Hempsteadharbor Protection Committee

HEMPSTEADHARBOR PROTECTION COMMITTEE

FINALMEETING MINUTES

Meeting of July 18, 2007

Sea Cliff Village Hall – 7:00 pm

NOTE: Items Requiring Action areItalicized and underlined in Bold.

Present: Bill Clemency (Chair); Eric Swenson (Director), Kevin Braun (N. Hempstead), Joel Ziev (N. Hempstead); Fred Pollack, (N. Hempstead); Pasqua Dziadul (Sands Point); Aldona Lawson (Oyster Bay); Dan Maddock (Sea Cliff); Dan Fucci (Nassau County DPW)and Patrice Benneward (Glenwood / Glen Head Civic Association and Manhasset Bay Protection Committee).

Discussion:

Prior to the meeting: Joel Ziev presented a PowerPoint slide show of his most recent aerial photos of the harbor taken on June 22, 2007. Joel will send Eric a disk with copies of the photos.

Note that the guest speaker planned for this meeting, Dr. Matthew Draud, had to cancel his presentation due to the fact that he needed to fly to the Caribbean to assist one of his graduate students on her thesis when her diving partner became ill. He promised to try and make the next meeting.

I. Call to Order. Chair Bill Clemencycalled the meeting to order shortly after 7:30 pm.

1. Approval of Minutes of May 16thmeeting. Motion to approve by Aldona Lawson. Seconded by Dan Fucci. Approved unanimously.

IIIAnnouncements, Reminders, & Upcoming Events -

• DEC Informational Meeting on Draft TMDL Plan – Aug. 10th at 1:00 pm at DEC Stony Brook –

Eric explained that the DEC will be holding a public meeting on its recently completed draft

Shellfish Pathogen TMDL report for 27 Long Island harbors. Of the 27 harbors, the only ones in

NassauCounty are HempsteadHarbor and ColdSpringHarbor. ManhassetBay was reportedly

not included due to insufficient data. Eric, Carol DiPaolo and Dan Fucci are each still reviewing

the report and will attend the meeting or send a representative. The report was commissioned to

determine the maximum amount of shellfish pathogens that the harbors can assimilate and still

maintain their Class SA water quality standard. At the outset, the report appears to indicate that an

overwhelming percentage of the pathogens result from non-point source runoff. Because of this, it

is expected that the burden of assuring that the established TMDL is not exceeded will largely fall

to the municipalities (“MS4s”) that surround the harbor. Eric will report back to the Committee

after he attends the August 10th meeting.

• NassauCounty’s Healthy Nassau Initiative & shellfish seeding – July 17th meeting –

Eric reported that on July 17th, he, Carol DiPaolo and Kevin Braun attended a meeting held by County Executive Tom Suozzi to discuss what role, if any, the County should play in shellfish restoration efforts in HempsteadHarbor and in the south shore waters off of the Towns of Hempstead and Oyster Bay. Representatives of Cornell Cooperative Extension, NYS DEC, the Town of Hempstead, the South Shore Estuary Reserve Office, US EPA – Long Island Sound Office and the US Fish and Wildlife Office were also in attendance. The bulk of the meeting focused on HempsteadHarbor. County Executive Suozzi explained that more public attention needs to be focused on shellfishing in general and Hempstead Harbor in particular and that HempsteadHarbor is first on his list. The County has enlisted the services of Cornell Cooperative Extension to perform a survey to determine where the County could plant seed clams and seed oysters to assist in the cleansing of the harbor’s waters and to spark public interest. The County has gone out to bid on the purchase of $50,000 worth of clam and oyster seed which would be used on both shores and has obtained a permit from DEC to plant the seeds. The CountyExecutive then asked each of the attendees to make a short statement of what their five year vision for the harbor was. Eric lead off the discussion by stating that the goal over the next five years should be to re-open the harbor to shellfishing and that efforts would be best directed toward the studies and water testing that would be necessary in order to achieve this. Each of the other attendees concurred that this should be the goal. After discussion, it was decided that the following goals should be set: By August 1st, 2009, part of the harbor should be re-opened to shellfishing; by August 1st, 2010, another part should be re-opened and by August 1st, 2011 the entire harbor should be re-opened. It was further decided that since the HHPC has already established this as a goal in its long term plans and since it has the infrastructure in place, that it should take the lead in reaching this goal with the assistance of the County and the various attendees. The County’s point person will be Tom Maher. The group also suggested that the seeding effort be put off until the fall when the chance of seed survival is increased. It was agreed to target Columbus Day weekend for the planting and that it would be appropriate to arrange for the Christeen to be used in this effort. Mr. Suozzi strongly suggested that the seed be placed in Glen Cove waters if possible.

