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Mostly Cloudy Schumer pledges aid for Island Park beach
Senator working to help village’s erosion problem
Senator Charles Schumer has pledged to help Island Park get the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation together to work on a solution to the erosion problem at Little Beach.
Schumer recently sent a letter to DEC Commissioner Joseph Martens and the commander of the corps’ New York District, Col. John R. Boulé II, on behalf of the village, urging the two agencies to work together to help save the beach and stop flooding in the village.
“As Little Beach has shrunk due to severe erosion, the danger of flooding for local residents has only grown, and if we don’t act quickly, the whole town of Island Park may be at risk,” Schumer said in a press release. “That’s why I’m urging the DEC and the Army Corps of Engineers to work with local planners to develop and implement a dredging project for Little Beach immediately. By stepping up to the plate now, before it’s too late, we can protect Island Park residents from severe flooding in the future.”
Mayor James Ruzicka previously estimated that Little Beach has shrunk by about 75 percent as the result of erosion over the past decade. But due to the financial state of the federal government, the Corps of Engineers is not currently allowed to begin any new projects (referred to as “new starts”).
However, the corps has the funding to act in an advisory capacity and help the village come up with a plan that it would have to implement. According to Schumer’s office, the corps could give technical advice to the village without having to get any approval from Congress.
Schumer’s office helped set up a meeting involving Ruzicka and representatives of the corps, the DEC and the senator’s office in May. Ruzicka took the agency representatives to Little Beach and showed them the erosion.
“[The senator’s office] has been very helpful in getting the parties together,” Ruzicka said. “I was reaching sort of a roadblock with the Army Corps because they were very busy, and I wasn’t getting any attention. So when Senator Schumer’s office got involved, they paid a little more attention.
