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April 6, 2023
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VOL. 125 NO. 15
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Flower’s dredge boats back in Mill Neck Creek By LAURA LANE llane@liherald.com
Courtesy Bill Fetzer
FRANK M. FLOWER & Sons has begun hydraulically dredging Mill Neck Creek for clams, as it did last year, above.
Residents and those who visit Mill Neck and Bayville this summer will see and hear more than boats and seagulls in Mill Neck Creek. The state Department of Environmental Conservation’s granting of a permit to Frank M. Flower & Sons on March 31 has made it likely that the scene in the estuary, which is home to a clam bar and where people kayak, swim and sunbath, will include the sight, sound and smell of dieselfueled hydraulic dredge boats harvesting clams. Flower is a private shellfishing company that leases underwater acreage from the Town of Oyster Bay. Its new CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
Proposed bill would make Nassau County carbon-neutral By WILL SHEELINE wsheeline@liherald.com
Nassau County Legislator Josh Lafazan announced the introduction of a bill that would require the county to become carbon-neutral by 2035 to address ecological and infrastructure challenges before they become insurmountable. The bill, which was announced at a news conference on March 28, acknowledges the unique challenges facing Nassau County and Long Island, and looks to find a solution in the next 12 years. “I’d like to begin this morning’s press conference with a
reminder that we all too often forget,” Lafazan said. “Here in Nassau County we literally live on an island, and while living on an island, our exposure to climate change is a constant threat to our homes, our communities, our infrastructure, our drinking water and our collective safety.” Lafazan asserted that Long Island faces numerous climaterelated issues due to its geographic location and changing climate conditions. The legislator referenced a recent report by Moody’s Analytics Climate Risk Scenarios, which ranked Long Island four th among major population centers in the
P
owerful, oncein-a-generation storms that happened once a century are now happening once a month. JOSH LAFAZAN county legislator
country for “its exposure to the physical and economic risks associated with climate change.” Climate-related threats present a wide range of dangers to
Nassau County, one of the most pressing being rising water temperatures and levels. The Long Island Sound saw its highest average temperature ever in 2021, according to an environmental study by Connecticut’s Council on Environmental Quality, which poses huge risks for wildlife and increases the chances of algal blooms in the
Sound. An increase in the frequency of superstorms and dangerous weather events such as Hurricane Sandy is another major threat. As the earth continues to warm, major hurricanes and tropical storms will continue to batter Long Island, putting communities at risk. CONTINUED ON PAGE 5