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http://www.exploreli.com/guides/fourth-of-july/where-to-see-fireworks-1.2042227

Even though Jones Beach isn't having their usual fireworks display, here are other spots to head on July 4th weekend.



http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/jones-beach-july-4th-fireworks-show-still-fizzles-1.2029111

Jones Beach July 4th fireworks show still fizzles

Originally published: June 16, 2010 8:04 PM
Updated: June 16, 2010 9:48 PM
By MICHAEL AMON  michael.amon@newsday.com

The 4th of July fireworks

Photo credit: Newsday File/ Ana P. Gutierrez | The 4th of July fireworks show is held at Jones Beach in Wantagh on July 4, 2009.

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The Jones Beach Fourth of July fireworks show has been canceled - again.

Gov. David A. Paterson tried to revive the show on Monday, a month after its cancellation for money and staffing problems, a spokesman said.

State parks officials even told business owners around Jones Beach that the show could return, and soon after many believed the show was back on, said Kathy Heinlein-Risi, president of the Captree Fleet, which was organizing charter boats to watch the fireworks show from the water.

But by Tuesday evening, administration officials decided it couldn't be done, said spokesman Morgan Hook.

"We've turned over every stone," Hook said. "The money is just not there."

The cancellation should bring more attention to the Fourth of July pyrotechnic show over the Great South Bay near Patchogue, organized by Fireworks by Grucci. The Captree Fleet and other businesses have begun making arrangements around that show.

A more insurmountable problem than funding was staffing, said Assemb. Steven Englebright (D-Setauket), who followed the discussions. The number of state park police and rangers, who patrol Jones Beach and other state grounds, has fallen from 117 in 2004 to 85. The agency has gone without a police academy class for three years.

Corporate sponsors had stepped up to pay for the Jones Beach show, but officers couldn't be trained fast enough to provide adequate security, Englebright said.

"I think [the administration] came close to going to a thumbs-up," Englebright said. "But at the final moment of decision, I think they felt there would be a real downside."
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/deal-struck-to-keep-55-state-parks-open-1.1956884

Deal struck to keep 55 state parks open

Originally published: May 27, 2010 9:55 PM
Updated: May 27, 2010 10:33 PM
By BART JONES  bart.jones@newsday.com

Montauk Downs State Park Pool

Photo credit: Newsday file / Joseph D. Sullivan | Montauk Downs State Park
Pool will not open unless the legislature restores funding.

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A deal has been struck to keep open 55 state parks and facilities slated for closure, Gov. David A. Paterson said Thursday, though the State Senate and Assembly were still working to finalize the pact Thursday night.

"The legislature has made the tough choices to my satisfaction that will enable us to open the parks" in time for the Memorial Day weekend, Paterson said on WOR radio's "The John Gambling Show."

His administration had listed 41 parks and 14 of the state's 35 historic sites to close, along with service cuts at others, to help bridge the state budget gap. Two are on Long Island: the Nissequogue River and Brookhaven state parks.

Austin Shafran, majority Democratic conference spokesman, said Thursday, "We have an agreement on a bill to fully restore parks funding, keeping them open for the remainder of the year. We just received a draft from the governor's office and are reviewing the specific details. We anticipate passing it tomorrow."

Assemb. Robert Sweeney (D-Lindenhurst) said officials had agreed to approve $11 million to open the parks. He said the money would come from the Environmental Protection Fund.

Negotiations that started Wednesday went on until 2 a.m. Thursday, Sweeney said, with some staff members remaining until 5 a.m. Thursday night, officials were talking again.

Paterson said the Environmental Protection Fund would be cut by about $74 million. The measure is also expected to keep the historic sites open this year, as well as Department of Environmental Conservation campgrounds targeted for closing.

"We've come to a deal to approximately cut about what I proposed in the original budget," Paterson said. "The bad news is it has taken about four days to find $11 million to keep the parks open."

Lawmakers wanted smaller cuts in the fund dedicated to conservation programs like buying land and recycling.

