Will Also Eliminate Aging Sewers
Local elected officials convened at Sea Cliff’s Memorial Park on September 10 to announce that more than $5 million in bond authorizations and federal funding will be used to protect the village’s water quality.
Nassau County Legislative Minority Leader DeRiggi-Whitton (D-Glen Cove) was joined by U.S. Representative Thomas R. Suozzi (D-Glen Cove), Sea Cliff Mayor Elena Villafane, and impacted homeowners as she announced the funding, which will be used to eliminate aging cesspools, bring public sewers to 45 Sea Cliff homes, and protect Hempstead Harbor and the Long Island Sound from pollution.
Approved on July 27 as part of amendments to the County’s Fiscal Year 2026 capital plan, the funds will be applied toward sewering a total of 2,860 linear feet on these streets:
- Prospect Avenue between Carpenter Avenue and Albin Street (900 linear feet, 20 service connections)
- Winding Way between 7th Avenue and Prospect Avenue (860 linear feet, 12 service connections)
- The Drive between Park Way and Carpenter Avenue (370 linear feet, five service connections)
- Park Way between 7th Avenue and Prospect Avenue (730 feet, eight service connections)
Additional support for the expansion effort is coming from $1 million in federal grants that Suozzi secured. The approximately $5 million project will build upon previous work, completed during the summer of 2021, which sewered portions of Prospect, Maple, 12th, Sea Cliff, Summit, Central, 8th, and 7th Avenues, as well as all of Fairview Place.
“Since Sea Cliff Village officials received their first funding for sewer expansion in 2014, Sea Cliff Avenue was our first area to focus on,” DeRiggi-Whitton said. “Completing that was, in and of itself, a major accomplishment because it opened the doors for businesses to flourish and grow without having to consider the limitations of septic systems. The fact remains that, of the 10 percent of Nassau County that is not sewered, about 90 percent falls within District 11, and that is why it was so important to connect additional streets to the gravity line that was completed five years ago. With critical support from Congressman Suozzi and this new county infrastructure funding, we are a major step closer to making those plans a reality.”
“This is a major accomplishment by Legislator DeRiggi-Whitton to help sewer critical areas in Sea Cliff and protect our precious Hempstead Harbor,” Suozzi said. “The continued success of Sea Cliff’s sewer expansion initiative is an outstanding illustration of what can be accomplished when all levels of government work collaboratively to solve problems for the communities we serve. I am excited to see how the $1 million in federal funding that I secured has become a catalyst for millions more in County-level support spearheaded by Legislator DeRiggi-Whitton in partnership with Village leaders. This is transformational.”
“This is exactly the kind of intergovernmental partnership that produces lasting results for our residents and our environment,” Villafane said. “Legislator Delia DeRiggi-Whitton’s success in securing $4 million in Nassau County capital funding, combined with Congressman Tom Suozzi’s $1 million commitment, brings us significantly closer to extending public sewers to areas of Sea Cliff that have relied on aging cesspools for generations. Protecting Hempstead Harbor is one of our highest priorities, and expanding sewer service is one of the most meaningful steps we can take toward that goal. On behalf of the Village, I thank Legislator DeRiggi-Whitton and Congressman Suozzi for investing in Sea Cliff’s future.”
“Legislator DeRiggi-Whitton and I have been working together on expanding sewers in Sea Cliff for many years, and we have a real record of getting things done,” Sea Cliff Village Administrator Bruce Kennedy said. “With her leadership, downtown Sea Cliff has been sewered with a gravity-fed main connecting Sea Cliff directly to the Nassau County treatment facility in Glen Cove, which extended sewers into several residential neighborhoods. Those projects have eliminated aging cesspools and made a measurable improvement in Hempstead Harbor’s health.”
Kennedy added, “This new $4 million commitment gives us the opportunity to build on that success and bring sewer service to even more Sea Cliff homes. Legislator DeRiggi-Whitton understands the infrastructure, recognizes its importance and why it matters — and most critically, has consistently helped Sea Cliff turn plans into actual projects. We could not be more appreciative of her continued commitment to our community, the harbor, and the environment.”
“Progress in an old village like Sea Cliff is not always about changing what makes us special — sometimes it means modernizing the infrastructure beneath our feet,” Sea Cliff Village Trustee George Williams said. “This investment in sewers is exactly that kind of progress.”