Advocates Meet with Senator Martins

‍ ‍‍ ‍

‍ ‍By Guy Jacob, Conservation Chair 

‍ ‍A team of advocates from South Shore Audubon Society, North Shore Audubon Society, Transition Town Port Washington, the Long Island Orienteering Club, Nassau Hiking & Outdoor Club and the Science Museum of Long Island met with NYS Senator Jack Martins (Senate District 7) on January 5, 2026, for more than one hour to discuss the future of Stillwell Woods Preserve.  Our valuable dialog helped us further understand what is at stake and what Nassau County and the TOB are and are not doing to advance the mandates within their Intermunicipal Agreement (IMA).  The senator’s input, his questions and how he plans to follow-up gave us great hope that Stillwell Woods Preserve, its trails and its extant habitat will be protected for generations to come. 

‍ ‍     While neither Nassau County nor the Town of Oyster Bay (TOB) has yet approached Senator Martins with draft legislation, as we emphasized during our meeting with him, in New York State, conveying municipal parkland to another municipality requires the  specific legislative process known as Parkland Alienation, involving an act of the State Legislature and Governor Hochul's approval, often with conditions like replacing the parkland or dedicating funds for new parkland, due to the public trust doctrine that protects public lands. 

‍ ‍      From the Introduction in the Handbook on the Alienation and Conversion of Municipal Parkland in New York: Parkland Alienation  

‍ ‍     Parkland alienation occurs when a municipality wishes to convey, sell, or lease municipal parkland or discontinue its use as a park. Parkland alienation applies to every municipal park in the State, whether owned by a city, county, town, or village.1,2 

‍ ‍     Nassau County, through its IMA, seeks to convey the entirety of Stillwell Woods Preserve, both athletic fields currently permitted for TOB use as well as approximately 270 acres of woodland and grassland habitat, by selling the preserve to the TOB for $1.00 and by giving the TOB $6 million with the convenance of the preserve to the town.  This $6 million is matching funding the TOB will also spend, for a total of $12 million to develop Stillwell Woods Preserve. 

‍ ‍  The process, which requires undergoing environmental review (SEQRA), is not being adequately or seriously followed by either Nassau County or the TOB for the numerous reasons I previously outlined.  Moreover, Nassau County has aggressively pushed back against its own Open Space & Parks Advisory Committee (OSPAC) for attempting to hold the TOB accountable for accurately conducting a comprehensive survey of the said property, as is required by their IMA. 

‍ ‍     This flouting of NYS law is completely unacceptable and growing numbers of Long Islanders are demanding accountability from both Nassau County and the TOB.  In addition to thousands of social media followers who are staying abreast of the situation, over 3,000 residents have signed our change.org petition.  Our list of supporter organizations & businesses, now standing at 31, includes the world-renowned Safina Center, the esteemed ReWild Long Island, and the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island.   

‍The rational demands of our petition include the following: 

‍ ·   The TOB must prepare, present and submit a comprehensive survey, including clearly marked survey maps, stamped and signed by a licensed/certified land surveyor as is required by their Intermunicipal Agreement (IMA).3 

‍ ‍·   The TOB must present a detailed project proposal, as is also required by their IMA, that correlates with the $12 million budget allocated in their IMA.3 

‍·   Nassau County must categorize the proposed transfer as a Type 1 action, as the county originally planned to do, likely resulting in a comprehensive environmental impact study that considers appropriate alternatives and mitigation measures, including transferring the undeveloped acreage to NYS Parks while granting the athletic fields to the TOB. 

‍ ‍·   Nassau County and the TOB must provide a strong additional protective covenant to annul grandfathered development advantages.4   Once surveyed, the covenant must include a statement verifying that the undeveloped section of Stillwell Woods Preserve (estimated at 270 acres) will be maintained in its existing state.  

‍ ‍·   The NYS Legislative must consider alienation of parkland legislation to complete the transfer only after all the above demands have been satisfied.   

‍ ‍Resources: 

‍ 1.    Handbook on the Alienation and Conversion of Municipal Parkland in New York:

https://hitherwoods.com/download/alienationhandbook2017.pdf  (2017) 

‍ ‍2.   Parkland Alienation: Office of the NYS Comptroller:

        https://www.osc.ny.gov/files/local-government/audits/2017-11/lgsa-audit-swr-2015-Parkland-global.pdf  (2015) 

‍ 3.   Intermunicipal Agreement between The County of Nassau, New York and The Town of Oyster Bay, New York in relation to the Transfer of Stillwell Preserve:

‍ ‍https://www.nassaucountyny.gov/DocumentCenter/View/46296/IMA-Stillwell-Woods-Preserve

‍ ‍4.   Miscellaneous Laws of Nassau County:

‍ ‍https://www.nassaucountyny.gov/DocumentCenter/View/37580/Miscellaneous-Laws-1122?bidId=(Pages 32-33)

‍ ‍