Private Douglaston Beach Has Persistent Pollution Problem: Report

DOUGLASTON, QUEENS -- Living in one of Douglaston's most prestigious waterfront communities may boost your property value, but taking a swim in its waters could make you sick.

The private two-block beach along Little Neck Bay known as Douglaston Manor is home to multimillion-dollar mansions and some of New York City's most persistently polluted waters, Gothamist recently reported.

High levels of enterococci - bacteria that indicates the presence of human feces - have been found in Douglaston Manor consistently since the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene began publishing its monthly water samples from the city's beaches in 2005, according to the news site's analysis of the data.

Every spring through fall, the Health Department updates its water quality data monthly on all of the city's private and public beaches. State sanitary code and city health code dictate that water samples shouldn't have more than 104 colony forming units per 100 mL of water. If five or more samples in a month have more than 35 per 100 mL, the beach is closed to swimmers, who otherwise risk gastroenteritis or more serious diseases wading the waters.

In 2018 alone, 17 percent of samples collected in the Douglaston beach have already exceeded the health code, Gothamist reported. The site noted it was an improvement from last year, where the private waters had more samples exceed safe levels of enterococci - nearly 32 percent - than any other private or public beach in the city.

While a nearby sewer overflow facility has helped slow the flow of feces into Little Neck Bay since it was finishe in 2011, it hasn't done much for Douglaston Manor's private waters, according to Gothamist.

But the gated community's residents remain largely unbothered by the pollution.

Angeline Panagi, who operates Douglaston Manor's gatehouse, told Gothamist the private beach still sees somewhere around 20 swimmers each day.

“A lot of the people in the neighborhood have been swimming here for years and years, so they don't really pay attention [to the warning signs],” she told the news site.

Read Gothamist's full report on Douglaston Manor's polluted history here.

Lead photo via Google Maps/October 2013