Bethpage-Tribune_1985-04-25

              BErHB^GE
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4 7 P 0 W i l l A V e
[i C V H P A I. C n Y 1 1 7 1 4
also serving
Island Trees Plainedge Seaford Old Bethpage
VOL. 20 NO. 3 Week of April 25-May i , 1985
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Plainview
20 cents per copy
Town Toxic Dump
Continues To Contaminate!
ASSEMBLYMAN LEWIS J. YEVJOU
The Town of Oyster Bay's Old Bethpage Landfill is the#l
rated hazardous toxic dump site in New York State, for
nearly two decades, this site has been the recipient of mil­lions
of tons of residential and industrial wastes. During the
last ten years, facts have surfaced which prove concliisively
that this landfill poses a danger to the aquifer beneath it,
which provides almost all of Nassau County's drinking
water. For much of this time, I have been engaged in an
ongoing battle with Town officials to close and clean up the
landfill.'Uhfortunately, our less than enlightened Town offi­cials
have no intention of closing it and Tittle inclination to
clean it up. In fact. Town Supervisor, Joseph Colby, insists
that expanding the landfill another 13.S acres and building
additional incinerators costing several hundred million tax­payer
dollars is the best solution to the problems. Burning
and burying more and more garbage at the worst toxic dump
in the state is hardly a responsible plan for the site.
To date, our Town officials have paid $5.3 million of
taxpayers' money to private consulting firms in pursuit of
the landfill expanision and the construction of incinerators.
Currently,.the T o ^ ' s application to extend, the Old Beth­page
Landfill 13.5 acres is pending before the State Depart­ment
of Environmental Conservation ap.d it haf filed p^^^^
for a^22Smilli«)n ineifi^rator c^
visor Colby, both projects are absolutely essential; but the
need for 13.5 acres is particularly critical to the Town's waste •
problem. Last fall, he clairhed the situation had become so
severe: that the Town aictually faced a "garbage crisis". He
said the only way to resolve this pressing dilemma was to
truck the Town's 1,000 tons of daily waste to a landfill in
Pennsylvania. In late October, the Town Board met, hastily
revised the 1985 budget and added a new $20 million tax,
allegedly to cover the cost of trucking the garbage out of
state. Shortly after the budget was adopted, the imminent
"crisis" mysteriously resolved itself; and all of the Town's
garbage continued to go to the Old Bethpage Landfill.
That's right! Nota single "dixie ciip" has been trucked to any
other landfill, but the current Town tax bill charges the
average homeowner $150 more this year for these phantom
costs to truck garbage to Pennsylvania. I initiated a lawsuit
against the Town to block this blatant fleecing of the tax­payers,
and the case will, hopefully, come to trial this
summer.
La^t month, the State Department of Environmental con­servation
threatened to close this 260 foot high, 63-acre
mountain- of garbage called a landfill, because it was 20 feet
higher than regulations permitted. The Town officials
denied the charges, but to avoid closing they suddenly disco­vered
additional space at the Old Bethpage site, which
somehow will accommodate the Town's waste for another 8
to 12 months. It seems our Town officials change their story
whenever it suits their purpose. ^
All of this may sound completely absurd, totally incon-.
ceivable, and patently fraudulent, yet the facts speak for
themselves. The "garbage crisis" wasn't a "garbage crisis";
the new $20 million tax to truck garbage to another state is
being collected, but all of the garbage stiUgoes to Old
Bethpage; and the lack of available space in October that
"caused Colby's alleged "crisis" turned into a discovery of
additional space in March. I could go on and on about the
sordid tactics used by Town officials in dealing with the Old
Bethpage Landfill. The following is a brief, but factual,
recent history of the Town's landfill: .
Three years ago, I turned information oVer to the Nassau
County pistHct Attorney, Denis Dillon, alleging the Town
and its consulting engineering firm, LockwOod, Kessler and
Bartlett, had altered rcjports of contamination at the landfill
so the pubjic'would not be aware of the seriousness pf the
situation there. A June 1982 expose issued by the District
Attorney stated: "The Town of Oyster Bay and its consult­ing
ehgineering.firm of L.ockwoo^, Kessler and Bartlett,
soughf to conceal information exposing contamination
to the groundwater in the area of the Old Bethpage
LandfilL The District Attorney's investigation has
revealed a course of conduct by the Town of Oyster Bay
(Continued on page 5)
Special
Grant
Hope For Youth, Inc. has
been awarded a special
$10,500 legislative grant; as
announced by Senator John
R. Dunne and Assembly­man
Fred Parola.
