Michael Zarin has never met figure skater Sarah Hughes, a Kings Point native who won a gold medal at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.
But, that hasn’t stopped Zarin from coming up with a way to honor Hughes and the years she spent honing her skills at the Great Neck Park District’s Parkwood Sports Complex.
During the Great Neck Parks District Board of Commissioners meeting last Thursday, Zarin presented an application to rename the Parkwood Sports Complex the “Sarah Hughes Sports Campus.”
“This is something that I’m doing completely on my own,” said Zarin, a longtime Great Neck resident. “I don’t know the Hughes family. I know that they’re a very wonderful family. Their reputation is all over Great Neck, but I don’t know them. I don’t know Sarah. I think it’s just the right thing to do in this community.”
Park District Commissioner Ruth Tamarin commended Zarin for completing and presenting the application during last week’s meeting.
“Michael, when I look at you I remember how you stood up for the Parkwood Complex, the pool, the Cohan property,” Tamarin said. “You were always there in support of us. We in turn thank you.”
Great Neck resident John Hughes, father of the now 26-year-old former Olympian, said he was surprised when informed of the application to rename the sports complex after his daughter.
“That would be great,” said Hughes, who handles all press inquiries for Sarah. “That would be something.”
Efforts to reach Sarah Hughes were unavailing.
With the application now submitted, the effort to rename the Parkwood Sports Complex must now go through a somewhat lengthy process for approval.
The board of commissioners will first review the application to ensure it meets the requirements outlined in the park district’s policy to dedicate a building. The parks district will then advertise the application to the community in local newspapers, on its Web site and in flyers posted at park facilities, Great Neck Parks District Commissioner Robert Lincoln Jr. said.
The commissioners are also required to hold public hearings on the renaming of the complex at two of its board meetings. Within a period of 60 days, commissioners will then confer on the merits of the dedication before making a final vote.
“I would say that it could easily take three or fourth months before a final decision,” Lincoln said.
Zarin said 39 parks district residents signed a petition to rename the Parkwood Sports Complex for Hughes.
“I understand that you are going to have some hearing and it might take some time, but at least we’ve satisfied the beginning of this,” he said.
The Parkwood Sports Complex is comprised of the Parkwood Pool, the Parkwood Tennis Learning Center and the Andrew Stergiopoulis Ice Rink. Residents of all Great Neck Villages and unincorporated areas are eligible to use the park district with the exception of Great Neck Estates, Harbor Hills, Lake Success, Saddle Rock and University Gardens.
If passed, the renaming of the sports complex would not effect the name of the ice rink, which has already been dedicated in honor of Stergiopoulis.
“The rink is named for Andrew Stergiopoulis, (a Great Neck North High School graduate) who perished in the World Trade Center,” Zarin said. “We certainly don’t want to do anything about that.”
Instead, Zarin said he wishes to augment the lessons local children can learn from the story of Stergiopoulis’ life, along with the achievements of Hughes.
“Nothing would please me more than to have children ask ‘well, why is this named for Sarah Hughes’ and understand why that is and what kind of a person she is,” Zarin said.
Aside from her Olympic success, Hughes earned a bronze medal at the 2001 World Championships in Vancouver, along with several other medals at international skating competitions. Her sister Emily is also a figure skater, who competed in the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy.
For Zarin, though, the reason to honor Sarah Hughes goes far beyond just athletic endeavors.
“Miss Hughes is a wonderful role model for the children and adults of the community,” Zarin said. “She has excelled in sports, in her studies in the Great Neck Public Schools and in her demeanor.”
He added that honoring Hughes was also another way to serve his community.
“As what was indicated before, I have a certain history in this community of doing what I think is the right thing,” he said. “So, I’m continuing it in this.”
