Crowd Turns Out For Curran Port Ambrose Town Hall

Assemblyman Brian Curran (Lynbrook-21st A.D.) recently held a town hall-style informational meeting on the Liberty Port Ambrose Deepwater Project being proposed off the coast of Long Island, specifically Long Beach. Curran, like many in the community, has voiced his opposition to the project in a letter to Gov. Cuomo. Curran also held the meeting so residents could find out what the Port Ambrose Project is, what they need to know: how it will affect their communities, and how it will impact their families. Afterwards, several constituents thanked Curran for his efforts.

“We had a good turnout at this meeting to discuss the Liberty Port Ambrose Deepwater Project and its impact on Long Island’s families, specifically those in East Rockaway and Oceanside, as well as the Island Park and Long Beach areas,” said Curran. “I want to thank our guest speakers George Povall of All Our Energy, Patrick Robbins and Clare Donohue of Sane Energy, and Laura Swan with Surf Ride Youth for her incredible mural painted by local students to raise awareness for the Port Ambrose threat and raising awareness for clean oceans. I also want to thank Oceanside Library and Mr. Tony Iovino. In my letter to the governor, I echoed my constituents and many local officials on Long Island when I expressed my opposition due to the negative environmental and economic impacts this will have on our communities.”

The Port Ambrose project proposes constructing a marine facility for off-loading LNG off of Long Beach and the South Shore. According to Liberty’s website, two buoys would be tethered to the ocean floor to connect ships to a proposed undersea pipeline that would deliver into an existing gas infrastructure on Long Island.

Ellen Cutler Igoe said, “This was a very informative meeting, and I thank Assemblyman Brian Curran for allowing us to voice our concerns, and I thank him for this Town Hall meeting.”

Oceanside Fire Commissioner Michael Graham said, “A very informative meeting tonight held by Assemblyman Brian Curran. The concerns and risks of this project are very important to our community and state. Thank you for the information to the entire Oceanside Community.”

In his letter to Gov. Cuomo, Curran said “the project poses a significant threat to the public health and safety of the ocean beach community and other Long Island communities, as well as the fragile environmental ecosystems that currently exist in the waters off the south shore of Long Island. As we are constantly adjusting homeland security postures, the security related risks also pose a serious concern as well. While I realize the importance of energy independence as a state and nation and developing those local sources to establish that independence, the negative impact in this case far outweighs the perceived benefits this project would create.”

“As a life-long resident of Long Island, raising my children here is important to me, and that goes without saying for all the families on Long Island who have the opportunity to live near and enjoy Long Island’s safe and picturesque beach lines,” said Curran. “Our children deserve the same childhood as we enjoyed: to grow with and enjoy these beaches. As such, I can never support a project that will jeopardize the beach lines on the South Shore that I and many others have grown up with.”

Curran also launched an online petition, telling Gov. Cuomo to oppose the project. The petition has over 100 local signatures and grows by the day. If you were unable to attend the meeting and would like to sign the petition, it can be found here: http://goo.gl/forms/dBKsi76uuG.

###