To flip or not to flip, ice rink study continues

The Hamill Rink Task Force, reconstituted in March 2025, has been meeting weekly to discuss where to put a new ice rink to replace the 50-plus year old Dorothy Hamill in Byram.

The list has been narrowed down from eight to four locations:

1) Island Beach parking lot near the Teen Center and Delamar

2) Horseneck parking lot near the Boys and Girls Club

3) Eugene Morlot Memorial Park - the “flip” would place the new ice rink on the Sal Strazza Memorial Field within the park, allowing the current rink to remain open during construction. A new ball field would then be built once the new rink opens. This plan was rejected by the town legislature (RTM) earlier this year due to concerns about cost and neighbor impact.

4) Eugene Morlot Memorial Park - existing footprint would require the current rink to shut down for a period, which is why a temporary rink has been discussed in conjunction with this possibility.

No longer in the running are Eastern Cohen Greenwich Civic Center, the Havemeyer fields behind town hall, Roger Sherman Baldwin Park and Christiano Park. Issues such as parking, wetlands, traffic, flooding and residential concerns removed them from consideration.

Click here to take a survey (that was extended until Aug 5) to weigh in.

Between the Lines: The chair of the task force says the goal is to provide a final recommendation by the end of the summer. Sounds good until you realize that this project has been under study for almost ten years.

Story here