wires to protect cars from falling into the ravine there.

Kroplick’s co-president of the Preservation Society, Al Velocci, has also saved original posts. He’s offering ribbon wire for Garden City to use with the posts.

“Mr. Suozzi requested our formal proposal, and we discussed the design of the project. It ends up being a good solution to complete the project and make the scene a much more positive experience in the future. The village would need to have a plan to determine the best location for the posts so they can be seen and enjoyed — visitors would get a semblance that the Motor Parkway was there. It would let the Motor Parkway enthusiasts and history aficionados know what the Parkway first looked like there, with barriers. This is a very inexpensive solution and Garden City would gain so much from doing this,” Kroplick told the News last weekend.

After the County Legislature approved the lease in late 2019, the process to set the parking lot project went further in motion, including specs and design with village Public Works input, there were a few goals identified such as Historic Preservation of the unique, iconic former roadway and its 114-year-old engineering attributes. The project was established as a parking area for those who will use Stewart Field or the stretch of passive space.