Community outrage in West Hempstead over drained, trash-filled pond
Residents packed the meeting room, expressing frustration over what they see as a lack of accountability regarding the maintenance of the man-made pond.
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Tensions ran high at a community meeting in West Hempstead this week as residents demanded answers from county officials over the deteriorating condition of Hall’s Pond Park — a popular neighborhood spot now sitting nearly empty and filled with debris.
Residents packed the meeting room, expressing frustration over what they see as a lack of accountability regarding the maintenance of the man-made pond.
“The reason for this meeting tonight is the community has been in an outrage for a very long time about Hall’s Pond,” said West Hempstead resident Maureen Mahoney.
The pond, which has a rubber liner at the bottom, was recently drained by about 16 inches as part of a project to break up sand bars using a harvester, according to Nassau County Parks Commissioner Darcy Belyea.
However, the plan quickly unraveled when the harvester struck debris.
“The harvester went in. The harvester hit some debris on one of those sand bars and the rear axle broke,” Belyea told attendees.
To make matters worse, following complaints from residents, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) ordered work to stop earlier this week. That left the pond partially drained and full of trash — sparking a wave of concern across the neighborhood.
Despite the setback, Belyea said efforts are already underway to refill the pond.
“We are adding more water as we speak right now,” she said. “You won’t see it going up in inches, but you will see more water filling in.”
Still, many residents said they’re frustrated with the lack of a clear maintenance plan going forward.
“We need some kind of a schedule,” said Mahoney. “We need to know what’s going to happen. How it’s going to be kept up.”
Officials say it’s unclear when the pond maintenance and cleanup work will resume. A replacement part for the damaged harvester had to be ordered from California, delaying progress.
In the meantime, county representatives assured residents that they should begin to notice the water level rising again by the end of the week.
