The New York City Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is considering allowing New York City to renew a permit to re-open four wells in Queens for “emergency purposes,” such as a drought. All of these wells connect to the Lloyd Aquifer, which is the only source of water on Long Island for more than a million people. The concern is that, if these wells are opened and the estimated 68 million gallons a day are pumped, saltwater might intrude and/or toxic plumes could be pulled into the Lloyd. Either case would render the water unusable for generations.

The opiate and heroin addiction and overdose crisis is affecting every community on Long Island and across the U.S. It is difficult to meet someone who has not been touched by this epidemic, by either knowing a friend or family member who has been affected.

For this reason and because she is a mother of three herself, Nassau County Legislator Delia DeRiggi-Whitton has made it her personal mission to make as many people aware of and trained in the one tool that is saving lives: Narcan.

Most residents are aware that Crescent Beach has been closed for nearly a decade due to contamination from a creek that runs onto the beach and into Long Island Sound. Legislator DeRiggi-Whitton has been working with County officials, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the City of Glen Cove to determine the source of the contamination and remediate the problem.

Most people are aware of the heroin epidemic that continues to worsen regardless of increased police efforts to reverse this horrific trend.  Yet, many do not know that addiction to heroin often starts innocently through prescription pain medication. Like heroin, painkillers are also powerful, highly addictive opioids. Some people gravitate to heroin when their doctors will no longer prescribe painkillers or when they need stronger drugs to attain the same feeling.