TOBAY Beach Restoration To Be Completed By Memorial Day

MASSAPEQUA, NY — After years of erosion threatening the beach, the Town of Oyster Bay announced it was undertaking Long Island's largest beach restoration project to restore TOBAY Beach.

Each day, the town said, trucks filled with screened, cleaned and processed sand have been arriving at the beach to replenish what was lost to erosion. The town said it has restored 33,000 tons of sand, and that the beach will be ready for Memorial Day crowds.

Over the past three years, erosion had eaten away a lot of the beach's sand. High tide was beginning to threaten the center ocean pavilion, the town said, as well as the dunes that protect Ocean Parkway.

"The men and women of the Town of Oyster Bay workforce have saved the summer! We've literally moved a mountain of sand to fortify the shoreline at TOBAY Beach and ensured residents have a new, clean beach to enjoy this Memorial Day Weekend," said Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino. "My colleagues on the Town Board and I understand how beloved the beautiful TOBAY Beach is to our residents. That's why we immediately sprang into action to save our beach and save the summer."

In recent years, Town workers combed sand from the west end of TOBAY to the east, helping increase the shoreline - especially at the center pavilion. With conditions further eroding annually, Town officials met with Federal officials and entered into a contract with the Army Corps of Engineers to bring sand from the Fire Island Inlet to TOBAY Beach.

The project was set to commence prior to the 2022 beach season; however, the contractor retained by the Army Corps backed out of the full dredging project this year, the town said, causing sections of the Fire Island Inlet to go un-dredged. For TOBAY Beach, this meant no new sand and a real threat for beach season. High tides also threatened the structural integrity of the center pavilion, as well as the dunes that protect Ocean Parkway.