Crescent Beach in Glen Cove officially reopened on Friday, May 15, after being closed to the public for 17 years due to health concerns.

“This was a day that was hard to envision at times, but the faith, the hard work, and the support really made it happen,” Nassau County Legislature Minority Leader Delia DeRiggi-Whitton said at the ceremony on Friday.

The Nassau County Department of Health approvedreopening the beach to swimmers inApril, citing reductions in bacteria levels in samples analyzed in 2024 and 2025, as well as measures taken to address the source of the bacteria, as sufficient groundsto reopen the beach to the public.

In June 2009, the Nassau County Department of Health ordered the beach closed after testing found elevated levels of bacteria in the water, citing that the contamination posed a public health risk by making swimming unsafe.

Officials conducted dye testing, septic system inspections, and environmental surveys after the beach was first closed. The Environmental Protection Agency stepped in during the mid-2010s to test the waters, finding that the main cause for the high bacteria levels stemmed from animal waste, which shifted the cleanup strategy towards environmental fixes rather than sewer repairs.

DeRiggi-Whitton’s office previously said she has secured nearly $1 million in county-level bonds to fund improvements essential for addressing the bacterial contamination.

The City of Glen Cove installed Helix filter systems and a box culvert near the base of the stream, used plantings that naturally absorb bacteria, and created a new conduit to reduce and manage bacteria levels as part of a state Department of Environmental Conservation-approved remediation plan.

“It took a lot, but it was that desire to give this beach back to the Glen Cove community that kept us all going,” DeRiggi-Whitton said about the efforts made to ensure the beach is safe.

“Today is a testament to the true partnership of different levels of government,” Stevens Martinez, the director of intergovernmental affairs on Long Island for Gov. Kathy Hochul, said.

The ceremony featured four Glen Cove mayors, including Pam Panzenbeck, who said she used to swim at the beach as a child and that it took multiple municipal departments to reopen the beach.

Source: LI Press