Safety concerns prompt Glen Cove to close fishing pier at Pryibil Beach, park playground

Glen Cove closed a popular fishing pier last week after engineers found structural problems requiring more than $100,000 in repairs, city officials said.

An inspection found that five 3-foot-by-5-foot timber girders supporting the Pryibil Beach Fishing Pier were damaged, city spokeswoman Shannon Vulin wrote in an email. The city hired Brookhaven-based engineering firm L.K. McClean Associates PC to inspect the pier after volunteer scuba divers noticed problems during an annual beach cleanup in October, she said.

"Due to the condition of these girders, LKMA recommended that the City of Glen Cove restrict access to the pier until a full assessment, as well as the necessary repairs to rehabilitate the pier, can be determined," Vulin wrote in an email.

Built in 1978, the pier juts off the beach toward the Long Island Sound, attracts anglers in all seasons and is the site of the city’s annual "Snapper Derby" for children to reel in their best catches. Fishing from the beach is still permitted for city residents while the pier is closed.

The city closed the pier in 2018 temporarily for repairs after it sustained damage from nor’easters. The damage to the pier that time was to asphalt on the pier on what’s known as the "fill section," which is both on the beach and the water, whereas the newly discovered damage is on the section over the water supported by piles, she said.

Vulin said the city does not have an estimate yet for when the pier will reopen because the repair project has yet to be bid.

The city has also closed the playground at the Joe Stanco Park at the city golf course after winter storms damaged a covering made from recycled material that cushions the ground. The city will resurface the playground at a future date to be determined before it reopens, Vulin said.