Long-awaited efforts by the Town of North Hempstead to improve the infrastructure of Roslyn’s Gerry Pond Park began in earnest two weeks ago, but at least one resident is concerned that its actions are straying from the original purpose.
In an email sent to Blank Slate Media and writing “on behalf of the concerned citizens and residents in and around Gerry Pond Park in the Village of Roslyn,” resident Melanie Ross claimed that the project, which had been “delayed and somewhat forgotten by most in the area until recently,” was changing its efforts to accommodate pedestrian traffic.
Funded by a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Gerry Pond Park General Infrastructure Improvements Project had been officially approved in North Hempstead’s 2017 capital plan, with a more specific plan laid out the following year.
The project is intended to “address water quality improvements at Gerry Pond Park,” according to the 2018 capital plan, “with work to include sediment removal, installation of sediment and pollution control systems, and the stabilization of existing stream bank.”
“There are three ponds which are connected via a stream within the Park that requires sediment to be removed from drainage structures and ponds,” the 2018 capital plan reads. “The overall intent is to treat storm water runoff and improve water quality, enhance wildlife habitat, and add passive recreational opportunity. Native plantings will be installed along perimeter of the ponds and streams to trap overland storm water flow and exclude waterfowl. The spillway and stream channels will be repaired and the stabilization of stream banks using geotextiles and native plantings will be completed. The middle pond’s perimeter wall will be repaired. Additional work, including a storm water drainage system, will be improved and will include the installation of a hydrodynamic separator to remove sediments, contaminants, and floatables.”
Photographs acquired by the Roslyn Landmark Society show progress, with heavy equipment seen in the partially dredged pond.
“It appears that the original plan has been somewhat altered, wherein lies the concern,” Ross wrote.
Ross claimed that the amount of sediment to be removed from each pond has been reduced from what was originally recommended and needed, “leaving money within the [FEMA] grant to lay asphalt paths for greater public access.”
“Three thousand yards of sediment was supposed to be removed from the upper pond. That number has now been reduced to 500 yards,” Ross wrote. “The middle pond is now having zero yards of sediment removed, and the lower pond, Silver Lake, has been reduced from 30,000 yards to 15,000. The path plan is marked to start just behind the private residence on the corner of East Broadway and Main Street.”
Ross says the path will run “through the grass to the upper pond, around the pond, along a narrow space that separates the park from private properties, and then down through the park connecting to the middle pond path that is already established.” She also claims that “markers have already been placed to identify where underground electrical work is to be installed to provide for lighting after dark around the upper pond, even though the park closes at dusk.”
“It appears that all of this is designed to allow greater public access,” Ross wrote. “Although this sounds quite attractive, compromising the much needed restoration of the whole park’s infrastructure in favor of surface attraction is counterproductive to the long-term stability of the park as well as any preservation of wildlife habitats.”
Ross concluded by saying that habitats have already been destroyed in order to identify the course of the stream and do the repairs.
“It is therefore suggested and recommended that the project and all moneys allotted be held to its original intent,” Ross wrote.
Efforts to reach the Town of North Hempstead were unavailing.
