By KIMBERLY ACEVEDO
Long Beach City Manager Ed Eaton sent a letter to the State's Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) on Nov. 14, stating an intent to move forward with the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Storm Damage Reduction Project.
What we said in the letter is yes, we want to enter into an agreement for this project, Long Beach City Manager Ed Eaton said.
The letter does not mean the city has officially signed on to the $85 million project just yet. After a detailed cooperation agreement is received from the USACE, the city will review it and a resolution will be prepared for the City Council to vote on. If passed, the City Council would authorize Eaton to sign the deal. As of press time, the City of Long Beach has not received a response from the NYSDEC.
The USACE Storm Damage Reduction project proposes to refurbish the 15 existing groins, also known as jetties, erect a dune measuring 15-feet above sea level in front of the boardwalk and add a 110-foot berm of sand. The beach would be built up to ten feet above sea level, USACE officials said, and the new dune would stand five feet high and would be two feet less than the boardwalk. Finger boardwalks would be built outward as a walkway over the dune onto the beach.
Current council members hope to vote on the agreement before the two newly-elected council members are sworn in, but are unsure if the resolution will be made in time. The Council's next two meetings are scheduled for Dec. 4 and Dec. 18. When the resolution is placed before the Council depends on when the project cooperation agreement is received, said Eaton, who believes the resolution wouldn't go before the city council until after the new year.
Some council members are in favor of the project, which they believe will benefit the city. Ed Buscemi will be stepping down after 13 years as a council member, but said that if he has an opportunity to vote on the project he will give it a thumbs up.
I'm going to vote for the project. I will not jeopardize this city with FEMA protection and flooding protection because if we don't do it there is a possibility of a loss of those programs. I am adamant that we are not going to lose those programs over nonsense. Buscemi has been a resident for 60 years and feels that he knows the beach like the back of his hand, and is very educated on the project.
City Council President Joel Crystal agrees with Buscemi. I do believe the people who live on this barrier island need protection. We do need, in my view, the protection of the dune system. I think the plan has some flaws in it as far as the height of the dune. But with the flaws, my responsibility is to protect 35,000 people and so I would vote yes.
Not all members of the City Council are as enthusiastic about the proposed project. City Council member Barbara Mosca, who also is leaving the Council as of the new year, feels the USACE has been inconsistent with the details of the plan and that there is a better way to help the barrier island.
I'm against it, the way it is right now, Mosca said. Unless the Army Corps of Engineers can be more specific and can stop changing their minds. This is no way to spend millions and millions of dollars. This is no way to spend it.
Mosca said the plan has changed too often and feels that for the City Council to make a decision based on the USACE plan is very difficult.
While some members are strictly for or against the project, others aren't quick to decide. City Council member Denis Kelly has previously said he also has many questions about the project, but stated, My inclination is to do whatever we can in order to go forward with the project. Council member Scott Nigro said that he is uncommitted. He said he has not seen the final terms and conditions of the project.
For the new council members, the decision also isn't so easy. Council member-elect Dan Kearney said he is currently getting up to speed on the finer details of the project.
If it's feasible, I will go ahead with it, but if it's not then I won't. As of press time, council member-elect Lenny Remo was out of town and not available for comment.
City officials hope the project will be voted on sometime at the start of the new year. The proposal will be reviewed by the necessary officials, including city attorneys.
The City Council will have to [decide whether to] pass it, but whether we sign it or not, depends on what they [USACE] propose, said Mosca.
