Filed Under: Local | Long Island | Nassau

Glen Cove Welcome

Glen Cove City Hall
9 Glen Street
Glen Cove, NY 11542
(516) 676-2000
www.glencove-li.com

One of two chartered cities in Nassau County, the City of Glen Cove has 26,662 residents and is governed by a Mayor and six City Council members. The City Council has authority to enact, amend, or repeal local laws, resolutions, and ordinances not inconsistent with the laws of the State.  These city officers are each elected to their positions for a two-year term, all expiring in the same year.  As an incorporated city in the State of New York, Glen Cove is responsible for garbage, recycling, and waste disposal, parks and recreation, building, planning and zoning, wastewater treatment and collection, streets and highways, and public safety (police, fire and emergency medical services).  Unlike other municipalities, Glen Cove has a water department that supplies drinking water from municipal wells in compliance with EPA, State, and County DOH regulations.

Glen Cove Residential

The Glen Cove City Charter is the basis for governing in the City of Glen Cove.  In addition to the Charter, the City has established an administrative code. The Charter is amended by local law and the Code is amended by ordinance.  Before voting upon a proposed local law, the mayor must hold a public hearing and notice must be given in the official newspaper at least five days prior to the hearing.  Regular City Council meetings are held on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month (except when a summer schedule is in place).  Emergency meetings may also be called.  The Mayor is responsible for managing the daily operations of the City.  City Departments include the Department of Public Works, the Water Department, the Department of Parks and Recreation, the Department of Building, Planning and Code Enforcement, as well as other departments.

Glen Cove City Hall

The City’s Zoning Code is amended by City Council Resolution.  In addition, the City has a Planning Board, which is responsible for site plan review, architectural review, subdivision of property, and recommends amendments to the City’s zoning ordinance.  The City also has a Zoning Board of Appeals, which is a quasi-judicial body with the power to grant or deny variances to the Zoning Ordinance.  The Planning and Zoning Board members are appointed by the Mayor and City Council.

Glen Cove Spotlight

The City also has two independent public benefit corporations, the Glen Cove Community Development Agency (CDA) and the Glen Cove Industrial Development Agency (IDA).   The CDA is an urban renewal agency with a mission of neighborhood revitalization in accordance with HUD’s national objectives.  The IDA is an economic development agency that may issue tax-exempt bonds and offer financial assistance through mortgage and sales tax exemptions for qualified projects.  The CDA and IDA Boards are appointed by the Mayor and City Council.

The Department of Public Works directs and supervises highways, sanitation, water, and waste management.  The Department of Public Works and the Mayor may monitor and regulate the discharge of pollutants into the waters. The City’s sewage treatment plant (a secondary level plant) is run by an independent, elected board.

Glen Cove Issues

Solid Waste

The City’s Department of Public works has an active recycling program with weekly collection of paper, plastic, glass, and yard waste. The City has also established a special pick up program for metals (such as refrigerators, washers/dryers, etc.). Yard waste is collected with the exception of grass clippings, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has mandated that the City of Glen Cove no longer pick up residential grass clippings and implemented a “Don’t Bag It” policy. It is important for homeowners to recycle grass clippings by leaving the clippings on the lawn. For those who chose not to leave their grass clippings on their own lawn they may bring them to the Glen Cove Golf Course where they are composted and reused.

The City’s incinerator was permanently closed in 1997 and the incinerator smokestack was dismantled. Solid municipal waste is now transported to Pennsylvania.

Open Space

The City of Glen Cove’s Department of Parks and Recreation manages three parks (Stanco, Leech Circle & Big Ralph), three public beaches (Crescent Beach, Morgan, and Prybil), a boat launch ramp, baseball stadium with eight fields, eleven tennis courts, and the Pascucci Soccer Field. For information about the Department of Parks and Recreation contact the Director at (516) 676-3787.

The City also owns a municipal golf course, for information contact (516) 676-0207.

Pratt Park, which includes Mill Pond is a public park owned by the City, which includes a pedestrian esplanade that connects the Downtown Business Improvement District with the future development of the waterfront. The Glen Cove Waterfront Esplanade project included the acquisition, planning, design, and installation of a pedestrian and bicycle esplanade along the waters edge of Glen Cove Creek. The esplanade will ultimately be connected with Garvies Point Nature Preserve and Morgan Memorial Park. The first phase of this project is now open to the public. The esplanade has preserved and encouraged public access to the water.

