ConEd Long Island Sound Oil Spill Spoils Glen Island's Return

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Earlier this month, elected officials were celebrating Glen Island Park's release back to the community after being taken over by the state as a testing site in the earliest days of the coronavirus pandemic, but the symbolic victory was short-lived.

"It was here in New Rochelle that the first case of COVID-19 in Westchester was detected, at the time the drive-through testing was what we needed but now what we need is for our residents to have their park back," Westchester County Executive George Latimer said in a July 1 statement announcing the reopening of the county-owned park. "I am thrilled that Glen Island will be open for the summer. I’m thrilled that families will once again enjoy the cool breeze off the sound and that kids will splash in the water.”

A few short days later, neighbors cheered as the last testing tents were finally removed from the park's parking lots and the beach opened to swimmers, but the park was soon pressed into service in response to another crisis.

The space previously used as the state's first COVID-19 testing site has become a staging area for tanks, pumper trucks and cleanup crews. Long stretches of the island park's shoreline are ringed with floating booms and oil absorbing pads. On Sunday, beachgoers were being told not to go in the water.

Work crews and boats cleaning the Glen Island waterfront on Sunday (Jeff Edwards | Patch)

On July 17, a failure of equipment used by Con Edison caused the release of dielectric fluid, which is used to cool the transmission lines that cross the Long Island Sound. The oil flowed down the street and into the New Rochelle Harbor near Wright Marina across the water from Glen Island. A portion of the spilled oil reached the Long Island Sound at the harbor.

Con Edison immediately reported the spill to the New York State Department of Conservation, repaired the line and hired several contractors to clean up the harbor area and land adjacent to the spill, according to state officials. The cleanup includes the use of skimmer boats, vacuum trucks and application of absorbent materials.

Glen Island is the staging ground for some of this equipment, including tractor trailers containing booms and supplies, boat trailers and waste roll-off containers for the cleanup effort. Thousands of feet of booms have been deployed on the lower harbor stretch of Glen Island while workers spray down the bulkheads and loose stones used to form the island's shoreline and collect the oil released during this operation, officials say.

The coronavirus testing tents are gone but Glen Island Park is now being used as a staging area for oil spill cleanup. (Jeff Edwards | Patch)

"The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) continues to oversee the ongoing cleanup of this spill, which is expected to take several weeks," the agency told Patch in a statement. "DEC is not aware of any impacts to drinking water supplies and is monitoring potential impacts to wildlife."

Most of the bulk oil recovery effort at Wright Island Marina has been completed, according to the DEC. Spill workers are still cleaning boat slips by manually removing oily debris and are working section-by-section with a goal of opening portions of the marina by the weekend.

Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research, which was contracted to help wildlife affected by the spill, finished their work on Sunday. According to their most recent report, six waterfowl were rescued near the site.

SEE ALSO:

• ConEd Opens Info Center At LI Sound Oil Spill Cleanup Site
• Massive Cleanup Underway, 1,200-Gallon ConEd Spill In LI Sound
• Glen Island Tree Planted As Tribute To Parks' Role In Pandemic
• Glen Island Beach Will Open On Saturday
• NY Will Close COVID Testing Site, Return Glen Island To County
• Glen Island Park Quietly Reopens For Walkers