Read the full article by Liza Featherstone (The New Republic)
“There are no political yard signs here, people in Rye used to say, describing the comity of this idyllic suburban community just outside New York City. Some people vote Republican, and some vote Democrat, but the denizens of Rye have historically tended to eschew any statements or discussion that could be divisive. In fact, yard signs were banned by local zoning regulations until the rules were challenged by the New York Civil Liberties Union in 2008. Risking political friction with neighbors just isn’t part of the culture, one longtime resident told me.
Or at least, it wasn’t. Until the ‘turf war.’
One issue has pitted neighbor against neighbor, inspired yard signs, and led citizens, whether in heated City Council meetings or on social media, to impugn one another’s good intentions and concern for the well-being of the young. That issue is not migrants, gender-neutral bathrooms, or critical race theory. It’s the soccer field.
If your kid plays soccer, as mine does, no matter where you live, the woes of Rye’s Nursery Field may be familiar. The grass has not been well maintained. The field floods easily, causing practices and games to be canceled. In 2019, a group of donors involved in local youth sports, fed up, offered to raise $3 million to install an artificial turf field.” …