(OCEANSIDE, N.Y.) – On Sunday, July 30, Nassau County Police responded to Foxhurst Road in Oceanside, where a sinkhole made the residential road impassible for several hours. Officials stated that the issue was caused by the eruption of an underground water main pipe, which caused the road above to buckle.
“This latest sinkhole – the third in just two months’ time - makes it clear that we are in the midst of a growing infrastructure crisis,” Nassau County Legislator Debra Mulé (D – Freeport) said. “The current state of Nassau County’s aging sewer mains, water pipes, and other vital infrastructure demands an immediate response from leaders at all levels of government if we are to adequately safeguard the welfare of our communities and protect the environment from further harm. I am committed to making the implementation of those necessary short- and long-term solutions my top priority in the days ahead.”
Previously, on June 27, the failure of a 42-inch sewer main under Baldwin’s Grand Avenue made the road impassible until mid-July and spilled untreated sewage into nearby Brookside Creek and the backyards of neighboring residents, causing environmental damage to local ecosystems. Earlier, on May 31, Lido Boulevard in Lido Beach was badly damaged and rendered impassible by a sinkhole.
Earlier this month, in letters to New York Governor Kathy Hochul, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, U.S. Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, Legislator Mulé expressed the critical need for additional resources to repair and upgrade by Nassau County’s aging infrastructure and proactively prevent future sinkholes and the related transportation burdens caused by them. She also urged federal representatives to expedite the delivery of billions of dollars in general infrastructure aid that was previously authorized through the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
At the County level, Legislators in the Public Works, Finance, and Rules Committee voted unanimously on July 17 to approve the amendments to the 2023-2026 capital plan and dedicate those additional resources to the 35101 “lateral sewer repair” capital budget line. Funds from this line were tapped previously for the Lido Beach repairs and are being utilized for the Baldwin sinkhole project. They must be replenished to fund future urgent sewer repair projects in the County. Final approval for the additional bonding could come as soon as the scheduled Monday, Aug. 7 meeting of the full Legislature.