They balked earlier in the week at Paterson's proposal linking those cuts to restored park funding. Meanwhile, they've been getting calls from constituents unhappy about park closings, especially with the warm weather and approaching holiday weekend.

According to administration officials, lawmakers still need to find another $2 billion to $2.5 billion in spending cuts to close the deficit and adopt a balanced budget of about $136 billion for this year. The budget is 58 days late, as of today.

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/swimmer-drowns-suv-strikes-sunbather-in-long-beach-1.1952142

Swimmer drowns, SUV strikes sunbather in Long Beach

Originally published: May 26, 2010 8:46 PM
Updated: May 26, 2010 9:22 PM
By LAURA RIVERA AND MATTHEW CHAYES  laura.rivera@newsday.com, matthew.chayes@newsday.com

Police, ocean rescue, and scuba

Photo credit: Kevin P Coughlin | Police, ocean rescue, and scuba divers search for a missing swimmer. The 19-year-old man officials presumed drowned was a student at CUNY’s Baruch College in Manhattan, friends said. (May 26, 2010)

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A Brooklyn teen likely drowned off the coast of Long Beach Wednesday and a sunbather was critically injured after a city police officer driving along the beach struck the man, a city official said.

Rip currents swept at least a dozen swimmers into the surf Wednesday, local authorities said.

The 19-year-old swimmer, who friends said was a student at CUNY's Baruch College in Manhattan, was last seen some 100 feet from the beach in the water beyond a jetty.

PHOTOS: 1 drowns, others rescued in Long Beach surf

Rescue crews answered a call for swimmers in distress between Edwards and Riverside boulevards around 1:50 p.m., said Scott Kemins, the city's fire department chief.

Emergency responders pulled from the rough water two of the young man's friends, who told authorities that the young man had "mentioned to them that he didn't know how to swim," said city manager Charles Theofan.

The suspected drowning victim's name was not released Wednesday.

"Last time he was seen, unfortunately, he was floating face down in the water," Kemins said. "An experienced swimmer would easily get in trouble in that kind of water."

Fire rescue and police pulled about 10 people from the water Wednesday, according to Kemins, while surfers and others helped several more.

The missing teen's friends said the group had initially entered the water about knee-deep, but the strong current off the jetty soon sucked them out to sea, Theofan said.

Beachgoer Nelo Asadi, of Flushing, Queens, said she was on the sand when she heard screams for help, and then saw "a guy and a girl" being plucked from the ocean.

Joe Son, 22, of Jamaica, Queens, a friend of the rescued swimmers, said the girl suffered cuts from the rocks.

The search for the young man's body was called off in the afternoon because the water was too rough, Theofan said.

The two accidents came amid a busy day for Long Beach emergency personnel as steamy weather drove swimmers and surfers to the beach and into the water ahead of the beach's official opening this weekend.

During one rescue, a Long Beach police officer responding to a call about a swimmer in distress ran his police SUV over a sunbather on the beach, city officials said.

The victim, Marshall Starkman, 43, suffered a broken spine and was taken by helicopter to Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, said City Manager Charles Theofan.

According to Theofan, police officer Paul DeMarco struck Starkman as he sat in a lounge chair around noon near Laurelton Boulevard.

DeMarco could not be reached Wednesday. DeMarco declined to make any official statements Westerday, according to Theofan.

Stackman, interviewed at NUMC, said he was in "a lot of pain. I'm alive, but a lot of pain."

He described the accident, saying, "I was literally just sitting on my chaise lounge on the beach" while talking on the phone and playing the radio.

"Honestly, it hit me out of the blue," he said, adding that he heard no sirens or horn."The only thing I can remember is getting hit. Not knowing what it was. Realizing that I'm alive."

Stackman, who said he had no information yet from doctors about his condition, recalled sitting far back from the beach, closer to the boardwalk, but near other people. "There were people all around me," he said.

The city asked the Nassau County police accident investigation unit to conduct an independent probe, Theofan said.

For Rob Catell, a frequent beachgoer, Wednesday's likely drowning was an all too common seasonal occurrence. "It's the same thing that happens every year," Catell said as he watched the rescue.

