Commissioner Mauro G. Tucci and the Nutley Parks and Recreation Department cut a ribbon for the brand new Glotzbach Park Girls Softball field at Grant Avenue in Nutley on April 6.
“This is a very auspicious occasion, the day after Easter,” Tucci said. “And we all know that Easter is a time of new beginnings. It’s also a time of new beginnings for our girls’ softball teams.”
Tucci was joined by fellow Commissioners Alphonse Petracco and Tom Evans as well as Deputy Police Chief Gerry Green, Board of Education members Salvatore Ferraro, Tom D’Elia, Sal Balsamo and Nick Scotti, Superintendent of Schools Kent Bania and Athletic Director Joe Piro.
“I’d like to take just one moment to highlight the incredible growth and investment in our softball program and in our facilities,” Tucci said. “Today, we proudly support over 255 girls playing recreation softball along with 30 high school players. This level of participation shows just how important this program is to our community and how much it continues to grow to support that growth. We’ve made a major investment in our facilities through a $1.2 million grant from the state of New Jersey’s Green Acres Program, which funded both the field project and new LED lighting. These improvements have truly transformed what we’re able to offer.”
The Glotzbach Park Girls Softball field hosts approximately 30 travel games, 15 high school games and seven college doubleheaders. Thanks to the upgraded lighting, three to four practices will take place every night, significantly increasing access for players.
The extensive upgrades also include collegiate-level locker rooms, a coaches’ office with meeting space, a press box with a modern sound system, game streaming capabilities, renovated bathrooms, new bleachers, new player benches and upgrades to the dugouts and fieldhouse.
“And we’re not done yet. Looking ahead, we will continue to improve the area with new walkways, additional new stairs, additional bleachers, and a playground for some of our special needs children as well as our non-special needs children. All of this is part of a larger effort to make this space more welcoming, more functional and enjoyable for everyone in our community,” Tucci said.
Before the ceremony, Tucci took the time to mention two special individuals.
“For those of you who are wondering who oversaw all of this construction, it absolutely was not me,” the commissioner said. “This was done by two gentlemen, Superintendent of Recreation Frank DeMaio and Recreation General Supervisor Anthony Gagliardo. With the support of our entire parks department, they did a phenomenal job. This is college-level satisfaction and college-level quality. Thank you gentlemen, for all that you do…
“And last but not least, we should never forget who we are and where we are. We’re the Township of Nutley. We’re proud of what we do here, we’re proud of our people, we’re proud of our athletes and we’re just going to continue to get better.”
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.