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Sandy-Damaged Downtown Ballfields Could Reopen by April

By Irene Plagianos | February 22, 2013 1:57pm | Updated on February 22, 2013 2:23pm

BATTERY PARK CITY — Little Leaguers could be playing ball on the Sandy-damaged Battery Park City ball fields in time for the start of the season.

A company has been chosen to replace artificial turf which was deluged by the superstorm's floodwaters and sewer backflow and repairs could be completed by April, the Battery Park City Authority announced Thursday evening.

“The Battery Park City Ball Fields are a vital resource that become more important every year as the downtown community continues to grow," Dennis Mehiel, chairman of the BPCA, said in a statement.

“It is essential that they are in playing condition at the first possible opportunity.”

More than 1,000 lower Manhattan kids are already registered for the season, though Downtown Little League officials have said that without the BCP fields there isn’t enough park space in the city to accommodate them.

BPCA spokesman Matthew Monahan said the chosen turf-replacement company, Applied Landscape Technologies, will work as quickly and efficiently as possible to get the 85,000 square-foot field ready.

A more precise timeline will be available once the turf is delivered and installation begins.

As DNAinfo.com New York reported last week, 120 players on the Greenwich Village Little League, who usually play on fields including the one in Battery Park City, are also still scrambling for spots to play. Their main field at J.J. Walker Park is still closed for renovations.