Please sign on to protect Jamaica Bay from harmful plans to fill in the deeper portions of the bay with contaminated fill. After years of hard work and many restoration projects we have seen a remarkable renaissance of Jamaica Bay. We currently have the cleanest waters in over 100 years and this has led to a massive increase in fish and wildlife. Tremendous schools of bunker fill the waters and are fed on by schools of blue fish, striped bass , weak fish and even species like red drum that have not been noted present in these waters for decades. More recently seals have returned and even dolphins have been noted at times in the deeper portions of the bay. 

The Bays deeper areas were dredged out 50 to 100 years ago and these areas have become a key reason for the presence of such large marine life. These deep channels and "pits" act as heat sinks during times of high water temperature and a refuge area for the fish. They also dramatically increase the spatial area of the bay and are the main reason that the bay is noted for such an abundance of marine life. This marine life is critical to the bays role as the primary migratory stop for thousands of birds.

Unfortunately the deep areas of the bay have long drawn the attention of agencies tasked with getting rid of dredge material including some material  that is contaminated. There has been multiple proposals including one recently by the New York State DEC to bring in millions of cubic yards of dredge material and to fill in in the deep areas of Jamaica bay. This plan would destroy Jamaica Bay.

We have tried unsuccessfully for three years  to have Gov. Cuomo sign our protect Jamaica bay Bill ,however ,in his arrogance he has disregarded local knowledge and local environmental groups and vetoed this bill. We now have the same bill, to protect Jamaica bay, in Albany on the desk of the new governor Kathy Hochul

Our bill would require that no fill could be ever brought into Jamaica bay unless it met federal guidelines for clean fill .

We hope Governor Hochul will listen and sign Bill S.2205/A.453 and protect Jamaica bay for future generations!