In addition, Nassau County owns two nature preserves, the Garvies Point Nature Preserve, and the Welwyn Nature Preserve.

Toxic Waste Sites

Glen Cove has seven Superfund sites, two of which have been placed on the National Priorities List (Li Tungsten and Mattiace). The former Li Tungsten site, located on Glen Cove Creek, posed a threat of low-level radiation and heavy metal contamination. In 1998, the most imminently hazardous materials were removed through an EPA removal action, remediating approximately 8 acres.

In 2000, the City entered into an agreement with the EPA to excavate radioactive material and contaminated soil from the Captain’s Cove State Superfund site. Approximately 80,000 cubic yards were stockpiled awaiting disposal at a licensed facility. Low-level radioactive tungsten ore material was stockpiled at the Dickson warehouse on the Li Tungsten site (parcel C) by the Environmental Protection Agency. On February 16, 2004, a potentially responsible party for the contamination at Li Tungsten started to remove the low-level radioactive materials and will dispose of them at a licensed facility called US Ecology in Idaho.

Captain’s Cove is a state Superfund site located on the north side of Glen Cove Creek. This property located directly on the Glen Cove Creek, was remediated by the City of Glen Cove pursuant to an order of consent. NYSDEC funded part of the clean up through the 1986 Bond Act. The remediation at Captain’s Cove was completed in 2001. This site was contaminated with tailings from the Li Tungsten site. By summer 2003, all of the contamination on Captain’s Cove was remediated. The City of Glen Cove entered into a settlement agreement with the USEPA, four federal agencies and the Wah Chang Smelting and Refining Company to finish the clean up activities, consisting primarily of disposal of radioactive materials at a licensed facility. The Federal government will be handling the transportation and disposal efforts.

Both the Captain’s Cove site and the Li Tungsten site are part of the developer’s plan to develop a hotel/conference center, retail shops, restaurants, possible residential units, and a pedestrian esplanade that traverses the Glen Cove Creek and connects the Downtown Business Improvement District to the waterfront.

A School in Glen Cove

At the former Mattiace chemical storage plant, also on Glen Cove Creek, all environmental construction was completed in 2000, including a groundwater/soil vapor integrated treatment facility. This facility is slated for continuous remediation activities. The Mattiace site was contaminated with VOCs, potentially endangering the quality of City wells. Other Superfund sites include Crown Dykman, Ron Hill Cleaners, Photocurcuits, and Pall Corporation.

Glen Cove Creek

The City of Glen Cove has adopted a long-term waterfront revitalization plan to improve its shores.  Over the past few years, the City has received over $30 million in state and federal grants to realize several components of the plan.Glen Cove CreekThese components include a pedestrian/bicycle esplanade, dredging the Glen Cove Creek, bulkheading the Creek, remediating Superfund sites and Brownfield sites, redevelopment of the marinas, creating a biofiltration system to prevent sedimentation of Glen Cove Creek, redevelopment of the roadway that connects the Downtown Business Improvement District to the waterfront, and Biofiltration Nutrient Removal upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant.

Coastal Water Quality

The Glen Cove Department of Public Works recently upgraded the City’s Wastewater Treatment Plant by adding a Bio-filtration Nitrogen Removal system to prevent nitrogen from entering Glen Cove Creek, Hempstead Harbor, and ultimately Long Island Sound. An ultraviolet disinfecting unit is also being added to the Wastewater Treatment Plant to reduce the need for chlorine treatment. The City also created a bio-filtration system at Mill Pond to decrease sediment loading in the Creek.

The City has worked with the Hempstead Harbor Protection Committee (HHPC) since 1995. The HHPC is an inter-municipal watershed-planning group comprised of New York State Department of State Division of Coastal Resources, Nassau County, eight municipalities surrounding Hempstead Harbor and several civic groups. The mission of the committee is to cooperatively plan for the use and enhancement of Hempstead Harbor.

The Glen Cove Harbor Master patrols Glen Cove Creek and Hempstead Harbor to prevent anyone from polluting the waters.

The City has a public boat pumpout station located at the Glen Cove Yacht Club to service boaters.

In 2003, the Glen Cove Industrial Development Agency signed a Land Development Agreement with Glen Isle Development, LLC for over 46 acres on Garvies Point Road. This redevelopment will include two superfund sites and two brownfield sites. Plans for these sites include a hotel/conference center, retail shops, restaurants, a possible residential component, and a pedestrian esplanade. Glen Isle Development, LLC will provide a development plan for public comment shortly.