Ignoring the Call of Doody

Posted

To the Editor:

Rather than address the evidence that certain Glen Cove residents are illegally piping their raw sewage directly into the creek leading to Crescent Beach, Mayor Reggie Spinello has questioned why the public was allowed to know the results of the report.

Crescent Beach has been closed for nearly a decade due to high bacteria levels. In an effort to identify the source of the bacteria and develop a remediation plan, Legislator Delia DeRiggi-Whitton obtained grant funds on behalf of the city and an engineering firm was retained to conduct a study of the area.

The water table in the Crescent Beach area is high and the homes still utilize cesspools (as the sewer system does not serve that area). It was suspected that a significant number of cesspools in the area were leaching to Crescent Beach.

What was found by the engineering firm is quite simply disgusting. At least three homeowners had pipes installed that takes their sewage directly to the creek. They are literally flushing their toilets directly to Crescent Beach.

Based upon the evidence provided in this report (including scientific evidence, pictures, and proof that raw sewage is coming out of these pipes), stakeholders of Hempstead Harbor and the Long Island Sound are demanding immediate action. However, Spinello simply chooses to describe the appropriate release of this information to the public as "political." Despite being aware of this information for over eight weeks, the Glen Cove Mayor didn't even bother to tell his City Council and to date he has done nothing to enforce the law or protect the residents and their environment.

At the City Council meeting last Tuesday, Spinello was called to task by more than one resident about this repulsive situation.

His response was astounding - "What do you want me to do about it?"

This past Friday, there was a meeting with the Nassau County Department of Public Works where Spinello tried to abdicate authority to prosecute this environmental disgrace to any entity that would take it — the DEC, the Nassau County Dept of Health or DPW. He was upset about who was at the meeting and about the public finding out what he already knew. He even questioned whether forcing the offending property owners to discontinue this reprehensible

exploitation "would make any difference in the bacteria levels at the beach."

Councilman Tim Tenke told him the public expects him to simply enforce the law. Chapter 225 of the Code of Glen Cove is quite clear that what is occurring is unlawful and the mandatory steps that need to be taken by the mayor to rectify the situation.

One has to ask why Spinello has chosen to ignore the duties of his office, but one thing is clear — it is time for a change of leadership in Glen Cove.

Bruce Kennedy

Sea Cliff Village Administrator