New fence symbol of hope for Baldwin park

Some Baldwin residents hope a new fence designed to keep people out of a former illegal dump will be a first step toward turning the site into a park and letting people in.

After decades of inattention and deterioration, Nassau County is finalizing plans to replace fencing around most of the 35-acre Coes Neck property, at a cost of $185,000, said Michael M. Martino Jr., spokesman for the Department of Public Works.

"The [existing] fence is rusty and it needs to be replaced," said Jackie Bell, president of the Baldwin Oaks Civic Association, which for years has sought parklike amenities for the area.

The site just east of Coes Neck Road and south of the Southern State Parkway was designated a perpetual preserve in December 2008 after community opposition to earlier plans to lease it to Molloy College for new athletic fields. Nassau County manages 3,300 acres of such preserves at 15 locations, officials said.

The Baldwin property was once an asphalt plant and had become an illegal dump site for debris from the demolition of the Garden City Hotel in 1973. Nature has reclaimed much of the property, which is thick with grass about 6 to 8 feet high and downed tree limbs. Food containers, bottles, plastic bags and tires are scattered around.

"We want to beautify the preserve," said Bell, a 37-year Baldwin resident who envisions trails and benches at the site. "It is a beautiful property and we want to use it as a beautiful space. It is a part of North Baldwin that we could be very proud of."

But the county has "no plans to install any benches or trails as the property is not currently open to the public," Martino said. He cited a lack of broad community support for opening the land, but also the fact that a pond on the property would require patrolling, and overall security would be "difficult and costly."

Nassau looked into extensively cleaning the property in 2007, but abandoned the plan because it would have cost more than $20 million, said Legis. Kevan Abrahams (D-Hempstead), who represents the Baldwin area and introduced legislation making the site a perpetual preserve.

The designation protects the property from future commercial development for 99 years, Abrahams said. "The only promise was that the property would be secured in terms of fencing and the grass being cut," he said.

The county has already spent $75,000 to remove contaminated soils and debris from the property. In addition, some areas were covered with clean top soil and seeded, Martino said.

"We have tons of properties that are just like this property," said Abrahams, a member of the Planning, Development & the Environment Committee. "We have to prioritize which direction we want to go in."