Town allocates millions to North Hempstead Beach Park

Jessica Parks
North Hempstead Beach Park in Port Washington was one of four area beaches shut down Tuesday due to contamination from raw sewage. (Photo courtesy of the Town of North Hempstead).

The Town of North Hempstead has allocated millions of dollars for upgrades to North Hempstead Beach Park in its proposed capital plan for 2019-23.

The park, formerly known as Bar Beach, will see the reconstruction of its parking lots, wetland restoration, design and replacement of its fishing pier, final modifications to the installed nonmotorized dock, as well as the continuation of a visioning project that will include improving the sanitary system in the park.

The visioning project is the most costly with the town expecting to invest almost $14.5 million over the next five years.

It is the culmination of an ongoing project that aspires to revitalize the North Hempstead Beach Park and the nearby 200 acres of woodlands. The town administration sought the opinion of residents when formulating the plan.

Improvements to the sanitary system are to be made during fiscal year 2019 and will cost almost $2 million.

The upgrades to the sanitary system will consist of relining the existing gravity sanitary system, improving the pump station, and constructing a forced main that will connect to the Port Washington Sewer District.

The overall visioning process is to come up with a plan that will attract town residents and visitors to North Hempstead Beach Park as well as address environmental concerns such as surrounding stormwater runoff.

A World Trade Center Memorial will be incorporated into the park and possibly a rowing course as well.

The reconstruction of both the north side and south side parking lots will be incorporated into the visioning project.

The cost for the north side parking lot will be paid for with a reimbursement from FEMA due to it having been affected by Hurricane Sandy when it was used as a location to store and dispose of debris.

The newly constructed parking lot will be “designated as an official debris pad capable of accommodating large-scale debris from future disasters,” says the proposed plan.

The south side parking lot will see the removal of its existing asphalt and related fencing.

The proposed plan includes funding for the reconstruction of the fishing pier at the beach park. The project is expected to cost just over $2 million.

The park’s nonmotorized dock, which was opened to the public in July, will also see some final modifications, according to the plan.

A grant from the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation will aid in the cost of a project to restore the park’s wetlands, which is expected to cost $900,000.

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