Hempstead Town Notebook: Team Murray, Beach Safety Tips

Team Murray Announces Re-Election Campaign

Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray and the Team Murray slate of Republican town officials recently announced their bid for re-election come November.

Team Murray consists of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray of Levittown, Councilwoman Angie Cullin of Freeport, Councilman James Darcy of Valley Stream, Councilman Ed Ambrosino of North Valley Stream, Town Clerk Mark Bonilla of Bellmore and Receiver of Taxes Don Clavin of Garden City.

They state their campaign is centered around freezing taxes, while helping residents and maintaining services.

Hempstead’s finances have attracted major financial investment from private sector developers. One major development project alone features a $100 million direct investment and the creation of over 600 permanent jobs as the result of a 330,000 square foot construction project in the heart of our county.

Town Gives Swimming Safety Tips for Memorial Day Weekend

Town of Hempstead beaches are popular spots for residents on Memorial Day weekend. To prepare for the approaching summer season and in recognition of National Beach Safety Week from May 23 to May 30, Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray and town ocean lifeguards are offering important beach safety tips and a demonstration on how to avoid being caught in a deadly rip current.

Last summer, a number of tragedies occurred at beaches at nearby municipalities. Rip currents, a main cause of ocean drownings, are powerful, channeled currents of water flowing away from the shore. Typically, rip currents extend from the shoreline through the surf zone and past the line of breaking waves. Rip currents can occur at any beach with breaking waves. Deadly rip currents were prominent on our shores last summer, and the dangerous phenomenon is expected to threaten beachgoers again this year.

"Last summer was a sad one for Long Island, which lost several children to ocean drownings," Murray said. "We're here to help prevent tragedies from happening. To prepare for the summer season, we will be distributing a beach safety publication to every visitor to our ocean parks."

Covering three miles of shoreline in the Town of Hempstead, 150 ocean lifeguards work tirelessly to protect swimmers from danger. Individuals, families, school groups, clubs and organizations planning trips to the town's beaches are urged to take note of the hours when lifeguards are on duty.

Starting on Saturday, May 28, ocean lifeguard coverage is limited to weekends and holidays until Sunday, June 19. Full ocean lifeguard coverage, when lifeguards are on duty seven days a week at Town of Hempstead beaches, starts on Monday, June 20, and ends on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 5. When lifeguards are on duty, they are stationed between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Some tips that Murray offered to swimmers who may find themselves caught in a rip current include:

• Remain calm to conserve energy and think clearly.
• Never fight against the current -- think of it like a treadmill that cannot be turned off ... you need to step to the side to escape the grip of the riptides.
• Swim out of the current in the direction following the shoreline. When out of the current, swim at an angle -- away from the current -- towards the shore.
• If you are unable to swim out of the rip current, float or calmly tread water. When out of the current, swim towards the shore.
• If you are still unable to reach shore, draw attention to yourself by waving your arm and yelling for help.

People seeking to help victims caught in a rip current are encouraged to take the following steps:

• Get help from a lifeguard.
• If a lifeguard is not available, have someone call 911.
• Throw the rip current victim something that floats - a life-jacket, a cooler or an inflatable ball.
• Yell instructions on how to escape.

Town Announces Health and Wellness Fair for Seniors

Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray has announced that the town is hosting its annual Health and Wellness Fair for senior residents on Thursday, June 16, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Lido Beach Town Park located on Lido Boulevard in Lido Beach.

The Health and Wellness Fair is sponsored by the Town of Hempstead in cooperation with Franklin Hospital, Mercy Medical Center, Nassau University Medical Center, South Nassau Communities Hospital and Winthrop University Hospital.

Representatives from participating vendors will provide important information on health-related and financial services available to seniors. Free services provided at the fair include PSA testing, blood pressure, hearing, chiropractic, dental, podiatry, cholesterol and blood glucose screenings and posture/spinal analysis.

Admission to the fair is free and Hempstead Town provides free transportation from each of its 16 senior centers. There is ample free parking at Lido Beach Town Park for those participants who prefer to drive. It is suggested that seniors bring their own lunch to the health fair. For further information, contact the Department of Senior Enrichment at 485-8100.

Town's New Dredge

After years of storm driven seas battering the Point Lookout shoreline, a bay-like depression was carved out of the northeast coast of the waterfront community. The erosion that resulted posed a threat to area homes, local roadways and a community park. What's more, the depression served as a collecting pool for seaweed left behind by receding tides.

In response to the dangerous erosion and stifling stench of rotting seaweed, Hempstead Town pressed its new hydraulic dredge into action, restoring ravaged coastline and filling in the depression that trapped seaweed.

The "Hempstead Bays," a mid-size hydraulic marine dredge, is being stationed in the Jones Inlet where the crew is siphoning sand from the bottom of the clogged navigation channel and pumping it through a 12-inch plastic pipe onto the eroded coastline.

The pipe extends approximately 1,000 feet from the dredge to the outlet pipe, where the water-saturated sand is sprayed into the storm-created void. The dredge has restored more than 5,000 cubic yards of sand onto the scarred beachfront and anticipates replacing a total of 20,000 cubic yards when work is completed.