Eagle Scouts Beautify Farmingdale's Gerngras Park

FARMINGDALE, NY — Several Boy Scouts were honored for their work for beautifying Gerngras Park in Farmingdale Village.

Sean Peters, who was looking to perform his Eagle Scout project for Troop 601, enlisted the help of Eagle Scouts and younger Scouts. The Scouts were met with several obstacles but persevered, Mayor Ralph Ekstrand wrote in a statement.

"As an Eagle Scout myself I can relate to their steadfast dedication and community work, and, am happy to announce the wonderful new picnic benches at Gerngras Park!" Ekstrand said.

Peters, a mechanical engineering major at NYIT, tried to complete his Eagle project and hit several dead ends.

"The town I originally went to turned me down because they only use specific expensive products," Peters said via Farmingdale's news release. "After that, the coronavirus pandemic started and stopped me from getting the ball rolling once again. Finally, I was approved by the district for a six-month extension due to the coronavirus and began working immediately."

Peters met with knowledgeable people like his Eagle Scout coach, John Sharp, and began work on the project. Peters said the project may not have been possible without Sharp's guidance and planning.

"Then I was finally ready for approval by the chairman but just when I was ready to move forward we got slammed with snow and I was not able to work on this for over a month," Peters said. "Nevertheless, the snow melted and I got the necessary approval to move forward. My family and troop members really stepped up to help me get the necessary funds and within a week after approval, I was ready to go to Home Depot."

Supplies were procured at Home Depot, including the strongest lumber the store had as well as the stain, the latter of which was donated by the home goods store.

Construction was done at a past Troop 601 Eagle Scout's house: Zack Montenero's. Fellow Eagle Scouts Cody Sapeta, Gavin Rogers, Dominic Baranello, younger scouts Derek Peters and Aiden Martin, as well as adults Adam Peters, Steve Sapeta, Shawn Rogers and Dominic Baranello Sr., all pitched in to provide the necessary manpower.

All the pieces were cut and the A-frames assembled in one day. Peters was at the build site every day for a week to get the project done.

"This whole project was a huge learning experience and I would encourage any young person to follow not in my footsteps, but the footsteps of the many Eagles that came before me," Peters said. "There were many times when I was discouraged and thought that after 10 years of scouting I was going to fall short of becoming an Eagle, but being down does nothing for anybody and if you truly want to achieve something, then you just have to set out one step at a time. Sure, there will be challenges, but life would be oh so boring if it was easy."

Peters added that he was proud to accomplish his project in Farmingdale Village.

"Overall the entire Farmingdale community has been very accommodating and easy to work with," he said. "From the support of troop members since the day I joined; to the Farmingdale community as a whole; it truly was my pleasure working with these wonderful people!"

Ekstrand shared a message for Peters.

"Congratulations on the prestigious honor of 'Eagle Scout,' and thank you, and all of the Scouts, Eagle Scouts, and team that helped to get this project completed. The Farmingdale Village residents are already enjoying the magnificent picnic benches at Gerngras Park."