April 20, 2018 — In what will be the largest expansion ever of New York State’s artificial reef system, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday that more than 43,000 cubic yards of clean, recycled Tappan Zee Bridge material, 5,900 cubic yards of jetty rock, 338 cubic yards of steel pipe, and more than 30 old vessels will be spread across marine reef sites in the waters surrounding Long Island. All of the reef materials have been cleaned of contaminants.
All told, six sites will be expanded: Shinnecock, Moriches, Fire Island, Hempstead and Rockaway reefs on the South Shore, plus Smithtown Reef in Long Island Sound. Fire Island Reef will get the biggest drop with 10 barges of bridge material, 11 canal vessels, a barge of steel pipe, plus four barges of jetty rock by June 28. Hempstead Reef will see a dozen barges of bridge material and 11 canal vessels deployed through August. The remaining reefs will get lesser though significant boosts.
According to the DEC, construction of New York’s first artificial reef dates to 1949.
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