A local developer is hoping to build a sports complex next to Memory Gardens, a memorial park on Watervliet-Shaker Road, but opponents say such a move would destroy the serenity of the place.
Afrim Sports is scheduled to go before the Bethlehem Planning Board on Tuesday, Nov. 19, in an effort to obtain a use variance for a similar dome project in partnership with the Bethlehem Soccer Club at their property on Wemple Road. Some neighbors are also opposed to this project, citing a loss of property value and that the structure will obstruct their views of nature. Read more about this in past stories posted at spotlightnews.com.
Much of the outcry from the public and Memory Gardens’ board of directors stems from concerns that cheering crowd noise could interrupt a funeral service or a solemn moment as someone is paying respects to a loved one.
Afrim Nezaj, the owner of Afrim Sports, Inc. who is seeking a variance from the Colonie zoning board to allow him to build the multi-use sports complex, said those concerns are misplaced.
Nezaj compared the worries of the board of directors to those of a child who thinks there is a monster under the bed.
“All the things they think are in the closet or under the bed aren’t really there,” Nezaj said, adding that he thinks Memory Gardens is beautiful place, and he would most likely be buried there. “I respect what they do; they should respect what I do.”
Opposed to Nezaj’s plans for a sports complex is Latham resident Zelda Golden, 83, who purchased four plots at Memory Gardens in 1950. Her husband is buried in one of them.
“I think it would be too boisterous next to a place of dignity and respect. I could see myself at a funeral service and hear cheers go up; it just makes me go cold,” said Golden.
Cheryl Rebhan, who is vice president of the Memory Gardens board of directors said she believes noise from an adjacent sports complex would destroy the peacefulness of the memorial park.
“People go there to read, eat lunch by the pond. It’s very serene and quiet. To take all that serenity from people, it’s hard to fathom that,” Rebhan said. “There is a man who comes in and will sit next to his wife’s grave all day and read the newspaper or a book. I can’t imagine how he would feel if there was cheering in the background.”
Memory Garden sits on 200 acres on a ridge that is one of the highest points in the town of Colonie and is the final resting place of approximately 36,000 people. There is room for at least another 140,000 burial sites. There are fountains, ponds and well-manicured landscaping throughout the grounds.
Afrim Sports is applying for a land use variance permit so it can build four soccer fields and an 86,865-square-foot dome. Currently, the land on 969 Watervliet Shaker Road is zoned for commercial and office buildings. The variance permit is required because a law passed in the Town of Colonie in 2007 would classify the new complex as a major amusement area. The zoning board will be taking a look at the variance request at its Thursday, Nov. 21 meeting.
Nezaj said he believes the land next to the memorial park would be ideal for a number of reasons.
“When I went there, I saw flat land and a cemetery next door. It has the least amount of people it would affect,” said Nezaj.
There is a ridge lined with trees that borders the property line and separates where the field would be and the burial sites, but at their closest point, the field is less than 100 feet away from a gravestone.
Rebhan said she is not against the sports park, just the proposed location.
“It’s just the noise,” she said. “I’m all for sports; kids need a place to play. I just don’t think this is the right place.”
Andrew Carroll, director of the cemetery, echoed Rebhan’s concerns.
“We usually have anywhere from 10 to 20 burials a week, with Saturday being the busiest day.” Carroll said. “It’s not that we don’t like soccer or kids playing sports; we just think it’s too close.”
Nezaj said the proposed location is important for the sports complex because the Colonie soccer teams need to be where other teams can easily get to the field. He said that in order to play the teams that they need to play, they need a big facility that will draw in teams from other areas. He said he wants teams to come here instead of going to places like Maryland or Connecticut.
“For any facility to be successful it needs to be someplace easily accessible. I know I could go someplace cheaper or different, but people won’t go,” Nezaj said. “These four fields could be the pride of the Capital Region.”
In an attempt to ease citizens’ concerns about noise, Nezaj hired Chazen Companies to test the sound levels at various spots at the Rotterdam soccer facility while five youth games were being played. Those recordings found the decibel levels were all below the normal level of conversation, which is 60.0 to 65 decibels.
There is no proposed announcing system nor are there any bleachers planned that would add people and noise, said Nezaj who will be presenting his findings at the Nov. 21 Zoning Board Meeting. He said he encourages Memory Gardens to hire its own contractor to run a test if they don’t agree with his findings.
While opponents of the field cite noise as one of their biggest concerns, the visual impact of the dome and the 75-foot-tall lights has also been part of the discussion. Memory Gardens staff are also worried people would drive into the cemetery to park and walk to the fields, which would be closer to the fields than the proposed complex’s parking lot.
Nezaj said those are non issues.
“If we have lights, it won’t bother them because they’ll only be on at night,” he said. He also said there are ample parking spots planned, and he doesn’t think seeing the fields will be an issue because of the ridge and the trees that separate the field and the cemetery.
Meanwhile, Memory Gardens has a created a petition on Change.org which has currently been signed by 1,354 people. They have also sent out letters and asked people to write to newspapers and voice their opposition.
Despite the organized opposition to the sports complex, Nezaj said he has been getting a lot of positive feedback to his plans.
“A lot of people are coming up to me who say, ‘I’ve got people buried there, and I support it,” said Nezaj.
There will be a zoning board meeting held at the Public Operations Center on Thursday, Nov. 21, at 7 p.m., at which time the public can comment on the proposed sports complex.