The Wantagh-Seaford Citizen, 2008 March 13, Twin Lakes are up for Grabs

Twin Lakes are up for Grabs
by Laura Schofer

Originally published in the 2008 March 13 edition of The Wantagh-Seaford Citizen.
Published online with kind permission from our friends at The Citizen.

The Twin Lakes Preserve, part of the South Shore Estuary and one of the few wild places left along the South Shore, is in peril now that the Town of Hempstead has said it will no longer maintain the property that is owned by New York State, under the auspices of the Office of Parks and Recreation.

The Twin Lakes Preserve may no Longer be Maintained by the ToH

Twin Lakes Preserve has been one of Wantagh’s crown jewels – a place to fish and hike – as well as a natural watershed that helps to filter storm water runoff. For the past 10 years, the Town of Hempstead has agreed to be the custodian of this preserve, including maintaining the Heroes’ Walk Memorial on Park Avenue, dedicated to the local families who lost their loved ones in the September 11th attack. “Sometimes the signs [at the memorial] were stolen or a tree damaged and I’d call the town,” said Cathy Powell, Wantagh resident and chairperson for the Long Island Planning Commission. “They would respond immediately and take care of it. We have a good relationship with the town. But the state doesn’t have the manpower to maintain this property. Look at what’s going on at Jones Beach. There’s no one looking out for the people who live here. What’s going to happen to this memorial? What’s going to happen to Twin Lakes?”

Richard Schary, local activist and Long Island Greenbelt member, believes the property will deteriorate. “The town has done an outstanding job of caring for this property and we don’t want to see them pull out. New York State Parks can’t do the same job,” he said, pointing to the shabby wooded area along Bethpage Parkway that is maintained by the state parks. “That area is out of control; the Bethpage Parkway is dirty and all kinds of things are going on in there. That’s what will happen in Twin Lakes and the town will eventually have to go back in there in five years or so and straighten out this mess.”

	...the state doesn’t have the manpower to maintain this property.
	Cathy Powell Chairperson Long Island Planning Council

Town spokesperson Susie Trenkle said the town “asked for some monetary assistance in maintaining the property but the state decided they would do the maintenance instead.” A call to the state parks department was not returned by press time. However, Ms. Powell, in her letter, said the state offered to help the town obtain a grant for maintenance but the town “isn’t interested.”

“This is part of the South Shore Estuary,” said Mr. Schary, “and there should be grant money available to offset maintenance. If you can apply for signs for a bikeway under the estuary reserve, why not funds to maintain Twin Lakes Preserve?” Ms. Powell agrees: “No one even wants the signs to connect the two bikeways. Why not obtain grant money for some thing the people want? Why not do what’s right for the community?” Ms. Powell said that “if the town was smart enough to get grant funding for the solar panels on the roof of the Conservation and Waterways building, they can do the same for the preserves.”

“If the property is not maintained, it could be a disaster for Twin Lakes and the local citizens will pay for it,” said Richard Schary. “If the preserve becomes an eyesore I’m afraid some developer will come along and try to build condos,” said Ms. Powell. “Look at how they clear-cut the property next to the Wantagh train museum.”

The Town of Hempstead said the maintenance of the property will return to the state within 90 days. Ms. Powell and Mr. Schary are urging residents to call or e-mail their representatives, including state Senator Charles Fuschillo, Assemblyman Tom McKevitt and Town of Hempstead council members Gary Hudes and Angie Culllin to provide funding to maintain the preserves by the Town. But Assemblyman Tom McKevitt, who was a Town of Hempstead attorney who worked on the agreement between the state and the town, said “the state is dealing with a $5 billion deficit and it’s going to be hard to scrape up any extra money. I’m sure the town also has concerns about money. All government is feeling financial pain.”

In the meantime, Cathy Powell said she will do her best to help maintain the Heroes Walk at Twin Lakes. “I made a promise to the people [who it’s dedicated to] that they would not be forgotten. I want to keep it beautiful.”