It was all hands on deck on Sunday, May 15th, in Oakdale! Sixty volunteers and eight organizations joined together for the Great Oakdale clean-up! We came together out of our love for the community and for the Great South Bay.
Of particular concern was an illegal dumpsite at Rattle Snake Creek, a wetland that feeds into the Great South Bay. With the help of elected officials, SGSB was able to shine a light on this environmental blight this past Earth Day. Click here to see News 12 coverage here.
For the past thirty years, the Oakdale Improvement Society has run a great clean-up of downtown Oakdale. This year, when Keep Islip Clean (KIC) found an illegal dumpsite at the end of Pond Road, locals rallied even more. The clean-up consisted of clearing the dumpsite and cleaning downtown Oakdale. The Great South Bay Coalition, Connetquot Cares Community Coalition, the Knights of Columbus Sunrise Council 6607, the Oakdale Historical Society and the Friends of Connetquot River provided a ton of volunteers. We even got help from our own environmental swat team, a group of fraternity brothers from SUNY Farmingdale. And on the day of the event, KIC and Save the Great South Bay outfitted all the volunteers with the gear we needed!
What a difference a team makes! What was truly an eyesore is no more thanks to the efforts of members of STGSB,KIC, Connetquot High School, Sunrise Toyota and Senator Boyle’s Office. – Janet Marie Soley, Connetquot River Creek Defender
There was a ton of behind-the-scenes planning related to the cleaning up the dumpsite. Save the Great South Bay reported the dumpsite to the DEC with the help of experienced environmentalists in Oakdale. SGSB was joined right away by the Oakdale Civic Association, who made sure they put the word out even further. That is how we got the support of the many different community organization. Everyone did their part for the earth.
We got a ton of support from Winter Brothers Waste Management. They gave us as many dumpsters as we need to clear the site. The Town of Islip, especially local Councilman Jim O’Connor, stepped up by carting off a ton of debris as well. New York State Assemblyman Jarret Gandolfo was also instrumental in addressing our concerns.
Things really picked up speed when Senator Boyle‘s Chief of Staff, Gordon Canary, met with us and the hard-working team of Sunrise Toyota. With Canary’s help, two telephone poles were installed with lights to prevent future dumping. Boyle’s office also installed signage advertising the penalties for dumping. Sunrise Toyota provided an entire team along with a Bobcat. They broke up trash mounds formed by car tires, television sets and other debris. They also plan to install additional cameras and report future dumpers.
We’ll continue to cart off the remaining debris. And we’re working with the Town and the State to ensure blockades are put up to make future dumping impossible.
We will Save the Great South Bay….one river, one community and one creek at a time.
The Great Oakdale Clean Up (*With Minor Revision – 5/16/22)
Their strong dumpsters we trust
Yours truly,
James Bertsch, Sayville Creek Defender
