The Nassau County Parks Department and County Executive Bruce Blakeman have come under intense scrutiny from residents and Democratic legislators, who claimed they have failed to properly maintain the rapidly deteriorating Brookside Preserve, a county-owned nature preserve in Baldwin and Freeport.
Additionally, the county has ignored requests from the South Shore Conservation Society, a Freeport-based nonprofit, which, the group said, has offered to help lead the restoration efforts for free, but still await the go-ahead from Nassau officials.
The 21-acre freshwater wetland and woodland nature preserve, like several parks and protected areas across the county, is supposed to be managed and kept up by the parks department, but the area has been neglected and mismanaged for years, according to the conservation society.
During a recent press conference held at the preserve, Erica DeVargas, the society’s president, highlighted the group’s cleanup and restoration efforts following years of litter and infrastructure damage. The preserve was previously managed by the South Shore Audubon Society until it dissolved after 2020; the conservation society has been active since 2024 and is seeking to protect the site.
“We want to help maintain and beautify Brookside Preserve, so that it becomes a safe and inviting environment for our community,” DeVargas said.
Although the conservation society has led monthly volunteer clean-ups, its efforts are limited by the extent of the damage already done to the preserve — with mostly inaction from Nassau County.
“As we are cleaning up, we as volunteers take extra precaution, because there are needles on the ground, there are sex preservatives laying on the floor,” the society’s vice president Jose Cuevas said. “That’s not acceptable.”
Leaders have sought county support for nearly three years, proposing to expand restoration efforts—including trash cleanup and rebuilding walkways—through grant funding at no cost to the county, if granted the legal authority to proceed through a formal partnership. Cuevas and Legislator Delia DeRiggi-Whitton said the group cannot access key environmental grants or fully advance fundraising efforts without official county approval.
“They formed a nonprofit,” Legislator Debra Mulé said in support of the society’s efforts. “They held meetings, they put together a plan, and they came to the county with a simple offer: ‘Let us take care of it, and we’ll do it for free.’ They followed every step they were asked to take.”
Cuevas said the parks department and County Executive’s Office largely ignored the group’s offer to help, adding that the preserve has received little more than “a trash can and two signs.” The site remains unsafe and plagued by litter, with many pathways damaged by a 2025 fire and poor maintenance.
Blakeman’s office and the parks department did not reply to the Herald’s multiple requests for comment, as of press time.
When asked if Blakeman’s failure to adequately respond to the society’s offer was possibly political, since Baldwin and Freeport are in Democrat-led districts and Blakeman is a Republican, both Mulé and DeRiggi-Whitton said they believed that was the reason. In contrast, DeVargas told the Herald that Freeport Mayor Robert Kennedy and Village Attorney Howard Colton have been very supportive of the conservation society and its volunteer efforts.
As the group awaits county support, it continues organizing cleanups, with the next set for April 25 at 10 a.m. in honor of Earth Day, with help from Mulé and Assemblywoman Judy Griffin. More information is available on the South Shore Conservation Society’s Facebook page.
