Army Corps project could begin this fall

(Page 2 of 3)

Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano and Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray also expressed their support for the project. “We fought hard for the Long Beach island project for more than two decades, and one of the constant partners through the fight has been Senator Schumer,” Murray said in a statement. “This puts us one step closer to putting a shovel in the sand, hardening our coastline and protecting homes and infrastructure on the barrier island.”

The city’s resolution to revive the project came after Sandy, when Schumer urged municipalities and the corps to move forward with projects that had already received federal approval and didn’t require years of planning. Last year, Schumer said that the $60 billion federal Hurricane Sandy aid package would provide millions of dollars for dozens of long-delayed projects to protect coastal communities. The Sandy Supplemental Package, he said, included funding for the Long Beach plan.

The Army Corps project includes the rehabilitation of 15 jetties, or groins, in Long Beach and two in Point Lookout. It features 25-foot-wide dunes in Long Beach, rising to 15½ feet above sea level, in front of the boardwalk. The dunes would slope down to a 40-foot-wide berm at an elevation of 10 feet, and to a 130-foot-wide berm 2 feet lower. 



Last year, Schumer said that he pushed for full federal funding for the Army Corps plan. Typically, if the city were to approve the project, it would share the cost with the federal government, which would pay for 65 percent of the work.


“While I would have preferred to get shovels in the ground sooner, a project of this magnitude and complexity took the Army Corps and other federal agencies longer than expected to design and implement,” Schumer said. 

Page 2 / 3