In August 1987, Governor Mario Cuomo signed into law a bill sponsored by Senator Owen Johnson designating the Oak Brush Plain State Preserve at Edgewood and placing it into the State Nature and Historic Preserve.
Chapter 635, Section 7 of the Laws of 1987, compels the Commissioner of the Office of General Services to transfer any land no longer needed by Pilgrim State Hospital and where native foliage may be reasonably re-established to the Edgewood-Oak Brush Plains State Preserve, part of New York’s State Nature and Historic Preserve, as per our state constitution.
The statute does not require full or even partial regeneration, only that there is the potential for regeneration. The fact is that the Pilgrim parcel, including the sandy sewer lagoons, has more than “reasonably” regenerated. And that is without the help of volunteer plantings, and with minimal trespass control.
Twenty years later, in January 2008, Senator Owen Johnson introduced legislation to enforce the mandate of his 1987 bill and have additional Pilgrim land transferred to the Edgewood Preserve. Assemblyman Phil Ramos co-sponsored the bill in the Assembly.
Governor David Paterson had the opportunity to follow in his predecessors footsteps by signing the bill (Governor David Pataki also transferred 86 acres of Pilgrim land to the Edgewood Preserve in 1998). Instead, Governor Paterson caved in to pressure by those who do not represent Long Island’s best interests and astonishingly, on August 6, 2008, vetoed a bill that passed in the Senate 48-7 and passed in the Assembly 140-0.
The transfer of this Pilgrim State Hospital parcel will not only preserve more open space in a region of Long Island that has long-experienced environmental neglect and overdevelopment, but also ensure the sustainability of Long Island’s clean drinking water supply by significantly expanding the groundwater protection area, thus satisfying the requirements of the Sole Source Aquifer Act of 1987, which limits development in Deep Flow Recharge Areas. The Edgewood Preserve is located on top of a Special Groundwater Protection Area (SGPA) as defined by Article 55 of the New York State Environmental Conservation Law. There are only two such SGPAs in the western portion of Suffolk County. A 1984 task force recommended that portions of the Pilgrim State Hospital land, which is also designated as a SGPA, be transferred to the preserve. Twenty years later, the land has yet to be transferred. It is time to uphold the law.
This is a rare opportunity to ensure that Western Suffolk County remains a place where families can look forward to a bright future, one that includes: clean air, safe drinking water, and “forever wild” habitats that future generations of children can both enjoy and learn from. So much of Long Island’s natural beauty is vanishing at a rapid pace. It is up to each of us to do our part to protect it before it is too late. With the increasing pressure of development, it is crucial that these lands be transferred to the preserve, to ensure that this portion of a critical groundwater recharge area is saved from the fate that has befallen much of Western Suffolk County — being paved over (you remember the old Joni Mitchell song? “…They paved paradise and put up a parking lot”.”)
The protection of our water, wildlife, native plant species and other natural resources should be a first-order priority.
Right now, Albany represents a place where laws are broken, but we remain hopeful that in 2009 that will change.
This land is off limits to development of any kind. The Commissioner of the Office of General Services does not have a choice. According to the law, Commissioner Egan must transfer this parcel of land to the NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation for incorporation into the Edgewood Preserve as the law mandates.
It’s time for Albany to show the rest of us that government is not above the law. It’s time for Governor David Paterson to uphold the law — and time for all those who have thus far wrongly advised the Governor — to get out of the way so he can do the right thing.
To read the Laws of 1987 for yourself:
laws_of_19871
j7sLWG Excellent article, I will take note. Many thanks for the story!