Nearly 90 volunteers came out in the rain on Sunday, April 3rd to help clean up Manorhaven Beach Town Park. Scouts, Honor Society Students, state Assemblywoman Gina Sillitti, and others scoured the beach from the playground down to the water line to pick up trash.
The Manhasset Bay Protection Committee, the New York Chapter of the American Littoral Society, and the Town of North Hempstead want to thank all the children, teens, and adults who took on the back-breaking work to make a public park and Manhasset Bay cleaner.
If you missed the event or just want to get out again, the Manhasset Bay Protection Committee is hosting another coastal clean-up on Saturday, May 7 at Bay Walk Park, Port Washington at 9:30 am. Registration is encouraged, but not required. You can email the Committee’s Executive Director, Sarah Deonarine, at mbpcExec@gmail.com or leave a message at 516-869-7983 with your contact information and how many will be joining you.
State Assembly Member Gina Sillitti said, “It was my pleasure to participate at the clean-up this past weekend at Manorhaven Beach Park, blocks from my home. I am so grateful to the Manhasset Bay Protection Committee for organizing these community events and to my neighbors that were there to help.”
“It was truly inspirational to see all the volunteers who rolled up their sleeves and worked to remove litter and debris from the shoreline of Manorhaven Beach Park. Great environmental initiatives like this work to mitigate damage done to our environment, as each year, countless amounts of paper, food, plastics, and other trash are discarded on beaches or dumped overboard from boats,” North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jennifer DeSena said. “Thank you to the Manhasset Bay Protection Committee for all of their hard work to make this event a rousing success.”
“Rain or shine, I’m always impressed by the enthusiasm of the people who give-up a weekend morning to make a difference. Thank you, everyone, for another successful clean-up!” said Manhasset Bay Protection Committee Director Sarah Deonarine.
The events are sponsored by the Northeast Chapter of the American Littoral Society, the Manhasset Bay Protection Committee, the Town of North Hempstead, and the Village of Port Washington North.
Participants tally the trash collected and that data is sent to the Northeast Chapter of the American Littoral Society who tracks and monitors changes in the trash collected each year. Information about the amounts and types of trash collected has been used to create legislation around the world.
This is the first time the committee is hosting spring beach clean-up days, as they previously only hosted one clean-up in the fall to coincide with the annual International Coastal Clean-up, sponsored by the Ocean Conservancy.
The Manhasset Bay Protection Committee is an inter-municipal organization aimed at addressing water quality and coastal issues in Manhasset Bay with a coordinated, watershed-level approach.
The committee has 15 member municipalities: Nassau County, the Town of North Hempstead, and 13 villages who all voluntarily entered into an inter-municipal agreement.
The committee’s goals are to protect, restore, and enhance Manhasset Bay so as to ensure a healthy and diverse marine ecosystem while balancing and maintaining recreational and commercial uses. Tasks that help toward these goals include the annual volunteer beach clean-up.
If you would like more information about Manhasset Bay, please visit the Committee’s website at manhassetbay.info or e-mail the Director at mbpcExec@gmail.com.
