Supervisor Saladino Invites Residents to Oyster Bay Harbor’s Annual Beach Clean-Up Event

This Earth Day, the Town of Oyster Bay, the North Oyster Bay Baymen’s Association (NOBBA) and Friends of the Bay will once again join forces to sponsor the 47th annual Oyster Bay Harbor and Beach Cleanup in an effort to preserve the town’s beloved beaches and shores.

“For more than two decades, town employees and volunteers have rolled up their sleeves to complete a thorough clean-up of the beaches and shoreline areas along Oyster Bay Harbor,” said Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joe Saladino. “This year, our annual event falls on Earth Day, which is a very appropriate time to take on an important environmental initiative such as this one.”

Saladino, a strong proponent of protecting and preserving the Town of Oyster Bay’s pristine waterways and beaches, said he is looking forward to working side by side with volunteers during the initiative. 

“All day, people walk along the shoreline collecting debris, picking up trash, and even working from boats to clean up floating litter in the water,” Saladino said. “This annual clean-up day is an inspiration to residents, as it helps preserve the precious ecology of one of the town’s crown jewels, Oyster Bay Harbor.” 

The town supervisor went on to say that volunteers are needed to participate in the project, which will run from 8 a.m. to noon. Individuals, families and organizations are all invited to participate in the event, and volunteers are also welcome to sign up the day of. The central meeting place will be Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park launching ramps and waterfront gazebo off of Larrabee Avenue in Oyster Bay. Locations for the clean-up include Theodore Roosevelt Beach in Oyster Bay, Stehli Beach in Bayville and Centre Island Beach in Bayville.

“Each year, countless amounts of paper, food, plastics and other trash are discarded on beaches or dumped overboard from recreational and commercial vessels. Despite popular belief, debris disintegration of all this trash actually takes weeks, months or even years as opposed to a few days,” Saladino said. “Typically, our harbor and beach clean-up results in about 40,000 pounds of debris collected by volunteers. Allowing this litter to remain on our shorelines will only lead to increasingly worse damage for the environment.

Participants are instructed to bring work gloves. Individuals and groups who are interested can get further information by calling the town’s Department of Environmental Resources at 516-677-5811 or visit the town’s website at www.oysterbaytown.com.