Long Beach City Council opposes LNG project

Calls on Governor Cuomo to veto Port Ambrose plan

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The Long Beach City Council is opposing a company’s plan to build “Port Ambrose,” a liquefied natural gas terminal in the Atlantic Ocean 19 miles southeast of Jones Beach, citing environmental and security concerns.

The council is urging Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a letter to veto the Liberty Natural Gas project, saying that an LNG terminal would negatively impact the barrier island’s ecology and residents’ quality of life, while also causing safety and security concerns.

“Long Beach is still rebuilding from Superstorm Sandy with many residents not back in their homes and businesses struggling to remain open,” the council wrote in the letter. “Long Beach is also without a hospital, which causes health and safety concerns. Therefore Port Ambrose is seen as an additional burden during the recovery process, especially without adequate health facilities. We understand the need for increased energy sources in our state. However, we do not believe that Port Ambrose is the correct approach. Uses of alternative energy such as wind should be seriously considered. Any benefits derived from enhancing the natural gas supply are outweighed by the negative environmental and safety issues as well as, the disruptive navigational and recreational impacts this project will have.”

Additionally, nearly 100 residents turned out to a public meeting hosted by the council and the Sane Energy Project at the Long Beach Public Library on Monday, where officials updated residents about the project and urged them to sign the letter urging Cuomo to scrap it.

“We believe that there are significant causes for concern, ranging from environmental issues to safety and to the economic — our beach is everything to us here, and so anything that could potentially affect our beach has a significant impact on our lives,” said council Vice President Fran Adelson, who thanked Sane Energy and the Surfrider Foundation, All Our Energy and Clean Ocean Action for their role in the effort.

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