Lehman HS is getting a new field, an exciting prospect for one of the city’s largest schools. Construction starts in October for what is sure to be a beautiful facility complete with lights for night games.
There’s just one problem – and it’s a biggie.
The plan is for the field to be 80 yards, which, right now, is all Lehman can sustain. That means the school can play baseball and softball – and perhaps boys and girls soccer and lacrosse – but the football team is left out in the cold. For a school that has been known for its excellence on the gridiron, that came as a shock to new coach Michael Saunds.
“A school like Lehman should have their own football field,” he said.
He’s right, of course.
If the current proposal goes through, Lehman will continue to be the only PSAL football team in The Bronx – on any level – without its own home field . John F. Kennedy just got new turf put down and the Knights have lights at their home. Clinton, which has accommodated Lehman the last few years, is getting a brand-new facility installed. This season, the Lions will play home games at Alfred E. Smith.
The problem lies with space. Lehman doesn’t have enough of it. But Saunds has been extremely proactive in trying to free some up. There’s a vacant lot adjacent to the school that isn’t being used for anything other than a few burnt out cars. Next to that is what amounts to a junkyard owned by Simone Development Group.
Saunds has approached owners of local businesses and, he said, they support the school being given the extra land 100 percent. He has also met with a handful of local politicians to see if anything can be done. Athletic director Diane Hamilton has also been a part of the fight. Right now, though, things are in a holding pattern.
“All we need is an extra 30 yards,” he said. “We have these kids who are under-served come on their own, with their own money. They fundraised. They took money out of their own pockets. A lot of them got summer jobs just to pay for football.”
Saunds says a few people in the school are surprised that he would be upset because Lehman, after all, is getting a brand-new, beautiful field that the football team will be able to practice on.
“We’re complaining because the 80-yard field isn’t good enough,” he said. “If you put 30 kids in a classroom and give them 20 books, that’s not good enough.”
Frankly, 30 more yards is a drop in the bucket. The two lots next to Lehman are an eye sore as it is. It isn’t like a junkyard is adding to community development. The school wouldn’t even need the entire area, just a small slice of it.
It isn’t much to ask for. Someone needs to step up – perhaps Simone Development – and do the right thing. Playing in front of a home crowd is the most basic of things for a high-school athlete. The football players at Lehman have gone without it for far too long already.
