Kings Park residents angry about sand overexcavation

One month after a Kings Park sandmining company was fined for overexcavating, residents of nearby Marvin Drive are looking for relief from dust and dirt they say has been kicked up and is affecting their ...

[JOE]

let the guy make a buck ,his family has to eat also. he should water down site while working. the health of others should be first though.

[mercator]

I think the sand minning was being done long before Marvin Drive was established and built upon.

[Stunning]

mercator wrote:

I think the sand minning was being done long before Marvin Drive was established and built upon.

It's been a sand mine since the 50's but what Newsday has left out (they are good at leaving out all of the facts) is that this guy went well beyond the scope of his permit by digging up land he wasn't allowed to dig in. He never should have been digging that close to the homes and he has already admitted that and has agreed to pay the fine and restore the land near the homes. In the short term that still doesn't help the people who live near it. I am sure the fine the state imposed is much less than the money he made.

[Man Without a Race]

Stunning wrote:

<quoted text>
He never should have been digging that close to the homes

More likely the sandmine has been operating there since the 50s and people chose to move into recently built homes near the industry. Now his new neighbors have the nerve to want his operation shut down?

Those residents get as much sympathy from me as people that move into new homes near airports and then complain about the noise; or the people that buy homes in new developments in the countryside and then complain about rural smells of agriculture until the farms get shut down.

Simple solution, don't buy a home with neighbors you can't tolerate. Don't expect existing residents to accomodate your demands as the new guy on the block.

[Championship]

Heres an idea. Do not live near a sand mine.

[WOODY from ST JAMES]

Championship wrote:

Heres an idea. Do not live near a sand mine.

Here's a better idea.....Quote from Bob Matherson "GET OUT OF NEW YORK BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE"

[DoubleKnMB]

I have to laugh, as if this is a huge shock of what is going on there.
I grew up in that neighborhood. There once was an elementary school there, a garage dump and always the "sandpit" as we called it. This is something that has been going on since the 50's. I do not know what it looks like these days since I left the area about 20 years ago, still visit because my family still lives there.
I guess my only thought is when you are looking at a neighborhood to move into you should do your research. this is nothing new and not a shock! They should be glad the dump is gone. Nothing like that smell on a hot humid rainny day!! Good Grief.
Good luck to all who live there. The guy is just earning a living where that kind of work has gone on forever.

[John C formerly of KP]

Actually the houses on Marvin Drive have been there since the mid 1950's. The whole development is older style capes that are all 50+ years old. Do the residents have a gripe? Sure do. For those who compare to living too close to an airport this is more like living close to MaCarthur and being two miles away then having them turn it into Kennedy and building a runway to your backyard. Did you buy near an airport? Sure. Did you get what you bargained for? Nope.

Mining owner is probably connected anyway.

[Common Sense]

Yes, when one buys a home, one should check out the neighborhood. I grew up in KP, down the street from the State Hospital, we knew it was there and we knew what it came with. Then there was the DUMP, still smells somewhat and people moved into homes built right next to the old DUMP. Then there are the sandpits.

What did you think when you bought a house there? You take the good with the bad.

The usual 'not in my backyard' Long Island attitude, even though the homes came AFTER.

[Dick Fitzwell]

They should build an ATV park there

[jim]

Illegal sandmining has been going on for years in Kings Park, up and down Old Northport Road. Companies like Star Sand and Gravel make hundreds of thousands of dollars selling the sand. Then they apply for permits to bury "construction and demolition debris" and become transfer stations or dumps. The state DEC has nevere done any enforcement. The fines are too low.

[smarter]

when marvin drive homes were built the land ajasent to them was farm land gone to seed,that was1956-1957. the land was bought up before that and the zoning changed to heavy industry.the digging didnt get noticed untill they started getting close,1970's.the state is the one who gives out the permits up there in albany.

[Be real]

The digging proably was not regulated until the 1970s. The sand mining at that parcel is almost complete. Where do people think the sand comes from for roads, buldings, and home renovations. Would you rather pay double or triple the price to import sand from off island? This was nothing but the proper management of natural resources, of what is dwindling on LI. Once the land is developed, the resource is lost forever.

[Resident of Marvin Drive]

mercator wrote:

I think the sand minning was being done long before Marvin Drive was established and built upon.

No. Long before the sand mining started, there was an elementary school back there called Indian Head Elementary School. In the area where they are mining, there used to be a grassy field.

[Resident of Marvin Drive]

Championship wrote:

Heres an idea. Do not live near a sand mine.

Here's an idea. How about you buy a house with a nice grassy field behind it, and then have it turned into a sand mine. Then have that sand mine shut down temporarily in which case dirt bikers move in and cause a bunch of noise and havoc all day every day. Then have the sand mining continue until they hit the water floor.

[Nasty Enrite]

SAND MAN wrote:

<quoted text>I have an idea, KILL YOUR SELF!

Lake Grove, is that where God created Adam and Steve?

[thogy]

Man Without a Race wrote:

<quoted text>
More likely the sandmine has been operating there since the 50s and people chose to move into recently built homes near the industry. Now his new neighbors have the nerve to want his operation shut down?
Those residents get as much sympathy from me as people that move into new homes near airports and then complain about the noise; or the people that buy homes in new developments in the countryside and then complain about rural smells of agriculture until the farms get shut down.
Simple solution, don't buy a home with neighbors you can't tolerate. Don't expect existing residents to accomodate your demands as the new guy on the block.

this comment is as dumb as the nitwit that wrote it.

So if what you say is true, any business can just do whatever it wants as long as it pays fines for doing what is illegal? And an airport can extend a runway into a wooded area that for years has acted as a barrier to noise and pollution?

You are one of those selfish idiots that talks on the phone when driving, throws cigarette butts out the window, and make turns without signaling, and have duffus kids who get in trouble at school and it is never their fault.

You know what? I'd rather have a sand mine as a neighbor than a P O S like you.

[jim]

WOODY from ST JAMES wrote:

<quoted text>Here's a better idea.....Quote from Bob Matherson "GET OUT OF NEW YORK BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE"

I got one of his signs that used to hang from over passes.

[BeenThere]

I grew up 2 blocks from Marvin Drive, in the 1960s and 1970s. Kings Park residents waged a hard fought, but ultimately unsuccessful political battle against the opening of the landfill. The dump was opened less than 1/4 mile behind Indian Head elementary school in about 1969 or '70, and was also located less than 2 miles from the 'artesian well'(the local municipal water source).

I can remember being on the playground at Indian head school, getting pelted with picked over bones dropped by seagulls flying back from the landfill. As a 10-year old, I guess I had no one to blame but myself for staying in such a polluted environment.

The sand mining in those days was no closer than 1/2 mile to any of the residences in the area. The mining of sand right up to the backyards on Marvin Drive was an illegal and recent event. No one in the 60's or 70's had a problem with sand dust or debris in the residential areas. Take a look at the youtube channel 'sew11754' to get a look at the sandpits being excavated right up against peoples back yards, in violation of the law.

What if the drycleaner down the street from your house suddenly starts dumping PCE in the storm drain that runs past your house - your fault for living there, the cleaners were there when you bought the house 10 years ago, right?

Its no wonder Long Island has such a high cancer rate, glad that I got out years ago.

[Tony]

The guy sew11754 you talk about is a nut. He did that video by illegally trespassing on the property. He wants to run for political office and I hear he is a big phoney.