West Hempstead pond cleanup is a temporary fix
Jim Valentine has been trying to get debris that includes bottles, cans and dead fish that collect at the south end of Hall's Pond in West Hempstead cleaned up.
Newsday photo by Gwen Young
Hall’s Pond Park in West Hempstead is a beautiful community park except for the junk that accumulates at the south end of the pond. The water flows from north to south and brings downed trees, plastic bottles, cans, dead fish and all kinds of trash. The civic association has spoken to many local leaders about the problem, but they’ve done nothing. I emailed the Town of Hempstead. They called me back and said, “This is not our jurisdiction.” Then I contacted the county and got a letter from Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi in late March. Nothing’s been done. It’s an eyesore. There’s garbage just sitting in the water.
--Jim Valentine, West Hempstead
Deputy County Executive Ian Siegel asked parks commissioner Jose Lopez to send out a cleanup crew to the park at Nassau Boulevard and Hempstead Avenue after we called.
Unfortunately, that’s only a temporary solution.
“The ‘murky’ problem happens due to the fact that the pond needs a new filter/discharge system,” Siegel said.
Plans to overhaul the system have been on the drawing board for years and financing was secured through the 2004 Environmental Bond Act, he said.
“The County is in the process of awarding the contract for the design components and construction," Siegel wrote in an email. "We expect that the contract will be in front of the legislature in early June. Shortly thereafter, design work will begin.”
Contruction is expected to begin during the first quarter of next year.
