Since the fire in 1979 that reduced the rest rooms and facilities at Beekman Beach to ashes, the problem of public access to the water at Beekman has been the Phoenix of Oyster Bay.
Prior to the fire the park had facilities that met the Nassau County requirements to be an active beach park, so I think it is important to review the history of Beekman Beach subsequent to the fire.
After the fire the town decided not to rebuild the facilities or staff lifeguards for monetary reasons and to post signs saying swimming was prohibited. This closure was not associated with the water quality, although as time passed it was raised as an occasional defense of the prohibition. Whether there was documentation that supported the claim is not clear.
Through the 1980s, the town neglected the property and considered sale for private development with a hotel or condos. Various residents organized an opposition. A lawsuit was filed that may have had the property,because of a use restriction in the deed, revert back to the Beekman family and as a result, the town reconsidered its obligation to maintain the park and allow public access. The beach remained posted prohibiting swimming, but water quality, again, was not a major documented issue.
In the 1990s, various groups, including Friends of the Bay (FOB), organized to protect the water quality of the bay and eventually spurred interest in revitalizing the western waterfront area, including Beekman Beach. The town, in collaboration with the state, purchased the defunct Jacobson’s Shipyard property and developed in to what exists today with facilities like the Sagamore Rowing Club, the Western Waterfront Organization, a fishing pier capable of accepting tall ships, walking paths with a gazebo, benches and water fountains and an additional boat launching area designed for trailered boats. Unguarded, untested for quality and unposted water access extends from Roosevelt Beach to the new boat launching area. However, Beekman Beach continued to languish with its posted restrictions with passive enforcement until recently.
Since the early 2000s, the town has turned a blind eye to the postings, going even as far as permitting the use of the beach for Bay Day and the Oyster Festival, which included active water activities at the beach, and people and organizations, at other times, launching watercraft from the beach. Water quality did not appear to be an issue since data was available to the town from both the Nassau Health Department and FOB.
So what has changed recently that precipitated locking off the parking lot with active enforcement to deny access to the water for both people that wanted to go into the water or simply launch watercraft from Beekman Beach?
The number of reasons for denying access to the water at Beekman seems to change from time to time. There are no convenient restrooms, no lifeguards on duty, the water may be polluted, or construction vehicles create a hazard to the public on the beach and in the parking lot, even though that area has been fenced off and is entered and exited on Shore Road.
I will stipulate that the water quality at Beekman Beach does not come up to the level of that at Roosevelt Beach, particularly after a rainy period, but the town has failed to produce any study it has done that would support this summer’s draconian response to close the park and water access, particularly for those that are simply launching watercraft, which has been passively accepted for the last 14 years.
What has really caused the change in the level of enforcement? It is unclear at this time. Maybe the water quality has recently degraded to a level where it is even unsafe to wade in? Or perhaps someone in the Parks/Conservation Dept. has decided recently, on their own, to aggressively enforce the no swimming and considers launching watercraft swimming? Those questions remain open at this time.
Summer is over, but I am sure there will be those that continue to wade in the water either after rowing ashore from a boat anchored off the beach or launching watercraft while the safety officers and taxpaying public observing them continue to wonder why their time is being wasted sitting in a car in the parking lot all day.
I do need to acknowledge that the town took a big step forward last week by unlocking the gates and allowing access to the passive park. Now it is time to assign a more important function to the Public Safety Dept.
There is a lesson to be learned from all of this. The more things seem to change, the more we realize we’ve seen the image before as the Phoenix of Beekman Beach rises again from the ashes and takes the beach from the public.
—O.J. Donovan
