With the U.S. Coast Guard Barque Eagle, part of the national Sail250 celebration, serving as a backdrop in Greenport Harbor and its gigantic American flag flapping in the breeze, several hundred people spent Saturday evening on the waterfront at Mitchell Park helping to raise money to bring back the village’s ice rink, which closed six years ago.
Billed as the “Raise the Rink Community Picnic,” the free event featured music, food, drinks and family activities while also marking the 25th anniversary of the 4-acre Mitchell Park. Co-chairs Peggy Lauber and Lisa Gillooly hope the kickoff event will help raise approximately $82,000 toward building a new ice rink.
“We’re not locked into a time frame, but if all goes well, by next winter, we would have the rink ready for the community,” Gillooly said.
Friends of Mitchell Park, a 501(c)(3) independent charitable organization, has pledged to match $100,000 in donations. The campaign has already raised $18,000 toward that goal.
The project received a $1.2 million grant from Gov. Kathy Hochul in August 2024 to build a permanent seasonal rink. The village’s rink has not operated regularly for about six years. The fundraising campaign gained traction when it launched in April with the first $25,000 pledged by an anonymous donor.
“This is a special day for Greenport,” Mayor Kevin Stuessi said in a statement. “We’re honored to welcome the U.S. Coast Guard Barque Eagle to our waterfront while celebrating 25 years of Mitchell Park. It’s the perfect opportunity to come together as a community, enjoy everything that makes Greenport unique, and help bring back an amenity that generations of families have enjoyed.”
The permanent open-air rink will not be regulation size but instead a smaller version. Organizers hope it will encourage young people to learn to skate and play hockey and possibly become lifelong fans of the sport. Organizers see the ice rink as the next step in transforming Greenport’s waterfront.
Jeremy Garretson photos
The next steps include hiring engineers, releasing requests for proposals and securing necessary approvals, which both women said they are confident they will receive.
Enjoying the sultry summer evening, some attendees danced to live music by Deadwood and Friends. The Greenport Fire Department Marine Rescue group served hot dogs and hamburgers as guests also lined up for local oysters, craft cocktails, beer and wine. Many children cooled off with Shaka Shave Ice.
There was also a line to compete in the New York Islanders slapshot competition. Surrounded by hockey fans taking pictures, right wing Kyle Palmieri said the return of the rink would benefit both the village and young hockey players.
“It’s awesome that they’re trying to bring the rink back,” Palmieri said. “If you put a rink in, Greenport will become a year-round destination. It’ll give people more access to hockey and put more kids on skates.”
Jeremy Garretson photos
Palmieri said he began his hockey career at age 4, playing on an outdoor rink like the one organizers are working to build.
Gillooly said the team is a big supporter of a new ice rink.
“They’re very interested in developing youth hockey,” she said. “Who knows? Maybe someday they might consider us a farm team.”
Jeremy Garretson photos
One young hockey player, 11-year-old Clark Negin, wearing his Islanders T-shirt and cap, thinks it will be “really cool” to have an ice rink in Greenport.
“I’m a big Islanders fan,” he said. “I guess it’s been kinda passed on to me from my dad, who’s a fan.”
Jeremy Garretson photos
Reminiscing about the days when he skated on the rink, Tom Miale of Southold laughed as he explained how he injured himself taking a “bad turn” on the ice, requiring several stitches to his head.
“It was great having a rink here, and I think it’s great they’re trying to bring it back,” Miale said. “There’s not much to do out here in the winter.”
Former beer-league hockey player Mark Saporita of Southold, now 60, remembers playing hockey twice a week for three hours a night when he was in his early 40s.
“The Highway Department would lay the pipes down, and then we would spray the water on it to build the ice,” Saporita said. “We would turn on the lights and play. It was a gentleman’s game. We policed ourselves.”
His former teammate, Peter Onufrak of Mattituck, said they loved playing on the rink because “it was better than playing on frozen ponds or on the streets.”
