Altmann Announces Strathmore Park in Great Neck Landscape Improvements Planned

Nassau County Legislator Lisanne Altmann (D-Great Neck) today announced that a $500,000 landscape and beautification project will begin later this fall at Strathmore Park in Great Neck. The funding, $250,000 of which will be paid by Nassau County and the remaining $250,000 will be paid by the Village of Great Neck, was part of a unanimously approved public referendum to issue a $50 million bond for Clean Water, Open Space Protection and Parks. The construction will be done by the Village of Great Neck.

The park’s improvements will include new walkways and paths, a variety of new plantings and new fencing. The improvement project will begin later this fall and should finish by early winter.

“I have long been committed to the restoration of our community’s valuable parks, and I fought to bring this landscape project for Strathmore Park to fruition,” said Legislator Altmann. “I am very pleased to be able to provide a beautified park that the families of this community can enjoy and be proud of.”

The Nassau County bond for Clean Water, Open Space Protection and Parks is one of four environmental packages that voters in the Nassau-Suffolk region approved last year.

The fund will help protect drinking water, preserve the county’s remaining open space and farmlands from development and improve parklands and park facilities.

It’s no coincidence that Nassau, Suffolk County, the Town of Oyster Bay, and the Town of Brookhaven have all put before voters environmental bonds to preserve what little open space is left for the future.

In Nassau, there are just 400 acres of agricultural farmland and horse farms left in Nassau County. At this time, with the economy struggling to regain its footing, taxes going higher, and the push by developers to expand the economic base in Nassau County, it becomes more important than ever to protect those properties that can be protected and to secure the environment for future generations.

A year from now, two years from now, it could be too late.

The proposal asked voters to approve a referendum that creates an environmental fund to be paid off through a dedicated tax line in Nassau County’s budget. It is estimated that it will cost the average taxpayer about $7 a year.

The legislation would allocate funds to be spent on acquiring open space and development rights, improving parks, clean water projects, brownfields cleanup and oversight. The Legislature is then responsible for approving any projects submitted by the County Executive, after recommendations are made by the Open Space Parks Advisory Committee and the Nassau County Planning Commission.

Earlier this month, Legislator Altmann joined her fellow legislators and several Long Island environmentalists to urge the approval of a $100 million Environmental Protection bond that will appear on this November’s ballot for voters’ approval.

If approved in November, it would authorize the county to bond $100 million for environmental programs, including drinking water protection, local parks preservation, and the preservation of the county’s remaining open space.