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Sarah Lawrence College and the City of Yonkers recently celebrated a public-private partnership that resulted in the installation of LED lights at the city’s Fleming Field.
The six, 80-foot tall LED light towers were demonstrated during a press conference on November 28 attended by Mayor Mike Spano and representatives from Yonkers, Sarah Lawrence College President Cristle Collins Judd and members of the men’s and women’s soccer teams, and youths from the Landsdowne Yonkers Football Club. The lights, installed in October, make it possible for soccer matches to be played at night, and Fleming is now the official home field of the Sarah Lawrence Gryphons. In addition, the lights afford ample opportunity for individuals and recreational organizations in Yonkers to now avail themselves of the field at night.
Sarah Lawrence and the City of Yonkers shared the cost of this nearly $700,000 capital project. Instrumental in the funding were New York State Senators Shelley Mayer and Andrea Stewart-Cousins. Approached early after project conception, the Senators both responded with enthusiasm to the project and the benefits it would have for their constituents. The Senators invited the College to apply for grants from the State and Municipal Facilities Program (SAM), administered by the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY); as a result, the College received $175,000 in SAM grants—$125,000 at Senator Mayer’s request and $50,000 at the request of Senator Stewart-Cousins.
“The lights at Fleming Field represent the latest productive partnership between Sarah Lawrence College and the City of Yonkers, as well as the consistent and invaluable support of Senators Shelley Mayer and Andrea Stewart-Cousins,” said Judd. “We are so pleased and proud that these lights can be of benefit not just to the Sarah Lawrence community, but to all of Yonkers, the community we call home.”
In a statement, Mayor Mike Spano said, “Yonkers is extremely proud to be home to a college as prestigious as Sarah Lawrence and this public-private partnership only strengthens the collaboration with our hometown team. By investing together in our community, we are able to provide a better quality of life for our residents and students.”
Earlier this year, Sarah Lawrence was the recipient of another grant administered by DASNY. In June it was announced that the College had been awarded a $2 million grant from New York State’s Higher Education Capital Matching Grant Program (HECap) to support construction of the College’s Barbara Walters Campus Center.
“We’ve been most grateful to receive funding from the State of New York for these projects that are so important not only to our college community, but also to our neighbors,” said Judd. “We appreciate the State’s recognition of the value we can bring to the community, and their support in making these projects possible.”