The Senate grant will help
Hope For Youth, which
operates five group homes
for abused, neglected and
abandoned youths in the
central Nassau County area,
make energy conservation
and weatherization improve­ments
in its group homes.
.Funds for Hope For
Youth were included in the
1985-86 state budget, Sena­tor
Dunne said. The grant
award was one of many he^
secured for special projects
and organizations in his
Senate district.' '"'
.Kevin Mahoney, Hope
For Youth's Executive
Director, said the weatheri­zation
grant will be used to
make improvements in the
organization's Plainview
and Wantagh homes.
**WiththehelpofULCp,
we were able to identify
areas where we could reduce
energy costs in oiir group
homes," Mahoney stated.
"These homes are old and
drafty and expensive to
heat. But with the grant
monies w6 believe we can
reduce our energy costs 18-
22% a year."
Hope For Youth has cen­ters
in North Bellmore, Sea-ford,
Plainview, Wantagh
and Babylon.
Bethpage Bikers Gear-Up To Fight
Cystic fibrosis
Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph' Colby (second from right) and Town Councilman
Kenneth S. Diamond look over a poster advertising the annual Bethpage Bike-A-Thon for
Cystic Fibrosis, scheduled for Sunday, May Sth. Registration chairman Evelyn Eppner
(right) and refreshment chairman Phyllis Borger came to Town Hall recently to help
promote the fund-raiser, which will start at Kramer Lane School at 11:30 A.M.
from 11:30 AM - 4:30 PM. money by May 28 are eligi-
This bike-a-thon will be ' ble for the Grand Prize.ofa
What could beat the comV
bination of the great out­doors
and super prizes? If it
sounds good to you, jointhe
8th Annual Bethpage Bike-a-
thon to benefit the Cystic
Fibrosis. Foundation, held
in memory of Pamela
Eppner, at Kramer Lane
School. Cystic Fibrosis is
our nation's number one
genetic killer of children and
young adults and claims the
lives of half its. victims
before their 21st birthdays.
The Bike-a-thon will be held
on Sunday, May 5 (raindate
Sunday, May 19& May 26)
sponsored by the Bethpage
Rotary Club.
It's easy to do! Just pick
up a sponsor sheet at siny
Bethpage School (or call
CFF at 746-0080) and ask
your friends, relatives and
neighbors to join you in the
fight against CF. They
promise to give you a certain
amount of money for each,
mile you ride —and it's best
if you agree on a top limit —
and you promise to try your
hardest. All riders who send
in their collected sponsor
10-speed bike donated by
the Queens County Savings
Bank of Plainview (min­imum
$.150). Any rider who
sends in $30 will receive a
Bike-a-thon Cap and for $50
a Bike-a-thon Back P^ck.
Send in $100 or more and
you will receive an AM/FM
Headphone Radio.
It's easy! It's fun! It's for a
great cause! Please join us.
With your help'CF kids can
look forward to longer,
healthier lives.
Child Abuse Prevention Month on Long Island
First Lady Matilda Cuomo, Social Services Commis­sioner
Cesar Perales, and the "Amazing Spider-Man"
launched Child Abuse Prevention Month on Long Island
last week in ceremonies held at Adelphi University's Hun­tington
campus.
Mrs. CXiorno, who Co-chairs the State's Citizens Task
Force on Child Abuse and neglect with Commissioner
Perales, and is honorary chair of the State's Council on
Children and Families, honored Long Island community
leaders and organizations active in the fight against child
abuse, More than 200 public and private agencies in Nassau
ancj Suffolk Counties have joined forces to prevent child
abusQ and child neglect.
Joining in a news conference with Mrs. Cuomo was the
"Amazing Spider-Man" who unveiled a new Spider-Man
comic book, produced by Marvel Comics in cooperation
with the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect. The
• new Spider-Man comic book, a four-page supplement being
distributed in major nietropoUtan newspapers around the
nation, stresses prevention of child abuse and neglect.
the Citizens Task Force oh Child Abuse and Neglect,
reactivated by Governor Cuomo in 1983; includes represen-
(Continuedonpage4)