A ribbon cutting ceremony was held on Monday, July 24th dedicating the Andrea Spilka Memorial Park & Nature Trail in Eastport. The properties located at 471 and 475 Montauk Highway in Eastport were purchased by the Town of Southampton with Community Preservation Funds and will now commemorate Andrea Spilka’s life, service and dedication to her community.
Andrea Spilka, a tireless civic leader in the Town of Southampton and the Town of Brookhaven, died on December 2020. Ms. Spilka an Eastport resident, shared a passion for water quality and environmental issues, and will be remembered for her efforts to maintain and improve our quality of life on the East End.
Councilman John Bouvier, who spearheaded the effort, stated, “One of the reasons we chose this location was because she served both the Brookhaven and the Southampton community. We thought this would be the perfect place for her. It’s a natural park, a birder’s paradise, which I think would represent her best. Every time I drive by, I think of Andrea and I hope you do to.”
Kevin McDonald from the Nature Conservancy stated, “What Andrea was really gifted at was she always looked for a positive solution, when sometimes there weren’t many that were too positive at all. She was able to disagree with people in a way that always preserved her dignity as well as the dignity of the people she was talking to and with, some she even might have been angry at, but never showed it. Most of us refer to that as sort of a quaint aspect of grace, and being gracious.”
Councilman Rick Martel, Southampton Town Clerk Sundy Schermeyer, Assemblyman Fred Thiele, Southampton Town Councilman Tommy John Schiavoni, Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine, Southampton Town Councilwoman Cyndi McNamara, Southampton Town Councilman John Bouvier, The Nature Conservancy’s Kevin McDonald, Esther Granlick, Legislator Bridget Fleming, Town of Southampton Supervisor Jay Schneiderman, Brookhaven Town Councilman Dan Panico.
