Elwood – Huntington Town Officials
will be joined by local officials, NYPD, SCPD and the Tuozzolo family for the
grand opening of the Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo Memorial Spray Park, the Town’s first
spray park, at Elwood Park on Wednesday, July 11, at 1:00 PM.
Lisa Tuozzolo, her sons, and NYPD
Lt. Christopher Pizzo have been involved with the planning and design of the
spray park from conception to construction, joining Town Supervisor Chad A.
Lupinacci, his staff and the Town’s Civil Engineering Department at various
progress meetings throughout the year. On May 9, Mrs. Tuozzolo and her sons
Austin and Joseph stopped by the construction site to create handprints in the
sidewalk at the park.
NYPD Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo was fatally
shot November 4, 2016, when he and a group of officers were responding to a
report of a disturbance in the 43rd Precinct in the Bronx, where he worked for
the last 10 years of his career. They believed they were responding to home
invasion, but it turned out to be a domestic incident. A dispatcher told
responding units that the man who had broken into the home left in a car that
was located about six minutes later. Police, including Sgt. Tuozzolo,
approached the vehicle. The suspect opened fire and shot Sgt. Tuozzolo in the
head and upper torso and another officer in the leg. Sgt. Tuozzolo died of his
injuries. The suspect was subsequently killed by a police trainee.
Sgt. Tuozzolo, a 19-year-NYPD
veteran, grew up in Bayville, but moved to Huntington with his wife, Lisa, and
they were raising their family here, in a neighborhood not far from Elwood
Park.
Attendees at the grand opening will
have a chance to win prizes from Elwood Public Library.
The Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo Memorial
Spray Park is 4,900 square feet in area with 2,500 square feet of active play
features utilizing all push-button technology for efficient water use; the
spray pad water runoff will be collected and reused for field irrigation at
Elwood Park. Official hours for the spray park will be 11 AM to 8 PM (due to
this year’s planned playground camp being housed at Elwood Park, spray park
hours during camp days Monday through Friday will be 12:30 PM to 8 PM through
August 10).
Children under 13 years old will be
able to use the spray park; parents/guardians must show a Resident Recreation
Photo ID (exception only for those who have Picnic Permits for that day), which
may be purchased at Town Hall in
the Parks and Recreation Department (Room 103) Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM
to 4:00 PM, call (631) 351-3089 for information. Recreation ID Cards may also
be purchased at the Dix Hills Ice Rink, call for hours, (631) 462-5883. This
summer, non-residents may only enter the spray park if they are accompanied by
a resident with a Recreation ID card.
WHERE: Elwood Park
Cuba
Hill Road (between Harmon Dr. & Elbormar Dr.), Huntington
WHEN: Wednesday, July
11, 2018 at 1PM
In the photo: Lisa Tuozzolo with
sons Austin and Joseph on May 9, 2018 with their newly created handprints in
the spray park’s sidewalk at Elwood Park. Flyer for grand opening attached.