Robert W. Pratt Field of Smithtown High School West is located in Smithtown, New York on Long Island. The man-made turf field was built on the top of a slight hill that leads to the Smithtown High School West building when you travel downward in the south western direction. Surrounding the southern border of the school building and connecting parking lot is a large wooded area that is uninhabited by any local residents. To the west, three rows of houses reside with a maximum physical length of .07 miles between the first and third row of homes stretching horizontally from east to west. The most western row of houses creates an existing border between main road Timber Ridge Drive which runs horizontally east and west. This border of homes stretches up into the northern region of the school’s borders until we approach Robert W. Pratt Field. It is here that a small layer of forest lays between the metal gate surrounding the field and the residential neighborhood. The street that runs horizontally and divides the field from Gingerbread Road, the closest street to the field, is Old Northport Road. To the east of the field is Central Road, the designated address for Smithtown High School West. Once you have reached the end of Old Northport Road when traveling to the east, you approach Meadow Road. Travelling from the field to Meadow Road for a total of 1.64 miles, which will take you in the southeast direction, will lead you directly to the town’s most famous monument, the statue of Whisper the Bull. Whisper has been standing proudly on a patch of green next to the divide between Meadow Road and Main Street for over 70 years. It is a symbol of our town’s heritage as well as the heart and pride of our high school mascot, the Bull.
In relation to the readings we have completed so far about urban divisions, there were many visible boundaries that divided town residents based mainly on income and property tax surrounding the field. There is a clear divide between Old Northport Road and Meadow Road in which the homes on the streets that run north of Old Northport Road possess a higher property tax and are therefore filled with wealthier Smithtown and Kings Park residents. Kings Park is the neighboring town that begins at the western border of Lawrence Road. This road is the divider between the heavily-wooded Kings Park Unique Area, and Smithtown households. The Unique Area is a public park open to residential family and friends. Along Meadow Road are many side-streets that all conform into a larger Smithtown neighborhood that connects to the homes off of Gingerbread Road, however, the homes along the strip of Meadow Road when heading east towards the Smithtown emblem are significantly cheaper in price than the houses located within mere yards of Robert W. Pratt Field.
Although the field is considered a space that is “open to the public,” it is in fact the property of Smithtown High School West and therefore deemed private property of Smithtown. This private space draws a relation to the surrounding neighborhood in that the most expensive homes within the town surround the school. Once you have travelled roughly 0.29 miles in the south eastern direction, however, the prices of homes drop. The farther away one travels from the location of the field, the lower the property taxes become. Smithtown is a predominantly white, and rich area. There is very little diversity amongst residents and students at the school, and therefore there are rarely any people of color on Robert W. Pratt Field. The exception, however, are students and families that have travelled from other schools and towns to participate in a league and/or non league sporting event.
Robert W. Pratt Field is at the edge of the Smithtown residence neighborhood. It is located just southeast of the major cutoff that divides Smithtown zip codes and Kings Park zip codes. The field itself is actually quite difficult to get to now that Covid-19 is present. Those with the most available access to the field, aside from the Smithtown High School West students, are those who live within walking distance of the field. This would include those living on Ginger Bread Road, Enchanted Forest Road, Old Northport Road, Whispering Woods Drive, and Ernest Court, all of which are within a one mile radius from any entrance you approach the field. New complications have arose as a result of the pandemic that left people struggling to gain access to the field. From the months of April until July the field’s two main entrances were locked up tight. At times there were even security guards that worked for the school on post at the perimeter of the field. To even step foot on the turf one had to either hop over the metal fence that separated the main road from the woods, or one had to walk through the woods north of the field and south of Old Northport Road in order to find a way in. In addition to this, the parking lot was also in the midst of being re-done during the same time block and as a result many people who wanted to use the field would park their cars on Ginger Bread Road since the lot was closed. I also happened to be one of the people that did this. This lead to heavier traffic flow within the small, local neighborhood than anyone had ever seen before as many residents were stuck making three-point turns and fighting for parking spots outside of homes on the street.
