Murray & Santino Announce Town's Renewed Quest to Improve Baldwin Canals (5/5/04) 

Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray and Senior Councilman Anthony J. Santino announced that the town board has, once again, unanimously passed a home rule message calling on the New York State Legislature to authorize referendums that could lead to the creation of two canal districts in Baldwin Harbor. The proposal would allow homeowners whose property abuts the canal to vote on a referendum that would create a special district for the purposes of dredging, repairing and otherwise maintaining the Grand Canal and West End Canal.

"Both the Baldwin Grand Canal and the West End Canal are privately owned and are not maintained by the town or any other municipal entity," said Councilman Santino. "Since it is prohibited by law to spend town funds to improve private property, the only way to undertake the needed renovation work at each canal would be through the creation of two canal districts. These districts would have the authority to levy taxes on residents who own property abutting the canals, utilizing these funds to dredge the canals and make other needed repairs. Only the property owners adjacent to the canals would pay to make the improvements to the waterway that they benefit from exclusively."

"Thanks to the leadership of Senator Charles J. Fuschillo, the state senate has, each year since 2001, quickly passed the legislation authorizing the required referendum," Murray said. "Councilman Santino and I will vigorously press the assembly to pass the canal legislation this year and we will ask Governor Pataki to promptly sign it into law. The leadership in the state assembly has not advanced this measure, despite the support of local members of the assembly."

"State Assemblymen David McDonough and Harvey Weisenberg have been working very hard in a bi-partisan fashion to get these important bills passed by the full assembly. Unfortunately, the assembly's leadership has refused to let these bills even come to a vote," Councilman Santino concluded. "The assembly leadership must stop their foot dragging and let the residents of Baldwin who live next to these canals vote to determine if, how and when the canals will be improved."