Indian Island County Park

The Suffolk County Department of Public Works plans ground-spraying with Anvil at Indian Island Park early Thursday morning to control adult mosquitos there.

Sixty years ago, there were no playgrounds, picnic tables, hiking trails or campsites on the property we know today as Indian Island County Park. In 1964, bulldozers leveled the tin-roofed sheds at what was once one of the largest and worst rural slums in the state.

Whatever is dumped into those cesspools buried in the sandy soils of near Saw Mill Creek will transit those 8 yards and reach the surface water in 0-2 years. Campers might just as well be invited to dump their wastes directly into the water.

Suffolk County has entered into a consent judgment with the U.S. Justice Department requiring the county to remove and replace 46 large-capacity cesspools at county park facilities, including four at Indian Island County Park in Riverhead that were banned by the EPA in 2005. The county also agreed to pay a $200,000 penalty.

Suffolk County is working on a $1.2 million shoreline stabilization project in the hope of stopping the severe erosion of the point, an ancient Native American burial ground.

Proceeds from the combination 5K/15K race through Indian Island's 275 acres will help support the Riverhead High School's cross country team.

The man was at the beach with his mother, sister and a friend, who tried frantically to pull him from the water and revive him with CPR.