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At that time there will be an unscheduled Planning Board meeting, where village officials will meet with the public to hear details and comment about the proposed rink at 200 Marbledale Road.
The proposal would involve converting the space on Marbledale Road into a 10,000-square-foot ice rink. Since the rink is on the Tuckahoe-Eastchester town line, it has been delayed, needing approval by the Planning Boards of each municipality.
If it is constructed, the ice rink would center on hockey training, and would serve as a home for the Bronxville youth hockey squad. There would also be hockey instruction and introductory classes where younger residents can strap on their skates for the first time and hit the ice in a controlled setting.
According to a member of the Tuckahoe Planning Board, small ice skating rinks have become prominent in the area since the rink at Rye Playland was damaged by Hurricane Sandy.
The project is being developed by Barbuti Architects – who will be present at the meeting – the same firm that designed the recently opened Broken Bow Brewery. Plans include an upstairs viewing area, which will overlook two ice surfaces. There will be a skate rental and sharpening station, and a snack bar is being considered.
The rink would be open each day from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., with expected spikes in action after school from 4 to 9 p.m., a time when most residents are coming home from work. This potential spike in traffic is one caveat the Planning Board has offered, according to Antonio Lee, the chair of the board.
“Concerns include traffic, parking and noise,” he said.
At the meeting, the Planning Board is expected to unveil the results of a parking study that was commissioned when the proposal was introduced. Although there is likely to be an uptick in traffic, some village residents are excited about the prospects of another business opening up.
“As a hockey player and coach, I welcome a small rink in town. It’s much better for young kids to learn on a small rink; mine learned at the upstairs rink in Playland,” Bob Strong said. “It seems to me that Eastchester is getting the best of both worlds: a rink in town, but not all the potential problems created by a full rink facility like the one proposed in Rye Brook.”
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