Nassau County Executive

57 Nassau Projects Include Open Space Acquisition,
Brownfield Clean-up and Water Quality Improvement

Mineola, NY – County Executive Tom Suozzi’s advisory committee of environmental and civic leaders today announced proposed uses for the $50 million environmental bond issue that was overwhelmingly approved by voters in 2004.

The Environmental Program Advisory Committee was appointed by Suozzi to review 262 proposals for the funds. Of those, the committee is recommending 57 projects, including acquiring 186 acres of open space, preserving two working farms, improving parks throughout the county, cleaning up brownfields and protecting waterways and wetlands.

In a show of strong bi-partisan support, the Nassau County Legislature in August 2004 unanimously approved the Nassau County Environmental Program. And in November 2004, 77% of Nassau County voters agreed, approving the referendum to authorize the issuance of $50 million bonds to fund the Environmental Program. The $50 million from the bond act has since been leveraged to generate an additional $34 million for environmental benefit.

"We are today identifying real projects to improve parks, clean up brownfields, improve water quality and preserve open space across the county," Suozzi said. "These are vital projects to help keep Nassau County a great place to live, work and play."

The committee’s recommendations must now be reviewed within the next 60 days by the Nassau County Planning Commission and the Open Space and Parks Advisory Committee. They will then go to the County Executive and the Legislature for final approval.

Among the 15 parcels of open space to be preserved are two of Nassau County’s few remaining working farms – Meyers Farm in Woodbury, and Grossman’s Farm in Malverne, which is six acres. Twenty-five acres of the Boegner Estate in Old Westbury and the 31 acres of the Pulling Estate in Oyster Bay Cove are also among the parcels slated for preservation. About $38 million from the bond act is reserved for open-space preservation.

The county is working on conserving an additional 45 acres, for a total of 231 acres. Preserving open space not only saves these parcels from development, it also protects the groundwater underneath. And county-acquired open space is also available for public use.

Some $5.7 million is earmarked for the 18 parks recommended for improvement. The projects include construction of a new playground and other facilities at Washington Avenue Park in Seaford; a football field at St. Francis Street Park in Roosevelt; and construction of a soccer field and a cricket pitch at the Dutch Broadway Athletic Complex in Elmont.

Many of the 17 storm water improvement projects will help prevent pollutants in storm-water runoff from contaminating Nassau County’s many waterways and wetlands. These projects, which will use about $4.4 million, include water treatment at the Massapequa Preserve, Silver Lake Park in Baldwin, Mill Basin in Merrick and Meadowbrook Creek in Freeport. Wetland plantings and removal of sediment is also recommended for Scudder’s Pond in Sea Cliff.

The seven brownfield clean-up projects, which will use about $1.9 million, include the demolition of an incinerator in Long Beach and the remediation of contaminated properties in Wesbury and Roosevelt.

"We are very pleased at the work this committee had produced," said Presiding Officer Judy Jacobs (Woodbury). "The public has entrused us with the important job of preserving open space and our environment, and we are anxious to move forward. The Legislature will be conducting hearings before the Planning, Development & Environment Committee to further analyze the committee’s recommendations."

"This has been a process of high integrity with input from the public and environmental and civic experts," said Brian Muellers, chairman of the Environmental Program Advisory Committee. "It is our hope that the Legislature will rapidly implement these projects."

"We are proposing some very exciting projects that will preserve pristine open spaces in danger of being lost to development," said Neal Lewis, Executive Director of Neighborhood Network. "A tremendous amount of hard work went into creating this report of proposed actions, and we're confident Nassau County residents will be pleased to see how much can be accomplished with this environmental bond."

"Forty percent of the county's open land has been developed since 1980. That leaves less than 10% of remaining land to recharge future groundwater, provide recreation and ensure the lovely scenic quality we all enjoy,” said Lisa Ott, Executive Director of the North Shore Land Alliance. “We are grateful to the voters of Nassau County for choosing to protect their precious land and parks and to the County Executive and Legislature for making this Environmental Bond Program possible."

Suozzi Advisory Committee AnnouncesProposed Uses for $50 Million Environmental Bond

Suozzi Advisory Committee Announces
Proposed Uses for $50 Million Environmental Bond