Rant on Brants

Brant Geese… where the heck did they come from?

Maybe it’s just me not noticing them in years past, but this year we seem to have a huge flock of what someone told me are Brant geese in the area.

Brant geese between on and off ramp traffic at the Loop Parkway entrance

They’re different from the Canadian geese I’m so used to seeing. They have a shorter, fatter neck. They’re stockier, yet smaller than the Canada version.

see wikipedia Brant Goose

Brant geese at the Loop Parkway entrance walked right in front of my car

The reason I’ve noticed them is I cannot believe the numbers of them getting hit by cars on Lido Blvd outside town, and on the Loop Pkwy. It’s more than just a few that I’ve seen these past few weeks, at least 10, probably more.

There were 2 more dead just on the Loop Parkway yesterday.  This is just a slaughter. 

Ive seen a large number grazing the plazas on Park Ave in the east end of Long Beach… where theres been some hit as well.

I was wondering if they’re displaced by or disoriented from Sandy somehow.

They do seem to have taken over the west side of the Loop Parkway from the drawbridge on, where the regular Canada geese used to be and especially at the Loop Parkway entrance.

They just seem oblivious to danger from cars and seem to congregate close to the road (though they flew off when I got out and tried to get these pictures). I couldn’t get close enough to get the pictures I wanted without being near or in traffic on Lido Blvd, which is exactly the problem!

Brant geese at Nickerson Beach

Like the Canadian geese crossing the road in a line, I’ve seen them doing this solo and in small numbers.
Anyone know about them?
Are they displaced or have I just not noticed them before?

Maybe we can keep an eye out to avoid hitting them on the road if they’re just further Sandy victims, just passing through?

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Nickerson Beach Garbage Pile Update

Nickerson Beach On January 7, 2013. The Garbage Pile has been sent away

so happy to say.. this is a non-story, as it’s gone. people have been checking and asking, so here’s current photos.

Nickerson Beach Parking lot, on 11/28/12, used as a waste-transfer station

At one point it was about 25 feet high and it seemed like we might have a “growing concern” on our hands.

It’s been a  hot topic – residents, neighbors and beachgoers had concerns about it, but after about 6 weeks, it seems to have been completely removed, finishing sometime in the last week or so.

Nickerson Beach, now down to bare pavement after handling the massive influx of storm damage debris

Nickerson Beach Garbage Mound and Other Tall Tales

Nickerson Beach Parking lot, Now a waste-transfer station

The burning question: Point Lookout, Lido Beach, Long Beach- Rumor Busted!

holy…you know what.
Rumor has it someone was talking to an experienced disaster relief person from out of state.
When discussing the mounting garbage pile forming at Nickerson Beach, they said something like: “yeah, they did that in New Orleans with Katrina and then they burned it all in place. It burned for weeks. Of course, in New Orleans the nearby inhabitants couldn’t live near the places they were putting the trash.”

I spoke to officials from the Fire Dept: this is absolutely untrue and they would fight it if it were to be.

The county’s temporary garbage storage at Nickerson Beach. Taken on 11/20/12 shows the pile several feet higher than the garbage truck. 15 feet, I’d guess.

you just cannot get the scope of it from these pictures but it is about as deep as it is wide, covering almost that entire lot.

Nickerson Beach. Taken on 11/28/12 shows the pile grown dramatically from last week. well over 20 ft.

It’s bad enough :
our drinking water is teetering on the edge,
The bay is being flooded daily with untreated sewage from Bay Park in East Rockaway, worse than the “normal” amount of sewage Nassau County has been illegally dumping into the bay.
Source: Newsday- Sewage issue needs repair

Last Tuesday the north easterly wind had everyone in town’s saying : “what’s that smell” again.

Fire officials went out and checked-it’s not methane, it’s probably seaweed rotting again in the cove and elsewhere-wherever it washed up to.
That problem is being fixed… The town may be dredging and pumping sand back in as we speak in the cove area. Beach side, it looks like they’ve piled up sand in an attempt to temporarily replicate the missing dunes.

Fill in of a dune break at Civic Beach

From the Civic Association this week:

re: our dunes, we reiterate that it is vital people stay off of them!!
The dunes protected our town from the ocean, in part saving us from the degree of damage experienced in Long Beach. While the dunes served us well during the storm, they are fragile. Walking, playing, etc. on the dunes can easily break the roots of the plants on the dunes. Once these roots are broken and the plants die, the strength of the dune is wiped out. Dead plants equal worthless dunes.
There have been numerous, unsettling reports of people walking on the newly exposed dunes, walking dogs on them and even kids boogie boarding down them!?! How quickly some forget their importance, and the fact that until recently there were fences protecting them and signs stating to stay off them.

8-10 ft tall temporary dune has been built up along Point Lookout, NY Civic Beach to guard against winter storms

Looks like a big delivery arrived for the gas station…

are you getting used to going elsewhere for gas? I’m, NOT!

Visible progress being made getting the gas station cleaned up, refurbished and running.

No More Library in Point Lookout?

PLCA sent this email:

The Long Beach Library will hold a special meeting in the High School Library on Wed. Nov. 28, 2012 at 7:30pm to discuss “the future of the Point Lookout Branch”. As you are likely aware our branch remains closed.
We urge attendance by local residents to show that the branch is important to us and we care about its future.

that’s Tonight everyone!!!