Congressman Tom Suozzi announced during a news conference on April 21 at Sea Cliff Municipal Beach that his office has helped to deliver more than $33 million in federal funding for environmental cleanup projects across Long Island and northeast Queens.
Of that $33 million, around $31 million was devoted to restoring Long Island Sound, representing a 900% increase since he was elected to Congress in 2017. The announcement came one day before Earth Day.
According to Suozzi, he was able to devote so much time and money to improving the environment on Long Island and in Queens through community project funding, which allows members of Congress to request funding to support specific community projects that will have the most real-life impacts in their districts. Five out of his eight community projects have been devoted to environmental cleanup and restoration projects.
In addition to the $31 million devoted to Long Island Sound restoration, Suozzi has distributed the other $2.9 million across multiple other projects.
A total of $300,000 has been funded on shellfish seeding in Hempstead, Oyster Bay and Huntington Harbors, and $600,000 has been used on stormwater management in Little Neck Bay’s Alley Pond, Linnaeus Park and Udalls Cove.
A total of $1 million was applied to renovating North Hempstead Beach Park, and a pump station located on Nancy Court in Glen Cove received $1 million for rehabilitation.
Approximately 10 million seed clams will be strategically placed across the Hempstead, Oyster Bay and Huntington Harbors. The expectation is that they will filter the water there while also producing enough larvae to expand their populations into the future. The Little Neck Bay stormwater management will be used to improve water quality across Alley Pond, Linnaeus Park and Udalls Cove.
“I have devoted a significant part of my past 25 years in public service to cleaning up the pollution, dramatically reducing nitrogen, modernizing sewage treatment plants and restoring shell fishing in our local waters,” Suozzi said. “This $33 million, one of the largest single federal investments in environmental cleanup and restoration across Long Island and northeast Queens, will go a long way in restoring and improving the Long Island Sound for generations to come.”
The funding for these projects was secured by Suozzi as part of the federal budget signed into law last month. The more than $33 million investment represents one of the largest single federal investments in environmental cleanup and restoration across Long Island and northeast Queens.
Suozzi was joined by several environmentalists and elected officials as he made the announcement.
