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Hempstead Harbor Protection Committee
Members: Nassau County, Towns of North Hempstead and Oyster Bay, City of Glen Cove,
Villages of Flower Hill, Roslyn, Roslyn Harbor, Sands Point and Sea Cliff
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 12, 2004
Public Meeting
HEMPSTEAD HARBOR'S FUTURE TO BE DISCUSSED
THE HARBOR'S FIRST COORDINATED MANAGEMENT PLAN WILL SOON BE COMPLETED
UPDATE ON PROGRAMS TO IMPROVE THE HARBOR
7:30 pm, Tuesday, March 2nd at the Brant Library in Roslyn
On Tuesday, March 2nd at 7:30 pm, the Hempstead Harbor Protection Committee will hold a public meeting to explain its Draft Harbor Management Plan for Hempstead Harbor and to solicit the public's comments on its policies, proposals and recommendations before preparing a Final Harbor Management Plan. The meeting will also include an update on efforts undertaken by the Committee to implement its Water Quality Improvement Plan and by its member municipalities to improve water quality conditions in the harbor. The meeting will be held at the Bryant Library on East Broadway in the Village of Roslyn.
The Draft Harbor Management Plan was developed over the past six years with financial and technical assistance provided by the New York State Department of State's Division of Coastal Resources and was prepared by the environmental engineering firm of Cashin Associates. Unlike most other long term municipal plans which deal with land use and zoning, a harbor management plan addresses uses on the water itself. With two townships, one city, five villages and one county sharing its borders and jurisdiction and with numerous and sometimes competing recreational, industrial, utility and environmental uses, the plan seeks to coordinate and provide an appropriate balance among these diverse interests and users.
"The public's input is essential if this plan is to be workable and effective," stated William Clemency, Chair of the Committee and Deputy Mayor of the Village of Flower Hill. "We want this to be more than a document on a bookshelf".
As part of the planning process, all households within the Hempstead Harbor watershed were surveyed and a stakeholders and public information meeting was held in 2002.
Once completed, the plan would then be submitted to each of the nine municipalities that make up the Committee and each municipality would then be able to formally adopt the plan.
A copy of the Committee's draft plan is available for public review at the Glen Cove Library, the Sea Cliff Library, the Bryant Library and the Port Washington Library.
The Hempstead Harbor Protection Committee an inter-municipal group representing nine municipalities that border Hempstead Harbor. By combining resources and working together, all the municipalities save time, expenses and effort in creating and maintaining an environmentally better harbor. The Committee is made up of the Towns of Oyster Bay and North Hempstead, Nassau County, the City of Glen Cove and the Villages of Sands Point, Roslyn, Flower Hill, Roslyn Harbor, and Sea Cliff. Observers to the Committee are: New York State Department of State, Division of Coastal Management, the Coalition to Save Hempstead Harbor, the North Shore Environmental Alliance, Inc., and the Glen Head/Glenwood Landing Civic Association.
For information contact Eric Swenson, Director, Hempstead Harbor Protection Committee at 516-677-5790.
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