Park Named After Fallen NYPD Cop To Open

Lisa Tuozzolo with sons Austin and Joseph are pictured May 9 with their newly-created handprints in the spray park’s sidewalk at Elwood Park. (Photo/Town of Huntington)

Huntington Town officials will join by local officials, NYPD, SCPD and the Tuozzolo family for the grand opening of the Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo Memorial Spray Park on July 11, 1 p.m.

Lisa Tuozzolo, her sons, and NYPD Lt. Christopher Pizzo have been involved with the planning and design of the spray park, the first of its kind in town, from conception to construction. They joined Supervisor Chad Lupinacci, his staff and the town’s Civil Engineering Department at various progress meetings throughout the year. And Tuozzolo and her sons Austin and Joseph stopped by the construction site earlier this year to create handprints in the sidewalk at the park.

NYPD Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo

Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo, a 19-year-NYPD veteran, grew up in Bayville, but moved to Huntington with his wife to raise their family in a neighborhood not far from Elwood Park. He was fatally shot Nov. 4, 2016, when he and a group of officers were responding to a report of a disturbance in the 43rd Precinct in the Bronx.

The spray park named in his honor 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.

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 (Room 103) Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Recreation ID Cards may also be purchased at the Dix Hills Ice Rink, call 631-462-5883 for hours.

For this summer, non-residents may only enter the spray park if they are accompanied by a resident with a Recreation ID card.

Official hours for the spray park will be 11 a.m.-8 p.m. (However, due to this year’s planned playground camp being housed at Elwood Park, spray park hours during camp days, Monday-Friday, through Aug. 10 will be 12:30-8 p.m.)

Attendees at next week’s grand opening ceremony will have a chance to win prizes from Elwood Public Library.