Letters

Why mention sewage plant?

Posted

To the Editor:

We were so happy to receive the 2016-2017 Lynbrook/East Rockaway Guide in the most recent issue of the Herald. It was so gratifying to see that Bay Park was given its own section, as many residents feel we do live in a unique, very special community.

You can imagine our dismay when, in the first paragraph no less, the author found it necessary to invoke the “extensive damage sustained by the community when Nassau County’s Bay Park Sewage Plant discharged approximately 50 million gallons of untreated sewage.”  To me, it was tantamount to printing under a graduating senior’s picture in a yearbook, “Threw up on the bus during the first-grade trip to the zoo.”

Yes, it’s true, but should it continue to define an area and be the first thing brought to mind when someone mentions Bay Park? I feel the Herald has done a great disservice to this community by once again bringing up this horrendous event.

Bay Park is in a state of flux: there is rebuilding and renovation going on. Every day, it seems, another house is being raised. This is true of waterside communities across the island. Here in Bay Park, homeowners are rebuilding since this is such a special place to live. We are struggling to maintain the very special vibe of  “old” Bay Park while making our community viable in the future.

I can honestly say, every time someone new comes to this area, the reaction is, “What a great place! I never knew this was here!” And I’ve never been tempted to point out what happened to the neighboring sewage treatment plant during Sandy in reply. 

Since Sandy, the Nassau County government has done more and been more responsive and sympathetic to the needs of Bay Park than at any other time in recent memory. We are all moving forward, hoping to put the past behind us — and we would so appreciate the Herald doing the same.

Pamela Castellano

Bay Park