Yorktown Selects New Team to Reopen Par 3 Golf Course
News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
The Yorktown Town Board has appointed a new management team to reopen a new Par 3 golf course in Jefferson Valley this summer.
Last week, the board voted to grant a five-year concession agreement to Yorktown Golf Group, Inc. with a firm reopening date of June 16 for the restaurant on the site and August 18 for the golf course.
If Yorktown Golf Group fails to meet the opening dates, the agreement will be considered breeched.
“We are determined to see our town’s golf course open this summer,” said Supervisor Tom Diana. “The contract we approved has definitive opening dates and mandatory payments to the town that begin this month. Under a canceled contract with a previous developer, there were no specified opening dates or payments being made.”
Yorktown Golf Group, Inc. will pay Yorktown $78,000 a year effective immediately. The town has the right to renew the contract for two five-year periods. The contract calls for discounts for residents, seniors and veterans, and donated course time for high school golf teams.
Carmine DeMeglio and Anthony Stallone are the principals behind Yorktown Golf Group, Inc. The two have more than 60 years of experience in the food service industry, including ownership of Gianna’s restaurant in Yonkers.
The golf pro will be Paul Giordano, a 25-year member of the PGA and a nationally recognized coach for First Tee, a youth development organization that enables kids to build the strength of character that empowers them through the game of golf.
Last November, the Town Board officially severed ties with the former developer, RC Recreation Development, LLC, for failing to correct numerous building code violations and not opening the facility as promised.
The action came as no surprise since the board voted two months earlier to terminate a Concession Agreement with RC Recreation if it was unable to clear up outstanding violations and expired mechanical, plumbing and renovation permits, and open the town-owned park by Nov. 15.
On Nov. 15, town inspectors visited the golf course and found electrical hazards and many unresolved violations cited in July, including people illegally living in trailers, unsafe bridges, and plumbing issues. Parks Superintendent James Martorano told the Town Board some of the recent shoddy work at the nine-hole golf course included laying the sod on the golf greens before installing the irrigation system, which sits unassembled on the property.
The property has not been used since 2007 when Shallow Greek Golf Course shut down. In 2014, town officials entered into a 10-year agreement with RC Recreation to restore the site as Valley Fields Golf Course, but progress stalled when RC President Rocco Cambareri died in 2017.
In 2018, the lease with RC was extended to 2028 when one of Cambareri’s partners assumed control. In 2020, Valley Fields was fined by the state for doing work without a required permit. A 2021 spring or summer possible opening never materialized. In December 2021, the town’s Planning Board approved the site plan for Valley Fields.
RC filed an Article 78 proceeding in state Supreme Court in July accusing town officials of using a “Keystone Cops approach to local zoning enforcement” and engaging in a “politically motivated campaign.” RC specifically naming former Supervisor Matt Slater, Councilman Sergio Esposito and Building Inspector John Landi.
In the lawsuit, RC maintains the redevelopment of the course has “from time to time been delayed by external and unanticipated factors, be they insect infestations, COVID-19-related shutdowns, and supply chain disruptions.
That legal action is still pending. Last week, RC Recreation President Larry Nussbaum forwarded a copy of an Order to Show Cause that requires Yorktown officials to appear in a White Plains courtroom on March 10 at 10 a.m.
Yorktown Town Attorney Adam Rodriguez released a statement Monday expressing confidence in the town’s position.
“The town is confident that RC’s application for a receiver and injunction will be denied because the facts and law are on the town’s side,” Rodriguez stated. “The town is thrilled to have a new operator for the golf course in place, and is looking forward to finally seeing Yorktown residents enjoy the course this summer.”
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/