WINDSOR LOCKS — Andrew Borgia, the developer of the proposed All Sports Village complex at Route 20 and Interstate 91, built Little League fields in New York that have been unusable because of flooding, according to a local Little League president and local news reports.
Borgia, the principal of JABS Sports Management, constructed the ballfields in Islip, New York, in 2013 as part of an agreement to develop a sports complex in that town.
But according to a report from CBS New York, local Little League President Joseph Hennie estimated that the fields have been unusable since 2014 due to flooding.
Little League officials and parents have been urging local officials to fix the fields, according to several local reports.
Although the Islip town supervisor — a position similar to a first selectman in Connecticut — has blamed the issues on Borgia’s work, Borgia said the fields, like others he has developed over the past decade, were developed “with strict adherence to local permitting and with the highest of engineering standards.”
CBS New York reported in recent weeks that Little League officials “fear it’s too dangerous to play” on the fields because of their condition. The league vice president expressed concern over how much longer the fields would last, according to the report.
In a statement to New York media, Islip Supervisor Angie Carpenter said her administration, which took over after the fields were constructed, inherited the problem from the developer.
In an interview with the Journal Inquirer, Hennie said some fields need to be dug up and redone because they lack proper drainage.
Hennie said the previous town administration “should’ve done better, basically, at watching (the developer) engineer the field.”
Unlike the town supervisor, he said he was unsure whether the blame lies with Borgia.
“It’s a horrible job,” he said of the fields’ engineering. But he added that, because of the lack of adequate supervision by the town, “I don’t know if that’s Andy Borgia’s fault.”
In a statement to the Journal Inquirer, Borgia said the fault lies entirely with the town.
“The Islip softball fields were properly constructed, received full town approval, and received a certificate of occupancy for use in 2013 — the fields functioned well for several years before flooding issues ensued due to lack of maintenance,” he said.
First announced in July, the All Sports Village complex still needs various town approvals before it can move ahead. According to development plans, the complex, which would primarily be used by traveling sports teams to play tournaments, is to include several indoor and outdoor sports fields and amenities such as dormitories for visiting teams, an entertainment center, dining areas, and shops.
An economic impact study commissioned by JABS Sports Management found that the sports complex would bring $15 million in local spending in its first year of operation, a number that the study projected would grow to $27 million in five years.
About a week after the development was announced, First Selectman Christopher Kervick said negotiations were suspended after he became aware of a lawsuit against Borgia by former investors accusing Borgia of defrauding them in a separate project.
The suspension was brief; two days later, Kervick announced that Borgia would have an opportunity to explain the circumstances of the lawsuit. From there, approvals regarding the development continued to move forward.
Borgia has made several guarantees to the town in the event that All Sports Village receives complete approval, including replacing the existing Windsor Locks High School track with one that is “state-of-the-art” and installing six LED-lit tennis courts to replace the school’s existing five courts.
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