By Mike Russo
Abrahams's legislation is for the property - 33 acres of condemned county land in northern Baldwin - to be designated perpetual preservation land, specifically a Natural Resource Area. (A Natural Resource Area perpetual preserve allows only for a walking trail and park benches, and prohibits recreational facilities.) If the bill passes, the property can never again be proposed for development - which would satisfy many area residents, who recently fought against Molloy College's proposal to develop half the property for athletic fields and the other half as a nature preserve several months ago.
Legislator Dave Denenberg (D-Merrick), chairman of the Planning, Development and the Environment Committee, said he wrote the county's perpetual preserve law back in 2001 for situations such as this one. Denenberg has long supported the preservation of the Coes Neck property as open space.
"I think this is a great idea," said Denenberg of the legislation. "I think it's exactly what we should be doing. We need to clean [the property] up and keep it the pristine property it is."
Legislator Abrahams is also optimistic about the bill, and said he is proud to be the go-to person for those residents looking to preserve the land as open space.
"I feel this legislation captures everything that the community would like to see in regards to it being a perpetual preserve," said Abrahams. "I think we'll truly see what they want once it's remediated."
Baldwin Oaks Civic Association Jacqueline Bell said that having a perpetual preserve right in Baldwin would be something that all of Nassau County could enjoy. In addition, Bell hopes that Baldwin's schools can take advantage of the property, where many residents have claimed to have seen as many as 12 different types of birds, for school field trips.
"We really want to go for a full natural preserve," said Bell. "It's a beautiful property and something Baldwin could really be proud of. [The property] just has so much to offer."
Residents say
unsupervised lake is
a safety concern
If the Coes Neck property is designated perpetual preservation land, that would allow residents to legally access the property for the first time in decades. While many residents support this, they have also expressed concern about the property's 26-foot deep lake, which they see as a potential hazard, considering the county has no plans to supervise or cordon off the lake.
Under the perpetual preserve legislation introduced by Legislator Abrahams, the lake will remain part of the property but will be off limits to residents seeking to swim, boat, or fish on it. A group of residents met at a Baldwin Oaks Civic Association meeting with county director of environmental coordination Tom Maher last Friday, where they expressed their concerns about the lake.
"It's a scary thought," said Terri Mangum, a Baldwin resident. "That water is so deep, children, anyone really, can encounter a problem. I think there should be some kind of fence or barrier around the lake to prevent people from going in it. Safety is the main concern of all of us."
Mangum's husband, Claude, agreed with her, saying that while he hopes the property becomes a preserve, safety is the number one priority.
"I see it as a danger," said Claude Mangum. "We don't want to see any tragedies over there."
Maher told residents that the county does not intend to provide security for any part of the property, much less the lake, as the county does not have the personnel or financial resources to do so.
"We're not contemplating doing something specific for the lake," said Maher. "Putting another fence won't provide additional security. Kids get over one fence, they'll get over the other. The county right now just does not have the financial resources to do this."
Maher went on to tell residents that there are many community organizations that take it amongst themselves to "police" perpetual preserves where there is no official supervision, and that many of those preserves are open only on weekends, when those people are not working their day jobs.
Residents were further informed by Maher that if the property is designated perpetual preservation land, the county would oversee the necessary cleanup - which would consist of removing old oil drums which remain partially buried on a portion of the property - but that it will take some time. The county has to issue a request for proposals for a firm to do the cleanup, hire the firm who must then plan a design, and that all county procedures - many of which are time-consuming - must be followed.
"This thing is not going to happen overnight," said Maher, adding that pending the full Legislature's approval of Abrahams's bill, cleanup of the property likely won't begin until the late summer of next year. "Make your recommendations, set your priorities, and we will see what we can do."
Bell said that the most important thing about the legislation is that it gets the ball rolling, and allows advocates of the preserve to explore financial options for the cleanup cost.
"The first thing is to get [the property] designated a preserve," said Bell. "And since it will take half a year for this to even get cleaned up, we have time to do the thing we need to do."
Comments about this story? MRusso@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 283.
