Release Date: August 18, 2009

Released By: Office of the County Executive

Santapogue Creek Wetlands to be Preserved for Under $200,000

Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy today announced his latest open space initiative, preserving over 25 acres of environmentally sensitive land within the Town of Babylon.

Located along the Santapogue Creek in West Babylon, this 26-acre parcel of open space consists of three lots environmentally sensitive wetlands situated between Montauk Highway, residential communities and the Great South Bay Shopping Center. Under Levy’s legislation, Suffolk would be responsible for the $198,320 price tag of the property, which would be paid for through the Old Suffolk County Drinking Water Protection Program.

“Had these parcels been developed, there would have been a detrimental impact to Santapogue Creek,” Levy said.

Since Levy’s inauguration in 2004, when he revitalized a nearly dormant and scandal-ridden open space program, Suffolk has preserved nearly 6,000 acres – which is six and one-half times the size of New York’s Central Park – including 66 farms. The program continues to aggressively pursue the purchase of environmentally significant parcels and farmlands.

Upon taking office in 2004, Levy implemented a number of measures to revitalize and reinvigorate the county’s open space and water protection programs, including use of a Master List of properties to speed up the planning and appraisal processes and to take the politics out of land acquisition; streamlining the contract process; increasing the number of attorneys in the Division of Real Estate for closings; implementing a $75 million Save Open Spaces (SOS) Bond Act; and expanding the number of acquisitions done with other municipalities, environmental agencies or private land trusts.

Levy also advocated for extending the dedicated ¼-cent sales tax for open space into 2030, approved by voters in 2007.

In 2006, Levy created a $50 million Environmental Legacy Fund in the county’s capital budget, which is earmarked for acquisitions in which other municipalities or private interests apply matching funds. The Legacy Fund was recognized in 2008 by the National Association of Counties and the National Land Trust with a County Leadership in Conservation Award, and Levy recently received a Leadership Award from the Long Island Farm Bureau.

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