Politics & Government
Cleanup Effort Coming to Hempstead Lake State Park
In response to Patch report on pollution at Hempstead Lake State Park, officials are working with Lakewood Stables owner to plan a cleanup effort that would involve the public.
The New York State Parks Department is working with Lakewood Stables in West Hempstead to plan a massive cleanup of Hempstead Lake State Park, but will need some extra hands.
on the pollution that has overrun parts of the local landmark earlier this week. There we found hundreds of plastic bottles, old car tires, propane tanks and other trash piled up in the park's wooded areas and along the shores of its scenic lake.
"We are organizing a cleanup effort," George Gorman, of the New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, told Patch Thursday. "It's not going to happen tomorrow but probably in a few of weeks."
Find out what's happening in Malverne-Lynbrookwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Gorman said he spoke to Bill Brown, the park's manager, and Alex Jacobson, the owner of Lakewood Stables, who runs trail rides through the park and offered to help with the problem. The two are working on scheduling a cleanup effort that would involve park workers and community volunteers.
"We've done cleanups in the past...but [the trash] comes back," Gorman said. "It's a reoccuring problem."
Find out what's happening in Malverne-Lynbrookwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Although the larger items - tires, tricycles and T.V. sets (to name some that we saw there recently) - were clearly dumped at the site by individuals, most of the pollution in the park is caused by storm water runoff, he explained.
When it rains, discarded bottles and other trash that has been tossed into the streets throughout Nassau County gets swept into the sewer system and flows into the park, where it builds up, as seen in
When asked if the Parks Department would consider implementing a program similar to "Adopt a Highway," through which local organizations or businesses would committ to maintain a section of the park, Gorman said they would entertain the idea if the interest was there.
If you wish to help with the cleanup efforts at Hempstead Lake State Park, email Tara.Conry@Patch.com. Check back for more developments.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.