Sunday in the Park with Paul The Mayor Discovers Cayuga Island in Time for Reelection

Cayuga Island can expect to see a lot of action in the coming weeks.

He did it, it took him just over five years but Paul Dyster finally moved construction equipment into Jayne Park on Cayuga Island to begin his Jayne park redesign.

The park reconstruction (or destruction in the eyes of many residents) is coming courtesy of taxpayer dollars, a state grant and NYPA Greenway funds.

On the morning of Wednesday August 27, city engineering department employees and a work crew driving a large tractor-trailer off loaded a pile driver.

Cayuga Island, and its Jayne Park, is getting a makeover. (Above) Hennepin Ave is being repaved.

That piece of heavy equipment was driven to the edge of the Little River about 120 yards east of the sledding hill and it banged away on the shore for the rest of the day.

Interestingly there is no way that an RFP could have been processed from the date of the Jayne Park meeting held two weeks ago to the date of the pile drivers' arrival.

More interesting is the fact that, while Dyster and Senior Planner Tom DeSantis have talked of their Jayne Park "plan," that plan has never been formally shared with the public and never presented to the city council for final approval.

In the past two weeks, the Dyster administration has sent its clean team through Cayuga Island alleys and hired a contractor to pour new sidewalks on a section of Griffon Avenue.

Suddenly Mayor Dyster has discovered Cayuga Island.

One wonders if he ever walked Cayuga Island before, because, if he had, he would see the island infrastructure needed attention for years.

For years, Dyster has been determined to put parking lots and canoe launches on the island's pastoral Jayne park, but seemingly failed to notice much of the island sidewalks are in need of repair, the western end of the Joliet Avenue was down to stone with hazardous ruts, and much of Hennepin Ave desperately needs replacement.

Well, better late than never.

On Friday, Aug. 29, just two days after starting work on Jayne Park, the mayor had Hennepin Ave prepped for repaving.

Now there are at least two sounds that can be heard on the island: the banging of construction equipment in Jayne Park, and the clanging of pavement equipment on the island streets nearby.

But some say if one listens carefully a third almost inaudible sound can be heard: the snickering of a mayor well on his way to a third term.