• Glen Cove Ferry Terminal Open House & Hearing, The Metropolitan – Aug. 30th4:00 – 7:00 PM - Open House and 7:30 – 9:30 PM - Hearing –

Eric advised the Committee that the City of Glen Cove will be holding an afternoon open house and an evening hearing on its plans for a new ferry terminal in Glen Cove Creek. Eric plans to attend and will report back to the Committee.

• Army Corps of Engineers Projects in LowerHarbor – possibility of renewed funding –

Eric reported that he received a phone call from Matt Cohen from Senator Schumer’s office relaying the news that funds may be appropriated this year to the dormant Army Corps of Engineers habitat restoration project for the lower harbor. This project, which was initiated by the Committee and overseen by the Town of North Hempstead originally had the following goals:

• Removal of riprap and regrading of the shoreline to create a low tidal marsh on the southwest shore of the harbor.
• Creation of a stormwater treatment marsh and evaluation of the need for catch basins on the western shoreline to reduce erosion of the remaining marsh and to channel flow into the newly-created marsh.
• Creation of a low tidal march habitat, filtration marsh and evaluation of the need for a catch basin for storm water outfall from the Roslyn Grist Mill. Note that Kevin Braun reported that he believed that this aspect of the project was previously eliminated.
• Evaluation of the feasibility if filling in the former sand mining pits to reduce the tidal prism and increase the harbor’s flushing rate.

• Invitation to Connecticut Governor’s ceremony celebrating the state’s No Discharge Zone – July 26th, The Maritime Aquarium, Norwalk at 10:00 am

Eric stated that he received an invitation to attend this ceremony to celebrate the designation of Connecticut’s coastline as a federal No Discharge Zone. Since the event coincides with the Committee’s meeting on the discharges in Glen Cove Creek, Eric is unable to attend.

• Port WashingtonManhassetBay Kayak Run – July 28, 2007, Pt.WashingtonTown Dock

Joel Ziev reported that the annual kayak event will take place on July 28th from 9:00 am to 12:30 pm with raffle prizes being drawn at 1:00 pm. This is not a race. There are 14 stations and every kayaker who stops at a station will be given a raffle ticket. The grand prize is a $1,000 kayak. This is a fundraiser for the Port Washington Community Chest and is open to kaykers of all ages and abilities. Kayaks will also be available for rent. Information can be obtained on the Town of North Hempstead’s website. Registration forms and information are available at:

IV. Municipal Updates

North Hempstead – Kevin Braun reported that the recent wetlands restoration work south of BarBeach has been completed.

Sands Point – Pasqua Dziadul reported that the village has been doing resurfacing and regrading work on Luckenback to Cow Neck Road and on Cornwall Beach Road. She also reported that there was a contested village election and that Mayor Wurzel and Trustee Kay Ullman won re-election by large margins (better than 4:1). The Village Board of Trustees also approved the payment of the 2007 dues to HHPC but it was unclear as to whether the Village has approved the signing of the new Inter-municipal agreement. Fred Pollack offered to call Kay Ullman to find out if and when the village intends to sign the agreement. Pasqua also mentioned that the Sands Point Preserve is organizing birding tours of the preserve with categories from beginning to expert. For information, call 571-7901. With regard to the proposed Lands End subdivision, the village has rejected the draft environmental impact statement as incomplete. A hearing will likely be held in September. The condition of the property has also reportedly changed over the last year and a half and the owner, Mr. Brodsky, has been citied for illegally filling in the property without a permit from the village. Eric also reported that he and some friends were kayaking in the harbor a week and a half ago and stopped off at the village’s park and learned that the village has purchased two kayaks which they make available to village residents who wish to kayak in the harbor.

NassauCounty – No report this meeting.

Glen Cove–Note that Danielle Oglesby has left her position with the City and Kelly Morris has been designated as the City’s new representative to the Committee. Ms. Morris was unable to attend tonight’s meeting.

Roslyn – No one present this meeting.

RoslynHarbor – No one present this meeting.

Oyster Bay – Aldona reported that talks with KeySpan were still ongoing for the purchase of two parcels adjacent to TappenBeach. Discussion then turned to the proposed re-configuration of TappenBeach by the Town’s parking lots. Patrice Benneward, Carol DiPaolo and a representative of the boat owner’s group from the Tappen Marina all recently attended a Town Board meeting to express concern over the project.

Frustration was expressed during this meeting that few details are made available to the public. The feeling was expressed that any changes should involve more community input and that while it is acknowledged that there is a real need for more playing fields, that a waterfront park may not be the best use of the property since athletic fields could be built anywhere. Some suggested that a more inland location be more suitable. Concern wasalso expressed about inhibiting the view corridors from the road - that even passing traffic should be able to see and appreciate the water. It was pointed out that apparently, the fencing at the roller rink ended up much taller than originally expected. There were also comments that there needs to be sufficient passive space (picnic areas, etc.) for people to just relax and enjoy the park and that this proposal may take up a good chunk of the picnic area.

