Contractors Begin Work On Park Grandstand In Sag Harbor

Last summer, alarmed that the Sag Harbor School District was considering ending its contract to use the facilities at Mashashimuet Park, Diane Schiavoni, who has lived in the village her entire life, launched a one-woman fundraising drive to pay for a new shingled roof on the aging grandstand there.

Schiavoni’s fundraising effort, during which she parked herself in front of the Schiavoni’s Market on Main Street every weekend and persuasively coaxed donations large and small from passersby, netted $50,000.

And there was more good news. This week, Nancy Benvent, a park board member, who often joined Schiavoni in her efforts, said the park’s first 5K Family Fun Run, which was held in September 2021, raised another $35,000. And the Sag Harbor Partnership anted up an additional $40,000, its second-largest donation ever.

The project got an unexpected boost when local builder Chuck Lattanzio, whose wife, Judy, is on the park board, was able to procure a load of shingles from National Building and Roofing Supplies for a steeply discounted price, after learning they had been ordered for a job that was subsequently canceled. As a result, the park saved about $10,000 on the 180 bundles of cedar shingles purchased from the company.

The cherry on top is that the school district and park board settled their differences and have agreed to a long-term plan for the park’s playing fields, which will be sent to the voters for their approval.

Zappola Construction, a Sag Harbor contractor, started work on the grandstand repairs mid-month, and expects to have the job — which also includes rebuilding the bleachers, bracing the roof and giving the whole structure a fresh paint job — completed by September 15, a few days before the park sponsors its second 5K fundraiser on September 18.

“We’re trying to do the best job we can,” said Nick Zappola, the company’s owner, of the care workers are bringing to the project. “I have to walk through this town.”

The job, like many involving old wooden structures, revealed a few surprises, none of them pleasant for the contractors. When they removed the old shingles, the roof’s supports began to shift, moving as much as a half-foot, requiring the installation of additional bracing.

Then, when workers removed old bleacher seats, they discovered that many of the joists the seats rested on had outlived their usefulness and had to be replaced as well.

At least one person approves of the work. “I went yesterday to have a look, and you know what? I cried. I couldn’t believe it. It looked so nice,” Schiavoni said on Monday.

Schiavoni added that she enjoyed soliciting the donations. “Of all the fundraising I’ve done, I enjoyed that the best,” she said. “It was nice to go downstreet and see everybody.”

The park board plans to dedicate the restored grandstand on the morning of its 5K run on Sunday, September 18, at 8:30 a.m.