Friday, April 12, 2024
Vol. 84, No. 15
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SERVING BETHPAGE, OLD BETHPAGE, AND PLAINVIEW
Hicksville Gardens Civic Assn. Six chemical drums found under Bethpage Park BY GARY SIMEONE
On March 21, New York State Senator Steve Rhoads spoke with members of the Hicksville Gardens Civic Association about the latest legislative updates in Albany, including the State budget, Governor Hochul’s $20 billion electric bus mandate, and more. He thanked the Hicksville Gardens Civic Association for welcoming him at their meeting and reaffirmed his commitment to always being accessible and transparent for his constituents.
Arrest for stealing police car A Valley Stream man was arrested on Thursday, April 4, after he allegedly stole a police car and injured officers. According to Nassau County Police, Nicholas Corrow, 34, burglarized a residence on Loring Road and attempted to steal a car which was parked
outside of the home, but was unsuccessful. Police say Corrow damaged a vehicle outside the home before fleeing south on Loring Rd. toward Hempstead Tpke. According to police, Corrow ran onto Hempstead Turnpike and attempted to steal a
motorist’s vehicle who was stopped in traffic but a Nassau County Police officer arrived on scene and intervened. 911 advised that Corrow had just approached numerous people while brandishing a knife, demanding that they hand over the keys. See page 9
The Bethpage Newsgram is published every Friday by Litmor Publishing Corp. Periodical Postage paid at Hicksville, N.Y. 11801 Telephone 931-0012 - USPS 3467-68. Postmaster: Send Address Change to: The Bethpage Newsgram, 821 Franklin Ave., Suite 208, Garden City, N.Y. 11530 • Meg Norris Publisher
Earlier this month an excavation team unearthed six 55-gallon drums at the Bethpage Community Park. The large drums, which were buried seven-feet beneath the grounds surface, contained petroleum hydrocarbons including a mix of solvents such as benzene, toluene and xylene. A mix of chlorinated solvents was also discovered inside the drums. Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor, Joseph Saladino, said the six drums were discovered during Northrop Grummans ongoing remediation efforts to eradicate contamination inside the park. “In what Grumman calls their highest level of cleanup, which involves heating and vacuuming the soil, they discovered upon drilling down one of the wells, these six fifty-five gallon drums encased in a coffin like concrete vault,” said Saladino. “Upon discovering the drums, all work operations were ceased at the site.” The first step the Town of Oyster Bay took after hearing the news, was to contact the Nassau County Fire Marshal to ensure there were no safety concerns or pollution in the air. The Town also immediately notified the New York State
Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and retained an environmental engineer. “It was a three-step process upon discovering that the drums were there in that location, testing the drums to see what was contained inside them and subsequently leaning on New York State to be more proactive and in-depth with their cleanup efforts,” said Saladino. “Despite our demands and Grumman knowing of the extent of pollution at the park, they continue to drag their feet and use a haphazard approach to dealing with this environmental nightmare.” On a positive note, the supervisor said the Town’s quick call to action helped to convince New York State Governor, Kathy Hochul and the DEC to move in quicker manner in regards to the cleanup efforts and to force Grumman’s hand to pay further compensation in the process. A DEC spokesperson said the state organization will use geophysical technology such as ground-penetrating radar and subsurface drilling and sampling to determine the full extent of the contamination. “As of right now the discovery of these six drums presents no immediate threat to public health and safety at the site,” said the spokesperson.
Historical Society hears guest speaker PAGE 6 Comm. Council Earth Day Cleanup PAGE 4