Amityville residents petition to save 'dying' Avon Lake, a popular recreational spot

A group of residents in Amityville is pressuring village officials to put more effort into taking care of a beloved lake that they said has fallen into disrepair.

More than a dozen residents showed up to a trustee board meeting earlier this month and presented a petition with nearly 300 signatures demanding that the village address ongoing problems with Avon Lake. The lake, which officials said is about a half-mile in circumference and 10 to 30 feet deep, is located south of Avon Place.

"This is the destination in Amityville for exercise, for fresh air," Dave Ehlers, 60, told the board, noting the number of joggers, walkers and others who frequent the surrounding East and West Lake drives. "But the area is in a sorry state of disrepair."

Ehlers and his neighbors said the lake suffers from an infestation of parrot feather, an invasive plant species that can displace native vegetation and clog waterways. In addition, they said the area suffers from dying trees with dangerous overhanging branches, ineffective dams, leaning light poles and broken street curbs. The residents said they met with village officials and complained of these same problems three years ago and little has been done since.

"This lake is dying, it’s literally dying," said resident Tom White. "There are a lot of issues that are being looked past."

Mayor Dennis Siry said that after meeting with residents in 2018, the village’s department of public works began pulling out parrot feather, trimmed branches, repaired some curbing and painted the light poles.

"They did a lot," he said. The reason more hasn’t been done is due to a labor shortage last summer and financial constraints or restrictions from the state Department of Environmental Conservation, he said.

Siry said the parrot feather is migrating from upstream and the village wants to target that area first. He said they are considering the use of "shade blankets," a cloth covering used to stop sunlight from growing the invasive plant at its roots. But the village must first get permission from the DEC, which he says has strict rules about how parrot feather can be removed.

"We are trying to do it very carefully," Siry said.

The mayor said an arborist is assessing the health of the trees and the village will fix the light poles and the curbing, although he estimates the latter could run as much as $1 million. They are also looking into a mechanical dam but that may be cost prohibitive. The village has promised residents an update and timeline on next steps in December.

"We are working on this and we know it’s a problem we have to fix," Siry said. "It’s just a matter of things not happening in the blink of an eye. Things take time and to them it’s a priority, it’s in front of their house, but our DPW is doing a lot of work around the whole village."

Residents said they remain cautiously optimistic.

"The lake could be a really nice attraction for the village," said resident Susan Geiger, 68. "I think the village is not appreciating the value of it."

By Denise M. Bonilla

denise.bonilla@newsday.comdenisebonilla

Denise Bonilla has worked at Newsday since 2003 and covers the Town of Babylon, including the villages of Lindenhurst and Amityville.