Local Organizations, Elected Official Team Up For Massive Massapequa Drug Paraphernalia Clean Up

MASSAPEQUA, NY. — Long Islanders of all ages will have the chance to keep Massapequa clean Saturday morning, thanks to a joint initiative by County Legislator James Kennedy, the Massapequa Takes Action Coalition, Save The Great South Bay and YES Community Counseling to clean up Massapequa Preserve.

The cleanup day is far from the first for the preserve, kicking off at 11 a.m. at the entrance to the preserve at Parkside Boulevard & Pittsburgh Avenue. The cleanup will run until 1 p.m., and will be postponed in the event of rain.

According to some of those who planned the event, the cleanup isn’t just a beautifying effort. It’s also a public safety initiative that provides a glimpse into Massapequans’ lives through an oft-ignored lens: Litter.

“Our initial goal was really to get in there to see what was there,” YES Associate Director Corinne Alba said. “The National Guard works with us as well, and they’re able to help us, because what happens is we’ll find not only beer bottles, or — not so much syringes anymore, but at times syringes will be found — we’ll find drug paraphernalia. And what the National Guard does for us is, they’re able to take things like empty vape cartridges — we’ll find a lot of those — and they’re able to use their machines to see what was in the vape cartridge.”

Alba said the National Guard’s involvement and resources, like the vape cartridge examinations, help organizations like YES, which provides counseling, prevention and treatment services to families and young people affected by addiction, get a better handle on what substances are being used by people who visit the preserve.

“It kind of gives us some data about what kids and adults are using in the preserve, so we can kind of see what substances and what the trends are looking like,” Alba said. “It also allows us to find the spots that are heavily saturated with drug paraphernalia or alcohol to see what we can do. What we do, then, is work with the legislation in the town to say, ‘Hey, maybe lights in this part would make sense after hours, or, maybe there needs to a fence.' So we can kind of see the lay of the land.”

Alba added that the cleanup allows a glimpse at how people are gaining entrance to the preserve, noting that young people are entering and exiting the park often.

Whether it's picking up paraphernalia or advocating for the installation of lights and fences, Alba said the goal is to protect young people, at Massapequa Preserve or elsewhere.

“It breaks the stigma, it’s ok to talk about this stuff. We all want to keep our kids safe.”

County Legislator Kennedy’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.