By Anthony Rifilato
But some residents living around Lofts Pond have taken issue with the projected 2004 start date, and said they would like to see the pond returned to its past vibrancy sooner -- especially since the appearance of dead birds around the pond at the end of August and early September.
Residents who live around Lofts Pond in this well-manicured neighborhood have had to contend with the garbage and debris dumped into the murky waters, foul smells, and overgrown brush. At low tide, the pond is thick with algae and vegetation.
Jan Buarotti, a resident of Charing Cross, wrote letters to Legis. Joe Scannell and other officials in July about a dead duck she found.
After receiving Buarotti's letter in July, Scannell went to see the area for himself, and later contacted the Department of Public Works to remove shrubbery, debris and weeds.
Now, after more birds were found belly-up, Buarotti and other residents are worried about diseases, most notably West Nile virus. Since July, four or five ducks were found dead, and then on Sept. 8, two swans, who residents said where there for ten years, died also.
"I'd like to see something done, and let us know why the animals are dying," said Buarotti.
Because of the recent outbreaks of West Nile this summer on Long Island and around the country, residents are more aware of the disease. As of Friday, Sept. 13, five cases of West Nile had been confirmed on Nassau County and the Department of Health was gearing up to spray the county for the first time.
But the both the Department of Health and the Department of Environmental Conservation say that neighbors around Lofts Pond should not be alarmed about the virus at this point.
Cynthia Brown, the DOH spokesperson, said that she would look into complaints about the dead swans, but said that no testing has been planned for West Nile at Lofts Pond because the department typically only tests dead crows for the virus.
"Other birds get West Nile but do not die from it," said Brown.
A DEC spokesman also said that animals that are usually indicative of a West Nile virus outbreak are dead crows and blue jays, not ducks and swans.
"Animals do die," said Mark Lowery, who explained that West Nile virus was not likely to be a factor in the deaths and that any pond will have mosquitoes present. A more possible culprit, said Lowery, was bacteria in the water due to the drought.
"If there were dozens [of dead animals] it would trigger an
investigation. But this was a stressful time because of the drought," said Lowery.
Lowery said that when toxins such as botulism -- which is always present in the soil -- are flushed into the pond after a severe rainfall in the midst of a drought, the toxins are picked up by invertebrates such as maggots, worms and larvae, which affect ducks and geese who feed on them.
"From our standpoint, we [the DEC] wouldn't warrant an investigation," Lowery said.
According to a spokesperson for Legis. Scannell, Mosquito Control responded to calls from their office and checked the area around the pond for mosquito larvae.
Larry Cassar, a DOH health inspector for Mosquito Control, said
they checked the pond just last week and determined that Lofts Pond is fine, as far as mosquitoes go.
"We didn't find any larvae [last] week," said Cassar.
But some residents are still not satisfied and said more has to be done in the interim before the 2004 work begins.
Buarotti, who has lived in the area for two-and-a-half years, said that she's increasingly concerned that the state of the pond exacerbates her two children's allergies and she is still worried about mosquitoes.
"We still can't sit in our backyard. They tell us not to be around
stagnant water, but we're right near it," Buarotti said. "We'll wait for the major clean-up. But in the meantime debris needs to be cleaned and it's attracting mosquitoes."
Other residents said they were also worried.
"It's an eyesore," said Robert Sauerbach, who has lived in the
neighborhood for over 40 years. "It started to get worse in the last year."
"It's still always dirty and the [July] clean-up was not thorough," said Karen Weiser, a 24-year Charing Cross resident.
Buarotti also questioned why Milburn Pond was the first to be scheduled for renovations in 2003, while Loft is second on the list. She said she's thinking about starting a petition to get the problems solved immediately.
Scannell said that Milburn was determined by officials to be in worse shape and posed a safety risk to people. Lofts Pond was also given its designated 2004 date because the plans for Milburn were already in the works.
Still, while people said they are willing to wait and are excited about the proposed refurbishing, they said it's a little daunting to live by such a dirty and unsightly pond.
Barbara Schwasnick, whose home on Windsor Road faces Lofts Pond, said she's comfortable with Scannell's response, but is still worried in the meantime about her three young children.
"I don't want my kids playing near the pond. There are a lot of kids in the neighborhood, and this makes us worried," Schwasnick said.
Scannell said that he's sympathetic to neighbors' concerns.
"We're working hard and as fast as we can," Scannell said.