In July 2008, three swimmers died in Long Beach over a two-day period. In June 2005, a Flushing teen, 15, drowned while swimming with friends near Long Beach Boulevard.

Swimming is not allowed in Long Beach when beaches are closed, so those who enter the water do so at their own risk, Theofan said. He said police will issue summonses to those caught swimming before the official beach season opens Saturday and lifeguards are assigned to posts.
http://www.newsday.com/news/region-state/state-senate-votes-to-force-paterson-to-reopen-55-parks-1.1949703

State Senate votes to force Paterson to reopen 55 parks

Originally published: May 25, 2010 9:10 PM
Updated: May 25, 2010 10:47 PM
By BILL BLEYER AND REID J. EPSTEIN.  bill.bleyer@newsday.com,, reid.epstein@newsday.com

Nissequogue River State Park

Nissequogue River State Park

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Four days before the Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial beginning of the summer parks season, the state Senate Tuesday voted 59-0 to force Gov. David A. Paterson to reopen 55 state parks closed in the state's budget crisis.

The legislation, which would keep parks open until Albany lawmakers pass a state budget - now 57 days overdue - has to be passed by the Assembly and signed by Paterson to become law. The governor has signaled his opposition.

Paterson spokesman Morgan Hook said the Senate bill is unconstitutional and the governor would veto it.

WHICH PARKS?: See the map | Photos

VIDEO: LIers now paying more at the park

On Monday, Paterson proposed legislation that would reopen 41 state parks and 14 historic sites closed last week - including two on Long Island - by taking $6 million from environmental programs funded by the Environmental Protection Fund. The Senate took no action on that bill.

"If the Senate really wants to address the parks issue, they should pass the governor's bill," Hook said.

Nissequogue River and Brookhaven state parks on Long Island are now shuttered due to the stalemate.

Assemb. Steven Englebright (D-Setauket) said Assembly leaders are negotiating with Paterson to avoid a vote on the Senate bill. "With the Memorial Day weekend, the Legislature is prepared to take action in both houses before the end of the week," he said.

Sen. John Sampson (D-Brooklyn), the Democratic conference leader, said park closures would devastate small businesses that depend on park traffic. "We need a fair and responsible budget, and cutting our parks is neither a fair nor responsible solution to the fiscal crisis," Sampson said.

Democrats want Paterson to spend money they say was included for parks operations in emergency spending bills that are keeping the state government functioning. Paterson says the bills do not include money for parks.

His plan has angered legislators, environmentalists and park advocates, who say the Environmental Protection Fund has never been used for daily park operations.

Park advocates and some legislators said if the legislators' bills don't pass quickly, Paterson's proposal might become law as lawmakers face mounting public pressure to reopen the parks.

Samaritans save 4 of 6 LI parks from closing

Originally published: May 14, 2010 8:05 PM
Updated: May 15, 2010 12:18 AM
By BILL BLEYER  bill.bleyer@newsday.com

Quick Summary

Four of six Long Island state parks slated to close Monday will remain open thanks to last-minute donations.

The stateraquo;s budget crisis will

Photo credit: Bill Davis | The state's budget crisis will close all of Brookhaven and most of Nissequogue River state parks because no one has come to their rescue. (Aug. 2, 2009)

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Four of six Long Island state parks set to close Monday will remain open thanks to last-minute donations from corporations and nonprofit groups and maintenance by a mountain-biking club.

But the state's budget crisis will still claim all of Brookhaven and most of Nissequogue River state parks, because no one has come to their rescue.

The parks saved by donations are Orient Beach and Caleb Smith. The mountain biking club, CLIMB, saved Trail View and Cold Spring Harbor by agreeing to take over all maintenance.

With no budget in place, the state parks agency said Friday it would proceed with closing 41 parks and 14 historic sites Monday to save $11.3 million, as proposed by Gov. David A. Paterson.

Eileen Larrabee, spokeswoman for the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, said the agency decided to close the parks now because "warmer weather is upon us" and staff needs to be reassigned to those parks that will open to get them ready for the summer.

