Nassau County's Inwood Park marina project is completed

The rickety wooden floating dock and deteriorated timber-laden bulkhead is gone, replaced by a modern-looking and a very stable ramp that leads to a pair of launches where people can push out their canoes, kayaks and personal water craft into Motts Basin, and the boat ramp was replaced and the entire space is augmented by two grassy areas with eight benches.

A $2.7 million Nassau County project that began physically in late 2019 and continued through the Covid pandemic was officially unveiled at Inwood Park on June 10 with a spate of elected and appointed officials, along with community leaders.

“To Inwood this means a lot, because like Peter [Sobol] said Inwood is the poorest community in the Five Towns, and what they are doing is really good, I really appreciate what Laura Curran is doing and Mr. Solages,” said Inwood resident and Five Towns Community Center Vice President Byron Alavardo Valiente. Sobol was an Inwood civic leader for more than 25 years. He died in February. Carrié Solages is the county legislator who represents the community.

Originally installed in 1965, the bulkhead and launch received a makeover performed by Westhampton Beach-based Chesterfield Associates Inc., after a public bidding process. Permits from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the state’s Department of State also had to be approved, said Deputy County Executive for Parks and Public Works Brian Schneider, who added the project began with a design consultant.

“We had tremendous shoreline erosion problems, the bulkhead was completely replaced, the boat ramp was completely replaced, and we added an  American with Disabilities Act compliant kayak-launch,” Schneider said. “It’s a real benefit to the community as far as resiliency for the shoreline and accessibility for the public to enjoy the natural environment, and to enjoy the water.”

Inwood Civic Association President David Hance called it “awesome day for Inwood.” “On behalf of the Inwood community we extend a heartfelt thanks to County Executive Curran, County Legislator Solages and all the stakeholders who had a hand in getting this done. Inwood is a growing community, we need to upgrade our facilities and make them safer and more accessible,” Hance said.

Viewing the renovations and repairs as an investment in Inwood, Solages said: “This is about investing in our community, investing in our youth and making sure we have opportunities for our family to enjoy ourselves in county parks. We have some of the best county parks in the 3rd District, including the North Woodmere Park.”

He noted the renovated and restored boat launch is, “adding value to where there is already value.” Solages added that he looks forward to a future relationship with Long Island Paddlers, “to teach the importance of water safety, especially for the minority, I think it is very important that we encourage more education on water safety.”

Another Inwood Park improvement will drop on July 4, Solages said, with an overhaul of the outdoor hockey rink that will be transformed into an outdoor “indoor” soccer pitch with artificial turf.