New York Secretary of State Alexander Treadwell visited Roslyn recently to discuss dredging issues with local officials. The village is interested in dredging projects in Hempstead Harbor, a matter which affects two pressing issues in downtown Roslyn: Grist Mill renovation and the building of a senior center housing complex.

Dredging work is necessary for a waterfront park that Forest City Daly, the firm that hopes to build the senior center housing, has promised to construct for the village. For the Grist Mill, it is important to renovate the waterway that flows from the harbor to the mill's backyard.

The village is interested in obtaining grant money to help commission a study on the dredging process. Toward that end, a grant writing team is being put together to have something submitted to the state by August. Along with Roslyn, the New York Department of State is currently focusing on Port Jefferson as the two villages in all of Long Island that need dredging work done to complete waterfront development. At a recent Board of Trustees meeting, Roslyn Mayor Janet Galante said the village was ready to "dredge [the] harbor and start development even if we have to get our shovels out." Secretary of State Treadwell gave village officials advice on both writing a successful grant proposal and on waterfront development in general.

Concerning dredging work in Long Island, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) conducted field work in Long Island Sound aboard the vessel Isabelle earlier this year. The field work provided baseline information on the sound relevant to any environmental impact statement. Samples were collected to test sediment chemistry, toxicity, and biology. Additional field studies were conducted last spring and this summer. They included physical oceanographic data and finfish and shellfish collection for tissue analysis.

The Forest City project, which would include 250 senior housing units, needs only approval from the village's Historic District Board. In 1998, the village received a $2.65 million grant from the Nassau County legislature to help with the renovation process, even though budgetary matters have prevented much of that money from reaching the village.

Secretary of State Treadwell has been a favorite of local environmentalists. On Friday, Oct. 20, the Coalition to Save Hempstead Harbor will fete him as their honoree at their annual dinner dance in Sea Cliff.

The coalition has cited the State Department's Division of Coastal Resources for supporting the intermunicipal grassroots effort which helped to create the Hempstead Harbor Protection Committee. Since 1995, that division has also awarded nearly $26 million from the Environmental Protection Fund and the Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act to local governments. Money from these funds has also supported funding for watershed planning, waterfront esplanades, wetland restoration, community revitalization and environmental and coastal heritage education in Long Island.

In addition, the Department's initial grant of $50,000, coupled with funding from Nassau County and each of the local governments around the harbor, resulted in one of New York state's first intermunicipal watershed plans. Since the completion of the Hempstead Harbor Water Quality Improvement plan, Hempstead Harbor communities, including Roslyn, have received an additional $847,000 in departmental grants to implement the plan and complete other enhancement projects. Closer to home, these projects include a stormwater mitigation and restoration plan for Roslyn Pond Park, and a waterfront enhancement strategy for the village, a process that is still ongoing.

The Coalition to Save Hempstead Harbor is a volunteer, nonprofit organization, founded in 1986. The Coalition is dedicated to identifying and eliminating environmental threats to Hempstead Harbor and surrounding communities and to advancing the public interest in restoring and protecting the local environment. Call 759-3832 for more information about the Coalition and the Oct. 20 dinner dance.