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Merrick (N.Y.) Herald

The room was filled to capacity and many residents stood in the doorway at a recent South Merrick Community Civic Association meeting that was held to discuss proposed upgrades to Julian Lane Park.

Robert Ward, the district supervisor for the Town of Hempstead Department of Parks & Recreation, was invited to the meeting to answer residents' questions about the town park.

Jodi Turk, one of the chairs of the civic group's park committee, opened the meeting by expressing the community's concerns about the park. "I'm a mom like everyone else here, and I sit at the park and complain like we all do," Turk said. "The sandbox hasn't been cleaned in 30 years, there's glass in it [and] the playground isn't safe."

Turk and several other residents said they'd like two climbing structures, one for younger children and one for older children, to ensure that children play safely. Right now, there is one climbing structure for younger children.

Turk also pointed out that the fence was in disrepair, with holes with rusty metal. She and several residents were upset by an anti-Semitic symbol that they said hadn't been removed from the jungle gym since the summer.

"I'm going to get the JDL [Jewish Defense League] and Newsday down here if it's not cleaned up by this weekend," said Bill Vilkas. "There is no excuse; whatever it costs, it has to be taken off."

Visibly upset, Ward told Vilkas that he didn't know of the swastika and promised to have it removed immediately.

"Some other repairs need to be fixed now," Sarah Greenstein said. "How about if I go there with my tool box and send my bill to the town."

Ward suggested that she not do that, adding that certain issues could be dealt with now by the town -- those that presented dangerous conditions. "I can take care of the emergency repairs, like cleaning the sandbox and fixing the fence," Ward said. "But we can't make major changes without approval of town hall."

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