The decision infuriated Assemb. Steven Englebright (D-Setauket), chairman of the parks committee. "That they're doing this without even consulting the legislature is very troubling," he said. Englebright is sponsoring a bill to force the governor to keep the parks open until the budget is resolved and the same bill is pending in the Senate.

"I think it's a shame that after we went through so much to get it open to then see it close," Cathy Sosik, president of the Ridge Civic Association, said of Brookhaven State Park, where she hikes. "It's really a low maintenance park" with minimal facilities and staff.

Parks regional director Ronald Foley said discussions with potential donors have been going on since the governor's proposed budget was released but commitments did not gel until this week. "For the people of Long Island and the park-using public, it's terrific that these corporations and organizations have come forward," he said.

Connetquot River State Park Preserve was to close weekdays but now will stay open all week because of a donation.

Nissequogue will be closed except for two marinas, which have to open as a result of litigation by yacht clubs previously based there, he said.

Linda Arymn, senior vice president for corporate development for Bethpage Federal Credit Union, which is already the primary sponsor of the Memorial Day weekend air show at Jones Beach, said the company decided to bail out Caleb Smith State Park in Smithtown "to keep a local park open for the residents of the communities that we serve."

CLIMB president Michael Vitti said the group helped create the Nassau-Suffolk Greenbelt Trail that runs through the two parks and has done upkeep ever since, so it won't take much more work to maintain them without state help.

Parks closed and saved.
*******************************
Closed:
Brookhaven State Park.
Attendance last year: 6,693
-
Nissequogue River.
Attendance last year: 87,516.
Park closed except for the two marinas. But public will not be prohibited from the entering the grounds. The five full-time staff members will remain to operate the marinas but no seasonal staff will be hired. There would usually be six seasonal staffers working in April and May.
***
Saved:
Caleb Smith
Attendance last year: 30,690
Donations will allow park to remain open five days a week, the current schedule, and flyfishing and school programs that were halted April 1 will resume.
Donations: The Foundation for Long Island State Parks, $35,000; Bethpage Federal Credit Union, $25,000; Friends of Caleb Smith, $15,000 tentatively promised.

Orient Beach
Attendance last year: 111,160
Donations: New York State Parks Fishing Advisory Board, $25,000; another $50,000 is expected from two corporations but details not worked out. Connetquot River
Attendance weekdays last year: 101,005
Donations: New York State Parks Fishing Advisory Board, $15,000.
-
Cold Spring Harbor and Trail View,
Attendance last year: 151,438 and 111,068, respectively
Will remain open because mountain biking group CLIMB will take over all maintenance.

Beach fees increase this year from $8 to $10 per vehicle when lifeguards are on duty.

At “flagship” parks — such as Bayard Cutting Arboretum, Belmont Lake, Bethpage, Captree, Caumsett, Connetquot, Hempstead Lake, Montauk Point, Planting Fields Arboretum and Valley Stream — entrance fees jump from $6 or $7 per vehicle to $8.

Golf fees at the Bethpage Black Course rose by $15 per round. Other courses at Bethpage, Hither Hills and Sunken Meadow increased up to $3 per round.

Jones Beach July Fourth fireworks canceled.

All state park pools would not open unless Legislature restores funding.

No Fireworks On Jones Beach

Updated: Tuesday, 11 May 2010, 7:24 AM EDT
Published : Tuesday, 11 May 2010, 7:22 AM EDT

JONES BEACH, N.Y. (AP) -- There will be no July 4th fireworks display on Jones Beach this summer. The state parks department says it doesn't have enough police officers to patrol the popular event because of state cuts to its budget.

Even if additional funds were found, there would be no time to train police officers for the 15-year-old annual display.

State parks regional director Ronald Foley says Albany's budget problems have eliminated a park police training academy class for three consecutive years.

The number of park police and rangers on Long Island has fallen from 117 in 2004 to about 85 now.

Information from: Newsday, http://www.newsday.com