By Rich Forestano
Places that used to give the town of Elmont a sparkle, like the Argo Movie Theater have become shells of their former selves. At a time where there’s not a lot to think much of in this town, people like Kenny Benjamin have their eye on the prize while passing a ball to a friend at Elmont Road Park. “Who is Kenny Benjamin?” you are probably asking. He’s an All-County forward for the Elmont Memorial High School Boys Basketball team, and he’s wasting no time in getting ready for next season.
“Me and some of my teammates play basketball every day at Elmont Road Park,” he said while getting ready for a shot from the foul line. “And I’m playing for the Long Island Lightning in June.”
Elmont used to be a great place to say that you lived. Going to places like Averill Park and the “Sump” could provide a day’s worth of fun. Now, I can never see hanging out there as a good thing, unless you’re looking for trouble.
Garbage is piled in the streets, graffiti sprawls bus stop sitting areas with the words “Gangsta Thug,” “Bonecracker,” “ColdKilla,” and other expletives. Elmont was once considered the gateway to Long Island by residents, as it is one of the first towns on Long Island after you depart from New York City.
Being a resident for the first 17 years of my life, it breaks my heart to go to Averill Park in Elmont and see filth scribbled all over the handball court.
“It’s a shame what I see everyday when I commute to work,” resident Michael Gains said. “I always see kids doing graffiti and causing trouble. It hurts to see garbage everywhere. A thing like high school sports is a good thing to advertise around here.”
A bounce-pass here, a dribble there; these kids are just trying to have some fun and fine-tune their fundamentals. Practice leads to perfect.
“It’s good to have fun sometimes,” guard Michael Richards said while shooting a jump-shot. “What’s the point of playing sports if you’re not having fun? It’s a great game.”
Richards and Benjamin have managed to get more than just a few players to attend offseason practices. According to Benjamin, 15 kids showed up last week.
“I was surprised that a lot of kids that probably won’t make the team came out,” he said after fetching a ball for a teammate. “I was happy. It’s great to see stuff like that and it shows that people care about things they love.”
Now, all they have to do is to get their coach to come out to some of the practices and see how much they have improved.
“We’d love for ‘Hol’ [as the kids call him] to come out and watch us practice to get some pointers,” center Tolulade Jegede said referring to their head coach George Holub. “But he’s got a lot on his plate with the end of the school year and stuff, so we understand.”
But it hasn’t gone unnoticed by coach Holub. He keeps in touch with Benjamin to see how the get-togethers are going.
“It’s great what they’re doing,” Holub said. “I wish I could be out there every day with them.”
Practicing in April, and next season isn’t even on their calendars yet. This is a perfect example that even though they may reside somewhere that may be seen as a different Elmont to some residents, it’s still good to keep a positive attitude.
“I don’t know what happened,” resident Mary Shipple said while waiting for her morning bus. “I’ve lived here for 40 years. Today it feels like a different world to me, but it’s mine.”
While some residents feel that they must use what they have, others think differently.
“This town has been on the decline for a while now,” said a police officer, who asked to remain anonymous. “Thank god my kid is into sports, or I wouldn’t know what to do if he was hanging out on the street corner.”
Sports! It seems to be a recurring theme around the Elmont area. Sport, especially for parents, gives people an incentive to watch their kids have fun.
“We have a community at this school that is athletically oriented,” coach Holub said. “We always had a decent crowd for games, whether it’s basketball or baseball or lacrosse or whatever.”
Holub and the Spartans were one-and-done in the playoffs this past season, losing to Schreiber (Port Washington) in February. But that doesn’t stop them from working to improve.
“Me and Kenny and a few of the other guys on the team try to get together at least once a day and play pickup games and practice or just shoot around,” Akins Duncanson said. “It’s like the only thing to do around here, unless you’re standing on the street corner.”
The street corner is definitely a place that Duncanson doesn’t want to end up.
“I’ve seen people shot,” he said while palming a basketball. “It really makes you love life and what you got.”
The area near Elmont Memorial High School doesn’t look as bad as critics make it out to be. The high school is well complemented by the “Sump”, which is where most practices are held by the football team, lacrosse teams and soccer teams.
“I basically lived there back then, man, almost everyday,” former Spartan wide receiver Derrick Toussaint said. “I loved that place very much. I played my first football game there with the Elmont Cardinals.”
The “Sump” was once a landfill, but was transformed into a ball-field which houses a baseball, football and soccer field that doubles as a lacrosse field. It also serves as home to the Elmont North and South Summer Baseball League for the 17-18-year-old divisions.
“I always use to go there and play two-hand-touch after dark,” center Anthony Jones said while spinning a ball on his finger. “Now I’m not allowed. Hopefully, if things get good, I’ll be able to bring my future son or daughter there to play.”
According to crime indexes, there were over 75 criminal offenses in 2007, up from 35 in 2006. It’s projected to increase by seven percent by the end of 2008.
The Nassau County Police Department is hard at work in tweaking their approach towards Elmont.
“We’re working very hard trying to implement strategies to combat crime not just in Elmont, but all of Nassau County,” Lt. Detective Andrew Fal said. “I have a lot of friends from Elmont and it’s close to my heart.”
The current state of Elmont even has its youth wondering if they’ll be living there some time down the road.
“When I was little, I thought I’d live here my whole life,” Richards said. “Now, I’m not so sure if I’ll be living here when I graduate high school. But I hope to. I’ve always loved living here, even though I can’t hang out with my friends late at night.”
Yet there’s always help on the horizon.
According to police, they’re lobbying the Nassau County District Attorney’s office to create an initiative similar to the program that was implemented on Terrace Avenue in Hempstead on Jan.8 called, “The Terrace Ave. Anti-Drug Initiative.”
A plan like that could create some breathing room for Elmont.
“We want to implement a plan that’ll improve the quality of life around the Hendrickson Ave. area,” Fal said. “I think that would help.”