and bet it elsewhere. while some in nassau have been polite and hospitable others on the foodchain have not
Curran backs bill to limit Nickerson Beach access to Nassau residents & ban nyc bettors from nassau otb
Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said Tuesday she would sign a bill that would enforce a residency requirement at town beaches as a temporary public health precaution during the pandemic. Credit: Newsday / Yeong-Ung Yang; Howard Schnapp
Nassau County Executive Laura Curran is expected to sign legislation on Wednesday limiting access to Nickerson Beach, joining several Long Island leaders who have drawn a legal line in the sand to keep nonresidents away from local beaches while New York City beaches are closed.
In signing a Republican-sponsored bill to enforce a residency requirement at the popular county beach, Curran, a Democrat, joined Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, along with Hempstead and Brookhaven Town officials, in ordering residency requirements on a temporary basis. Local officials described them as precautions during the coronavirus pandemic.
"There is no summer on Long Island without the beach, and now more than ever our shores will serve as much-needed relief for residents looking to beat the heat,” Curran said.
Asked whether she was concerned about whether the measure could be legally challenged, Curran said: “As Nassau County executive, I am taking appropriate temporary measures to protect the health, safety and well-being of our residents during this unprecedented time."
Jones Beach in Nassau and Robert Moses State Park in Suffolk will be open to all.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday that city beaches would remain closed until further notice to prevent the spread of the virus.
In response, majority Republicans on the Nassau County Legislature filed a bill to limit access to Nickerson, the only Nassau County beach. According to the GOP bill, de Blasio’s move threatened “to overwhelm the safe operational capacity of Nickerson Beach.”
Curran, a Democrat, said Tuesday she supported the measure, which is scheduled for an emergency vote in the county legislature Wednesday.
Asked about a report that proof of residence would be checked at Long Island beaches because of concerns about the city crowding the beaches, de Blasio said, “that’s not the impression I have.”
“Look, this should not be about any ill feeling towards people depending on where they come from,” he replied.
De Blasio described a conversation he had with Curran: “She understands how important the city and the people of New York City are to the suburbs and the suburbs are to New York City. We’re working together. We can’t open our beaches. We cannot take the chance of a huge number of people congregating together."
Curran said Monday she spoke with de Blasio about her concerns and that she respected his decision.
Long Beach will reopen beaches Saturday for weekends only until June 28, limiting access to Long Beach city residents from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The city will reopen its boardwalk Thursday to everyone from dawn to dusk.
At beaches in Nassau County, including those run by the county, state and towns, the capacity of parking lots will be limited to 50%. Partly cloudy skies were forecast for the Memorial Day weekend Friday though Monday with highs near 70.
Presiding Officer Richard Nicolello (R-New Hyde Park), said "with Nassau beaches open at only 50% capacity, a small fraction of New York’s 8 million residents could overwhelm our beaches and Barrier Island roads. It is important that Nassau residents have access to the beaches they pay taxes to maintain.”
Bellone announced Monday that Smith Point and Cupsogue beaches will be open to county residents only.
Brookhaven Town is restricting four of its municipal beaches — Davis Park on Fire Island, Cedar Beach in Mount Sinai, Corey Beach in Blue Point and West Meadow in Stony Brook — to town residents only.
The Hempstead Town Board passed an emergency resolution Tuesday to limit town beaches in Lido Beach and Point Lookout, which serve 800,000 town residents, to Nassau County residents.
Hempstead Councilman Chris Carini, who represents Point Lookout and Lido Beach, said the restrictions were necessary to limit crowds.“ This will go a long way to easing their concerns,” Carini said of local beachgoers. “The 50% capacity will be met pretty swiftly.”
Sen. Todd Kaminsky (D-Long Beach) said he and a bipartisan group of state lawmakers from Long Island had hoped there would be a coordinated approach for the state's southern shoreline from Staten Island to Montauk for the holiday weekend.
“There’s a logic behind it and that’s why I support a comprehensive plan but then [the] biggest population source just decides not to play ball with anybody," said Kaminsky. "The city should have been prepared to open its beaches."
Kaminsky said city residents likely would show up at Jones Beach and Robert Moses.
"People are literally fighting for safe sand," Kaminsky said.
With John Asbury, Matthew Chayes and Carl MacGowan
Candice Ferrette covers Nassau County government and politics on Long Island. She has been a reporter at Newsday since 2011.
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