Thursday, October 1, 2026
Liberty Metal Recycling, located at 4276 Industrial Place, Island Park, has pleaded guilty to pumping oil and petroleum products in to the soil in its back yard, onto the street and into storm drains.
Appearing before District Court Judge Joseph Girardi, Liberty pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of pollution of waters in contravention of standards. The Nassau County District Attorney and the Department of Environmental Conservation [DEC] recommended a fine of $3,000, which was imposed by the court along with a 6% surcharge of $180. In addition the court required cleanup of the site. The company did the required cleanup before going out of business.
The DEC inspected the site after receiving a complaint on March 10. Officers found large puddles of water mixed with oil and other petroleum products on the property that were draining onto the road and into the storm drains. They instructed Liberty to take steps to prevent the oil from draining off the property. When a DEC spill response team came back the next morning the officers found Liberty workers using a sump pump to pump the oil from the puddles into the street and the drains. The workers shut the pumps off when they saw the DEC officials. A thorough site inspection followed.
According to the district attorney’s office the discharged oil and petroleum did not pose an immediate threat to anyone.
Acting District Attorney Madeline Singas said. “We work very closely with our partners in law enforcement and local environmental groups and encourage anyone with information about illegal dumping or disposal to contact our office. I thank the DEC for their quick response and partnering with us on this case.”
The DA’s environmental crimes 24-hour tip-line is 516-571-7755, option 9.