In anticipation of the meeting, Eric checked with George Baptista of the Town’s Parks Department and he stated that “because this project is still in its planning phase, there is not a lot of information to provide. Suffice it to say, we continue to "tweak" the design to satisfy the needs of all the user groups and concerns of the residents. We feel that the issues concerning the user groups will adequately resolve their needs, although minor compromises are in order.To the issues that other groups may have, while they are valid, the over-riding need to provide the community youth appropriate playing space and surfaces has become the primary consideration. At all times, we will ensure that environmental concerns and considerations are addressed. We no longer provide draft plans to residents, because we have learned that it only to serves to confuse the discussion when revisions have been made to plans that are the subject of discussion. Please note that there is considerable support for the project, and we are looking to move forward, with a minimum of issues not directly related to the field”.

It is important to reiterate that the Hempstead Harbor Protection Committee does not take positions on issues decided upon by its member municipalities. As such, the HHPC has no position on what is being proposed at Tappen.

Sea Cliff–Dan Maddock reported that the village has appointed Carol DiPaolo as the Chair of the Waterfront Environment Committee and that the new Boardwalk was officially opened on June 23rd. Many local officials and former mayors were in attendance to celebrate the completion of this long term project. Dan also reported that an article on the boardwalk is scheduled to appear in this Sunday’s New York Times (Long Island section). On a somewhat sadder note, Dan reported that the village is starting to experience problems with the 82 sycamore trees that line the promenade along Shore Road north of TappenBeach. Some of these trees, which were donated to the village 70 or 80 years ago began to exhibit problems last year and an expert was brought in. In response to the expert’s recommendations, deep root feeding was implemented at a cost of around $7,000.00. A number of theories have been explored including salt spray and the age of the trees. One of the trees appears to have not responded to the feeding and is dying. A few others are also suffering but not as badly. Dan also reported that the village is still pursuing its plans to relocate the parking lot at the village beach but that while the grant that they received was for $180,000, it was far short of what is needed. The village is hoping that the Town of Oyster Bay can assist them on the project. Under this project the current asphalt parking lot would be removed to be replaced with a passive beach area near the pavilion with additional picnic tables. The new parking lot would be more environmentally friendly with crushed shells as the “paving” material. The current kayak racks would also be relocated to the eastern end of the new parking lot.

Flower Hill – Bill Clemency reported that the village is working with the county on the new environmental bond act and hopes to receive funding for the purchase and installation of 100 storm drain retrofits. It is expected that the county will make its awards sometime this fall.

V. LISS CAC and Civic Group Updates

Long Island Sound Study Citizens Advisory Committee – no report this meeting.

Glenwood / Glen Head Civic Association – Patrice Benneward reported that the Exxon / Mobil terminal in Glenwood Landing is being sold to a firm named Global Partners. Exxon Mobil will reportedly continue to run the facility. The following is from their press release:

GLOBAL PARTNERS SIGNS AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE TWOLONGISLAND REFINED PRODUCTS TERMINALS FROM EXXONMOBIL

Purchase of Strategic Assets Increases Partnership’s Storage Capacity to 8.6 Million Barrels

WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Global Partners LP (NYSE: GLP), one of the Northeast’s largest wholesale distributors of distillates, gasoline and residual oil to wholesalers, retailers and commercial customers, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire two refined products terminals on Long Island, New York from ExxonMobil Oil Corporation. The terminals have a combined storage capacity of 430,000 barrels of petroleum fuels. ExxonMobil has entered into long-term throughput contracts with Global Partners to continue to use the terminals upon closing of the transaction.

The partnership expects to finance the acquisition through its existing credit facility. Global Partners plans to file a Form 8-K with the Securities & Exchange Commission today concerning additional details of the purchase, which is subject to certain other customary conditions. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2007.

“With this acquisition Global becomes a significant player in the key New York refined products markets,” said Eric Slifka, the partnership’s president and chief executive officer. “These terminals increase our total storage capacity to 8.6 million barrels, enabling us to further diversify our market coverage and grow our customer base. The strategic location of these waterborne and pipeline assets, on the North and South shores of Long Island, gives us a unique platform from which to serve both wholesale and commercial customers throughout Greater New York. The Inwood and Glenwood Landing facilities complement Global’s existing New York terminal portfolio, providing us with broad and comprehensive market coverage to service our customers.”

The properties being acquired by Global Partners from ExxonMobil are the following:

· The Inwood, New York terminal has active storage capacity of 326,000 barrels and is supplied by barge and the Buckeye Pipeline system. Products distributed from this terminal include gasoline, ultra low sulfur diesel and heating oil. o:p>