The least important update out of East Rockaway in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy is the condition of Bay Park, the Nassau County park and nine-hole golf course surrounded on three sides by Hewlett Bay and its inlets. The community outside the park's gates was hit hard during the storm, evidenced by the curbside piles of furniture and belongings that have become all too familiar through Long Island's slow recovery.
Still, the conditions at Bay Park and similar coastal courses and parks are notable for local golfers — especially ones who grew up on these beginner nines — and those who take pride in Long Island's beautiful open spaces. Nassau's parks have been slow to get back on track after Sandy, either because of damage or diversion of staff and resources. The golf course at Bay Park is damaged — not badly, but enough to keep it closed two weeks after the storm and potentially through November.
Bay Park does not stay open year-round, and it wouldn't be a surprise if the course closes the curtain on the 2012 season well before its usual end date in late December. Two of the large willows to the right of #1's fairway were toppled by the storm. On the eastern side of the course, next to #2 and #3, a dislodged segment of the adjacent docks sits on top of a portion of chain-link fencing. Debris can be seen scattered around the sickly colored fairways and tees.
A few miles west, North Woodmere Park also remains closed. Currently, the park and golf course are inaccessible from the south. Branch Boulevard, the park's main feeder road from the Five Towns area, collapsed during Hurricane Sandy, no more than a few hundred feet from Woodmere's first green.