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On Monday, Suffolk County announced what would be the most significant environmental action since collectively the passage of The Pine Barrens Protection Act over 2o years ago.   That piece of legislation, crafted over the course of an epic legal battle over six years, established a fund of $1 billion dollars that assured the preservation of 156 square miles of eastern Long Island in perpetuity.  This act protected our drinking water, blocked at the time 234 different development projects, and left pristine a wilderness for generations to come.

This new initiative, this new investment in Long Island’s future, is called The Water Quality Protection Fee.   Should our state legislators in Albany approve putting a referendum on the ballot for this November, this legislation would create a fund that would make onsite cesspool replacements and sewer hookups affordable, provide the resources to address the issues caused by over 200 local sewage treatment facilities in Suffolk, and help the county develop a strategy to revitalize all our bays, rivers, ponds, and streams, and with that assure the future of Suffolk County itself.   Clean water means we would see our shellfishing and fishing industries back.   It would mean that Long Island would remain a mecca for beach goers from around the world.  It would mean recovering the natural beauty of this special island.   We would also be protecting our drinking water for future generations.

The “ask” is this:   Save The Great South Bay is requesting all those who love this bay to contact your state legislators, both in the Senate and the Assembly.   Tell them that it is ‘we the people’ of Long Island who must be given the right to decide our fate, the fate of our waters.   The New York State Legislature must vote to allow this referendum, the Water Quality Protection Fee, to appear on the ballot here locally in Suffolk.   Those are the procedural rules.  The state must approve what we vote on here locally.   With that, call, email, whoever is representing you in Albany (contact info provided below).  Tell them to tell their colleagues that we on Long Island want the right to choose our fate, choose a future for this island.

We must be allowed to vote on this referendum.   It can make all the difference between rescuing our local environment, or seeing what is otherwise inevitable come to pass.  We have over 360,ooo cesspools and septic tanks in Suffolk.   If we don’t have the funds to deal with this immediately, we are done.   Everyone knows this.  All the environmental groups, certainly, and everyone on the local, state, and federal level.   We, as Long Islanders, see the evidence of this everywhere.   It’s taken hundreds of thousands of man hours over two years to get to this point.  And now is the time to enact this crucial piece of legislation — IF Albany agrees.   Tell them they must let us choose our future.   As I noted in a previous post, this is an investment rather than a cost.  We must think about those who follow us.

Here then is the contact information for your state legislators within the Long Island delegation, both in the Senate, and in the Assembly.  Call them, e-mail them.  Let them know future generations depend on whether this referendum comes to ballot.   We’ve all worked and fought so hard to get to this point.  It is up to them to give us the right to vote on this crucial referendum.

Below is listed the contact information for the entire Long Island delegation, the 12 Assemblymen and the 6 Senators.  Not sure who represents you?  Give it your best guess and phone.  If you are wrong, you will be directed to the proper person.   Good government requires an active citizenry.  The future is work a call, an email.

Assembly Members

Fred W. Thiele, Jr. — District 1

LOB 622
Albany, NY 12248
518-455-5997
2302 Main Street
Box 3062
Bridgehampton, NY 11932
631-537-2583

Anthony H. Palumbo — District 2

LOB 719
Albany, NY 12248
518-455-5294
30 West Main Street
Suite 103
Riverhead, NY 11901
631-727-0204
Fax:631-727-0426

Dean Murray — District 3

LOB Room 430
Albany, NY 12248
518-455-4901
Fax:518-455-5908
1735 N. Ocean Ave.
Ste. A
Medford, NY 11763
631-207-0073
Fax:631-207-2006

Steve Englebright — District 4

LOB 621
Albany, NY 12248
518-455-4804
149 Main Street
East Setauket, NY 11733
631-751-3094

Al Graf — District 5

LOB 433
Albany, NY 12248
518-455-5937
991 Main Street
Suite 202
Holbrook, NY 11741
631-585-0230
Fax:631-585-0310

Phil Ramos — District 6

LOB 648
Albany, NY 12248
518-455-5185
1010 Suffolk Ave.
Brentwood, NY 11717
631-435-3214

Andrew R. Garbarino — District 7

LOB 529
Albany, NY 12248
518-455-4611
859 Montauk Hwy
Suite 1
Bayport, NY 11705
631-589-0348
Fax:631-589-0487

Michael J. Fitzpatrick — District 8

LOB 458
Albany, NY 12248
518-455-5021
Fax:518-455-4394
50 Route 111
Suite 202
Smithtown, NY 11787
631-724-2929
Fax:631-724-3024

Joseph S. Saladino — District 9

LOB 720
Albany, NY 12248
518-455-5305
512 Park Blvd.
Massapequa Park, NY 11762
516-541-4598
Fax:516-541-4625
LOB 937
Albany, NY 12248
518-455-5732
630 New York Avenue, Suite D
Huntington, NY 11743
631-271-8025
Kimberly Jean-Pierre — District 11
LOB 530
Albany, NY 12248
518-455-5787
Fax:518-455-3976
640 West Montauk Highway
Lindenhurst, NY 11757-5538
631-957-2087
Fax:631-957-2998

Andrew P. Raia — District 12

LOB 629
Albany, NY 12248
518-455-5952
75 Woodbine Avenue
Northport, NY 11768
631-261-4151

NYS Senate Members, Suffolk County

Contact Senator Kenneth P. LaValle’s Office

ALBANY OFFICELegislative Office Building, Room 806

Albany , NY 12247Phone:(518) 455-3121map

DISTRICT OFFICE

28 North Country RdSuite 203

Mount Sinai , NY 11766

Phone:(631) 473-1461
Fax: (631) 473-1513

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EMAIL ADDRESS:

Contact Senator John J. Flanagan’s Office

DISTRICT OFFICE

260 Middle Country Road, Suite 102

Smithtown , NY 11787

Phone:631-361-2154
Fax: 631-361-5367

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ALBANY OFFICE

Room 330, State Capitol Building

Albany , NY 12247

Phone:518-455-2071
Fax: 518-426-6904

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EMAIL ADDRESS:

Contact Senator Thomas D. Croci’s Office

ALBANY OFFICE

Legislative Office Building, Room 306

Albany , NY 12247

Phone: 518-455-3570

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DISTRICT OFFICE

250 Veterans Memorial Highway, NYS Office Building, Room 3B-41

Hauppauge , NY 11788

Phone: (631) 360-3356

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EMAIL ADDRESS:

Contact Senator Phil Boyle’s Office

ALBANY OFFICE

814 Legislative Office Building

Albany , NY 12247

Phone:(518) 455-3411

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DISTRICT OFFICE

69 W Main Street Suite B

Bay Shore , NY 11706

Phone:(631) 665-2311

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EMAIL ADDRESS:

Contact Senator Carl L Marcellino’s Office

ALBANY OFFICE

188 State StreetRoom 811, Legislative Office Building

Albany , NY 12247

Phone:(518) 455-2390
Fax: (518) 426-6975

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DISTRICT OFFICE

250 Townsend Square

Oyster Bay , NY 11771

Phone:(516) 922-1811
Fax: (516) 922-1154

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EMAIL ADDRESS:

Contact Senator Michael Venditto’s Office

DISTRICT OFFICE

5550 Merrick Road, Suite 205

Massapequa , NY 11758

Phone: 516-882-0630
Fax: 516-882-0636

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ALBANY OFFICE

Legislative Office Building, Room 946

Albany , NY 12247

Phone: 518-455-3341
Fax: 518-426-6823

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EMAIL ADDRESS:

 

 

 

 

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