Friday, October 16, 2026
“I just searched online to see if there were any beach cleanups,” said Hannah Hwang of New York City, “Because it’s the end of summer and it was a nice opportunity to get out here.” Hwang, 32, spent over an hour at Lido Beach Town Park on Oct. 4, with friends Sean Kim, 31, and Eric Lee, 28.
The trio were some of nearly 80 attendees participating in the latest local beach cleanup — the seventh monthly partnership between the Town of Hempstead and the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, rotating between Lido Beach and Point Lookout Town Parks. The cleanup was initially scheduled for Sept. 26, to celebrate International Coastal Cleanup Day on Sept. 19, but the weekend’s nor’easter brought significant rain and severe winds, forcing AMSEAS and the Town of Hempstead to cancel and reschedule the beachfront event.
The storm had a mixed impact on the eventual cleanup. “It made things worse in that there was a lot more debris,” Steve Sywak, a volunteer with the organization said wryly. “Which makes it easier to pick up the debris, because there’s a lot more debris to pick up.” The day’s efforts collected multiple foam pieces, including pillows; a small table, likely thrown into the waterway by strong winds and washed ashore; a tool-storage bucket; and more.
The event took place from 9 a.m. to noon, divided into two 90-minute sessions. Collection buckets and grabber tools are provided, and AMSEAS instructed volunteers to collect basic data including specifying the types and amount of debris found — metal cans, plastic caps, glass bottles, etc. At the previous cleanup on Aug. 23, nearly 50 volunteers collected close to 120 pounds of litter from Lido Beach.
The final scheduled beach cleanup for the Town of Hempstead this year will take place on Oct. 25 at Point Lookout Town Park. Volunteers can register by visiting hempsteadny.gov/856/beach-cleanups.
