City Police to Heighten DWI Patrols

This summer drunk drivers will face increased opposition from the Glen Cove Police Department.

At Tuesday's City Council meeting, the council agreed to a deal with Nassau County, which will reimburse the city $12,000 in exchange for its cooperation with cracking down on DWI offenses.

Mayor Ralph Suozzi said he hopes the money will help to keep the city's streets safer.

"Overall it helps not just Glen Cove, but all of society," Suozzi said. "We have money flowing from the county to the city for something that makes our streets safer."

The money, Suozzi said, will pay for overtime for police officers as the department increases patrols at no cost to the city.

"It allows us to put more patrols out there without impacting the Glen Cove taxpayer and create more success in catching people that shouldn't be driving that way," Suozzi said after the meeting.

Suozzi added that how the department chooses to step up patrols — whether its checkpoints, random stops or something else — will be at the discretion of the police force.

City Settles MTBE Lawsuit

The City Council also announced, and accepted, $912,000 after a successful settlement with nearly 30 gasoline-related companies in a class-action lawsuit. The suit was brought by several municipalities over the contamination of groundwater by Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether, better known as MTBE.

While Suozzi said the city is not in danger from MTBE, the city will certainly use the funds. Four of the city's five wells are already filtered to prevent MTBE contamination. A filter on the one remaining well would cost between $750,000 to $1.2 million, but the mayor said there isn't a need for it at this point.

"The potential is there, but the risk is low," Suozzi said.

The City of Glen Cove didn't pay to join the suit or split costs of the lawsuit. Therefore, the settlement is pure profit. Suozzi also said the city received an additional $30,000 from the suit earlier this year.

"This is money in the bank. We'll use it to pay down the deficit in the water department or use it for improvements in the water distribution system," Suozzi said.

On the Agenda
- The City Council also approved a bid to design an esplanade that will connect the downtown area to the waterfront. The $122,000 will not come from federal stimulus funds being used for the Ferry Terminal Project.

- The council also accepted a Housing and Urban Development grant to renovate and improve downtown parking areas including signage, landscaping and lighting.