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Residents of
Point Lookout should understand just how vulnerable we are
residing on a barrier beach and welcome protection from severe
storms and hurricanes. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Barrier Beach Storm Damage Reduction Project is a federal
beach nourishment program designed specifically to provide such
protection while combating erosion as well. As designed, it will
“properly engineer” our barrier beach, thereby, providing mass
mitigation (i.e., preventive maintenance) – the best safeguard
against hurricane disaster. Emergency management authorities are
quick to point out for every dollar spent on hurricane mitigation,
two are saved on recovery efforts. The Project also serves as an
insurance policy since, without proper engineering, government
agencies, such as FEMA, will offer NO assistance even in the
event of disaster. Given these criteria alone, the Civic
Association’s position is this opportunity is vital to the
welfare of our community and must be effectuated. The Civic
contends the Project’s safeguards, assurances and guarantees of
50 years of future maintenance far outweigh its costs,
inconveniences and, if rejected, nature’s consequences. This was
stated in our letters to numerous local, county, state and federal
officials when we requested they get pro-actively involved and
“… exhibit the vision, guts and resolve necessary to
guarantee the Project’s approval and assure its complete
success.”
With
Long Beach
having recently committed to the Project the Civic Association
will, with guidance from the Town of
Hempstead
, begin to refocus its efforts from endorsing the Project to
monitoring it. To state the obvious, the Project will profoundly
impact the character of Point Lookout. It is, therefore, of
paramount importance the Corps consistently pursues and ultimately
provides master workmanship. With this in mind, the Environmental
Committee wrote Anthony Ciorra, the Corps Project Manager, on
November 1, 2002
. The letter requested a regular dialogue be initiated between the
Civic and Project officials, allowing us to participate in
and comment on the following: (i) unresolved engineering and
design issues; (ii) selection of a highly reputable contractor,
respectful of and responsive to our unique community; (iii)
seasonal and environmental concerns; (iv) safeguards, inspections
and quality control issues; (v) regular performance evaluations
and documentation; and (vi) meetings held among locals, partners
and officials.
WHAT DOES THE PROJECT
DESIGN ENTAIL
The Project
is scheduled to commence during the spring of 2004. The U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers will construct one continuous dune and berm
(ledge) system, spanning 6.8 miles from Point Lookout through the
west end of Long Beach. The dune will be 25 feet wide and rise 15
feet above sea level (not above beach level). The berm will be 110
feet wide, rise 10 feet above sea level and join the dune along
its entire south face. In addition, between the berm and the
ocean, the sand elevation will gradually reduce to sea level,
forming an extended beach as it finally terminates at the
water’s edge. The Project will also rehabilitate 16 existing
groins along the span - lengthening some and, in particular, the
one at
Mineola Avenue
by 100 feet. Finally, if deemed
necessary, as many as 7 new groins may be constructed. The
Project’s initial cost will be $85.2 million, approximately
broken down as follows: Federal, $55.4 million; NY State, $20.9
million; City of
Long Beach
, $5.7 million; Town of
Hempstead
, $3 million; and
Nassau
County
, less than $0.2 million.
WHAT MUST POINT LOOKOUT DO TO COMPLY
Since the Project is federally funded, Point
Lookout would be required to allow public access at
Civic
Beach
. Satisfying this requirement is a topic of concern and debate.
The Civic is strongly posturing the requirement has already
been satisfied since such access currently exists via the Town of
Hempstead parking field just west of Parkside Drive. On the other
hand, it has been suggested Point Lookout comply more deliberately
(perhaps to exhibit an explicit act of good faith) by opening an
additional entrance on Ocean Blvd. with a dune walkover to the
beach. However, this in itself may not pose a serious problem
since Point Lookout’s current “No Parking” regulations will
remain in effect and be diligently enforced. Also, after ball
field events are concluded, its gates will be closed, thereby,
eliminating long time parking there.
Gerry Ottavino
12/05/02
Let's us
know what you think. You can learn more on this project at this web
site.
