Residents Rally For Tackapausha Museum

Written by Joe Scotchie Friday, 24 February 2012 00:00

County officials aiming for April reopening date

Last Friday, well over 100 local residents gathered at Tackapausha Museum in Seaford to rally for the reopening of that facility, one that has been closed since late December 2011.

The rally introduced a newly formed group, Friends of Tackapausha Preserve, which identified its purpose of not only seeing the museum re-opened, but also working as volunteers in partnership with Nassau County officials to provide programming and educational education for museum and preserve visitors.

Also on hand were Bob Dwyer and Eileen Krieb, two Deputy Commissioners with the county’s Department of Parks. Ms. Krieb said the county hopes to have the museum and the pond reopened for the public at around Earth Day in April.

Among the many speakers was Lorraine Bondi-Goldsmith, president of the Friends of Tackapausha. Ms. Goldsmith said the new organization was bipartisan and not-for-profit in nature, with, as noted, the goal of doing volunteer work in conjunction with the county.  

Dr. Betty Borowsky, a member of the South Shore Audubon Society and a Friends board member, spoke of the many successful environmental programs and events that South Shore had provided to Tackapausha over the years, all provided under their Adopt-A-Park agreement with the county.

Friends of Tackapausha gets its inspiration from the longtime organization, the Friends of Massapequa Preserve. And so two of its members, President Richard Schary and Lisa Schary, also a Friends of Tackapausha board member, spoke at the rally.

Ms. Schary serenaded the crowd with a verse from “The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow,” which turned out to be a little erroneous as the sun immediately broke through the clouds once the verse was over.

Richard Schary gave a brief summary of the success Friends of Massapequa Preserve has enjoyed over the years, which has helped to make it the county’s most popular preserve and second most popular park.

Glenn Kearney of the Nassau County Auxiliary Police asked those in attendance to share their experiences of working on the preserve.

“A number of people stepped up to the microphone,” Schary said. “They described working on Cub or Eagle Scout projects, or going along with their children on class trips, and many other accounts of great experiences at Tackapausha over the past six decades. They spoke of their connection to the birds, animals and exhibits in the museum and to the plants, ponds, and wildlife in the preserve.”

Michael Goldsmith, an attorney for Friends of Tackapausha said that his group is eager to work with county officials in getting the museum operating again, under the supervision of a county employee.

Representing the county was Eileen Krieb. Ms. Krieb reiterated that the museum would not be privatized. She also said that the county soon hoped to hire a licensed professional to care for the animals and the birds currently inside of the museum. Finally, Ms. Krieb, as noted, listed Earth Day in April as the time period in which the county hopes to hold a grand reopening celebration for the museum.

The next public meeting of the Friends of Tackapausha will be held at the Seaford Library on Monday, March 12 at 7:30 p.m. In the near future, the organization is planning cleanups and hikes.