ABERDEEN With a buccaneer ship-themed feature and water jets, more than 20 local children enjoyed the township’s newest spray play area at the grand opening of Veterans Park.
Mayor Fred Tagliarini, Deputy Mayor Margaret Montone and Township Council members Greg Cannon, Artie Hirsch, Connie Kelly and Robert Swindle, opened Veterans Park to the public on Aug. 6, in Cliffwood Beach, located at Ocean Boulevard and Lakeshore Drive.
The park features a multi-dimensional active and passive recreation area including a pirate ship-themed spray park for all ages; pirate and tall ship-themed playground areas for ages two to five and five to 12. The park also has a picnic grove with shade structures, a multi-purpose field for Little League, softball, and soccer; a kayak and small water craft launch; a gazebo/band shell; a flagpole and War Veteran’s Memorial Monument; and a restroom/equipment/storage building, according to a prepared statement from the township.
“I am absolutely thrilled to have the park open for families to enjoy. It’s a beautiful facility with the grand opening celebrating the rebirth of our beach as a family recreation destination,” Deputy Mayor Margaret Montone said.
The general contractor was Precise Construction, Inc. The park was designed by T&M Associates, according to Montone.
Veterans Park is an older park that was partially destroyed by Superstorm Sandy, according to Montone.
Following the June 11 fire, which destroyed many structural components of the beachfront park’s new playground, the grand opening had to be postponed until last weekend, according to a prepared statement.
“Due to the fire, this day came later than we planned, but we hope that everyone will agree that this was worth the wait,” Tagliarini said, in a prepared statement. “The totally reimagined Veterans Park is a very exciting addition to the recreational facilities located throughout Aberdeen and gives residents multiple reasons to take advantage of this under-utilized gem on our waterfront. With the bandshell/gazebo, we also look for Veterans Park to become a prime site for concerts and other special events.”
The cause of the fire has not been determined, according to Montone.
The spray park is going to be open at 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week, throughout August, while the playgrounds is going to be open from dawn through dusk, according to a prepared statement.
For more information about Veterans Park visit www.aberdeennj.org and click on the Aberdeen Parks tab.
Contact Vashti Harris at [email protected].