Click the photo to see where
existing jetties will be rehabilitated and new ones built.
Comments
on the Project....
Send us your comments
From Eileen
Gallagher
I
attended the meeting on Thursday night and found it was very
informative & interesting. Mark & I are
definitely in favor of the work that is scheduled to be done on
the beach front and wish it could start sooner - Thanks for all
your hard work.
From Ruth Fenner Barash
GETTING THE
POINT...STRUCTURES ON THE BEACH: TO BUILD OR NOT TO BUILD?
As
a follow-up to our recent chat with Commissioner
Ron Masters of the Department of Conservation and Waterways,
we attended the April 18th meeting of the PL Civic Association,
whose main topic was the rehabilitation of old groins and the
construction of new ones on the south shore of our barrier island
from Point Lookout west through Long Beach, including a 100-foot
extension of our Mineola Avenue jetty.
The
two presenters, one from the US Army Corps of Engineers, the other
from NY State Department of Environmental Conservation, the two
entities which would provide 90% of the $85 million initial
funding, were both strongly in favor, as apparently were many in
the audience, giving the project an air of pre-determination. It
is this sense of inevitability that nudges us to be a gadfly on
the body politic.
We
heard no discussion at all about the philosophical or scientific
underpinnings of the project; it was presented as implicitly a
good thing.
The
worst that nature can dish out - the once-in-a-hundred-years storm
– will not breach the ramparts or the groins, berms and dunes of
this project. The replenishing of the beaches with sand dredged
from off-shore will continue periodically as necessary, on average
every five years, for the next fifty years. (Having been around
somewhat longer than that ourselves, we may be forgiven a bit of
skepticism.)
The
money is at hand, we were told; nevertheless, the Project
Information brochure states that the scheduled beginning of
construction in 2004 "is dependent upon timely receipt of
Federal, State and local government funds."
Everyone
on the island is for the project except the Atlantic Beach
communities at the west end – because they perceive that they
will reap the benefits even if they don't participate.
It
seemed taken for granted that the contractors would be honest,
competent, on-time, safety-first folks who would be mindful of the
community's convenience and its commercial raison d'etre as a
summertime playground. There was no questioning about what the
monster trucks bearing monster loads of rock would do to our
village streets, our air quality, our general tranquility and to
the beach itself.
Just
barely touched on towards the end of the meeting was the fact that
these measures are intended to protect the beach side of the
island only. While obviously our beach is eroded to practically
nothing between bouts of "nourishment", those of us who
have been here for some time know that extremely severe damage has
been caused by northeasters which flooded streets and homes on the
Reynolds Channel side of Long Beach (happily Point Lookout was
spared) and in communities like Bayville on the North Shore. This
project will do nothing to protect us from the lashings of a storm
surge from the northeast.
Nor,
presumably, can it do anything to prevent the effects of a
widely-predicted general rise in the sea level.
The
one subject that evoked serious questions from the audience was
public access. Whether we are for wider public access or against
it, we must recognize that accepting money from the federal
government, the state or any other outside source is a Faustian
bargain . As the adage has it, he who pays the piper calls the
tune. And the tune here is access to the beach to anyone who
wishes to use it, across whatever public walkway would be
constructed over the newly built dunes and berms, with some kind
of public parking, possibly at the ball field – a situation, we
were assured, which would attract very few new users. Whatever
one's point of view about non-residents' use of the beach or the
jetties between the low and high tide lines, it might be sensible
to think twice about providing parking facilities for outsiders in
a community where our children are deemed safe to wander around
town on their own; and if we do have an influx of out-of-towners,
how that would impact on public amenities, sanitation (remember
the aftermath of the old 4th of July fireworks at the Point?) and
policing.
We
feel that a construction project of such major proportions has
environmental, social and economic consequences and ramifications
that should be more thoroughly discussed, and by a larger segment
of our 900-household village than the 65 people who attended the
April 18th meeting.
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