New Haven Parks Commission Approves East Shore Park Hockey Rink Revival

New Haven Parks Commission Unanimously Approves Hockey Rink Plan for East Shore Park

New Haven's Parks Commission voted unanimously to support the revival of a street hockey facility at East Shore Park in the Morris Cove neighborhood, giving a green light to a charity-funded project that organizers say will bring free youth programming to the shoreline park at no cost to taxpayers.

All five commissioners present — Harvey Feinberg, Emily Sigman, Kenya Adams-Martin, Carl Babb, and Mary Ann Moran — approved the motion at the February 19 meeting, endorsing the development of a multi-purpose deck hockey facility at the existing concrete slab at East Shore Park.

A Rink Funded by Private Donation

The initiative is being led by former Morris Cove Alder Sal DeCola, his brother Mark DeCola, and Jeff Russell of Hockey Night in New Haven, a local organization that promotes the sport among youth in the city.

The Leclerc Charity Fund, represented virtually at the meeting by Program Director Mike Leclerc, has pledged to fund the project. Russell told commissioners that the donation would cover at least the next five years of the facility. He declined to specify the exact dollar amount of the donation, saying details would be finalized and released at a later date.

"We want to bring hockey back to New Haven," Sal DeCola said at the meeting, adding that the project would come at "no cost to the taxpayers of New Haven."

A Multi-Use Facility for the Morris Cove Shoreline

The approved plan envisions more than just a hockey rink. While deck hockey — playable in sneakers or rollerblades — will be the primary use, the surface will also be striped for lacrosse, basketball, and soccer, making it a multi-sport venue for the surrounding East Shore neighborhood.

Access to the rink would be free for children, consistent with the project's goal of expanding youth sports participation in the city. Organizers have also mentioned the possibility of eventually building a second facility on New Haven's west side, though no formal proposal for that location has been submitted.

Another stated goal of the project is to increase youth participation in ice hockey at the Ralph Walker rink, New Haven's indoor ice rink, by using the outdoor street hockey facility as a feeder program to introduce kids to the sport.

Morris Cove Neighborhood Has Awaited the Rink's Return

East Shore Park has long been a gathering place for the Morris Cove community, but the hockey rink slab at the park has sat underutilized. The DeCola family and Russell have advocated for restoring hockey programming in the neighborhood for some time, drawing on community ties and charitable connections to make the proposal possible.

The project does not have a set completion date. Russell acknowledged the plan remains in its early stages and that specific construction and programming timelines will be released as details are finalized. The Parks Commission's unanimous vote removes one of the key approval hurdles, though the project will still require coordination with the Parks Department on logistics and scheduling.

New Haven has invested in expanding its park programming in recent years, and the hockey rink revival reflects grassroots momentum from community members and nonprofit organizations working alongside city institutions to fill recreational gaps without drawing on the municipal budget.

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