Posted on October 9, 2024
“The project, led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, will ensure the beach is preserved for future enjoyment.”-Town of Babylon officials.
BABYLON, NY —After a decade of battling erosion, the Town of Babylon’s Overlook Beach is getting help during a closure slated to run through spring 2025.
The restoration efforts follow prior “Red Alerts” where Town of Babylon officials “begged” for help from government agencies, including elected officials calling on President Joe Biden to put pressure on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in January.
Finally, the beach is finally getting the help it desperately needs for years.
In a statement, Town of Babylon officials wrote:
“Attention Residents: Overlook Beach will be closed to the public starting October 1 for essential, long-awaited work to address beach erosion and protect public safety.
“The project, led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, will ensure the beach is preserved for future enjoyment. We anticipate Overlook reopening in the spring of 2025.
“Please be advised that Cedar Beach Marina & Campground and Cedar Beach Golf Course remain open and accessible to the public through October 14th. The town’s 9/11 memorial will remain accessible from the parking lot at Cedar Beach.
“We thank you for your cooperation and understanding and look forward to seeing you at Overlook next summer!”
This photo collage by the Town of Babylon shows the difference in a decade despite 100 million cubic yards of sand added on Overlook and Cedar Beach.
In January, Babylon Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer pleaded for help from the government during a press conference as an impending storm threatening 14-foot waves was on its way.
That’s when Schaffer and Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino called on the Army Corps of Engineers and President Joe Biden to help with emergency measures until Memorial Day and for long-term solutions with repeated actions.
The beach later opened for summer on Memorial Day weekend after it “took some major hits” over the winter, prompting various restoration efforts and temporary fixes like adding sand to the shoreline to get the beach through summer.
At the time, Babylon officials said that “through some creative problem-solving and hard work,” they were able to “shift some of the sand and reconfigure the overall layout, expanding the capacity of the western section of the beach.”
In June, the town’s Director of Communications, Ryan Bonner, told Patch the town was at “the mercy of the Army Corps.”
“We are working closely with them to get more sand for Overlook before summer 2005 and we are confident that is going to happen based on our discussions with them,” he said.
In a statement on social media at the time, town officials said they’ve been “aggressively fighting for a dredging project to be completed by the Army Corp of Engineers to deliver the much needed and long overdue sand.”
Babylon officials and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were not immediately available for comment.
