Overlook Beach Opens Amid Erosion Crisis, Pleas For Help

BABYLON, NY — After a decade of battling beach erosion, the Town of Babylon's Overlook Beach is open and helped residents welcome summer over Memorial Day weekend following more restoration efforts.

On Monday, the town announced an update on its "much-beloved" Overlook Beach via Facebook, writing that it "took some major hits" over the winter. The announcement that the ocean beach is up and running comes months after officials begged feds and the Army Corps of Engineers for help with beach restoration.

According to the post, "through some creative problem-solving and hard work," town officials were able to "shift some of the sand and reconfigure the overall layout," expanding the capacity of the western section of the beach."

"Our crews were able to move sand around on the western portion of the beach and shift the location of picnic tables to create more space for beachgoers," the town's Director of Communications, Ryan Bonner, told Patch. "Through the first two 'unofficial' summer weekends, there has been plenty of room at the beach for residents and families to enjoy."

The post continued, saying that the overall beachfront is now "nearly as large" as previous summers.

Babylon Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer's pleas for help came during a press conference in January as an impending storm threatening 14-foot waves was on its way.

"Tonight of course we’ve got another major storm coming in. Instead of what’s normally January snowstorm plowing and cleaning up, we’re dealing with coastal flooding and massive erosion," Schaffer said. "Since 2014 we’ve put 100 million cubic yards of sand on this and Cedar Beach. If you come to this spot 24 hours from now … the ocean may be right under this building."

Schaffer and Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino called on the Army Corps of Engineers and President Joe Biden to help with emergency measures until Memorial Day and for long-term solutions.

While the town was relieved to see the beach "full of Babylon families having fun in the sun" over Memorial Day weekend, the future remains uncertain.

But town officials are hopeful.

"As for the future, we remain at the mercy of the Army Corps," Bonner said. "We are working closely with them to get more sand for Overlook before summer 2005 and we are confident that is going to happen based on our discussions with them."

According to the post, town officials have been "aggressively fighting for a dredging project to be completed by the Army Corp of Engineers to deliver the much needed and long overdue sand."

Meanwhile, the Town of Babylon has introduced a mobile beach pass system for residents to enjoy its beaches.