New Rail Cars Deployed To LI's Artificial Reef Network: Cuomo

LONG ISLAND, NY — An additional 75 rails cars were deployed this week to help bolster Long Island's artificial reefs, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

Artificial reef expansion helps to restore marine habitat and grow tourism and recreation opportunities, he said.

Seven rail cars were added to the Shinnecock artificial reef and four rail cars to the Moriches reef, he said. The final deployment of 2020 brings the total number of rail cars added to reefs in New York to 75 for the year.

The rail cars were donated by the Wells Fargo Rail Corporation during the third year of New York's expansion of artificial reefs, a release said.

"New York has been a national model for protecting the environment, while helping stimulate economic growth, and our work to advance the state's artificial reef network is a key component of those efforts," Cuomo said.

Not only does the continued expansion of reefs help marine life and habitats thrive, but it will also strengthen Long Island's fishing, tourism, and recreation industries, critical to the economy, he said.

The rail cars used for the reef expansion are cleaned to mitigate potential impacts to sea life before being deployed; once the rail cars settle to the sea floor, larger fish, such as blackfish, black sea bass, cod, and summer flounder move in to inhabit the new structures, and encrusting organisms such as barnacles, sponges, anemones, corals, and mussels cling to and cover the material, a release explained. Over time, the recycled structures create a natural reef-life habitat.

Beginning in September, the first 16 of the 75 rail cars donated by Wells Fargo Corporation, as well as a steel turbine and the 70-foot tugboat "Jane", were placed on the Hempstead reef, Cuomo said. In October, 16 donated rail cars were deployed on the Atlantic Beach reef. In November, 16 additional rail cars were deployed on the Fire Island reef, and 16 additional rail cars were placed on the Twelve Mile reef.

The 35-acre Shinnecock reef is located two nautical miles south of Shinnecock Inlet with a depth of 79 to 84 feet, Cuomo said. Prior to the reef expansion, the reef was comprised of eight vessels, four barges, surplus armored vehicles, one drydock, rock, a steel and concrete tower, Tappan Zee bridge materials, steel and concrete bridge rubble, steel pipes, steel beams, and steel bridge trusses.

The New York State Department of Transportation and the New York Power Authority/Canal Corporation materials deployed at the reef in 2018 included more than 1,093 tons of materials. Barges dropped 885 tons of clean, recycled Tappan Zee Bridge material, as well as deconstructed DOT project materials; 35 tons of triangular trusses; 100 tons of concrete deck panels; 750 tons of steel foundation pipes; six tons of steel lattice trusses; 13.1 tons of pieces of steel sheeting; 37 tons of steel beams; 13.8 tons of steel columns; 9.4 tons of steel girders; 0.9 tons of steel channels; 128 tons of steel pipes; and three decommissioned canal boats, including a 110-foot barge, 74-foot tugboat, and 40-foot tender, the release said.

The 14-acre Moriches reef is located in the Atlantic Ocean 2.4 nautical miles south of Moriches Inlet. The DOT, NYPA/Canal Corporation, and the Thruway Authority materials deployed in August and October 2018 to develop the reef included one 25'x20' steel pump boat; a 50'x20' steel self-propelled scow #56; 12 steel bridge I-beams; and two barges of Tappan Zee Bridge material.

In his 2020 State of the State address, Cuomo said the plan was to double New York's existing reef acreage by expanding seven of 12 existing sites and creating four new artificial reefs in the Long Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean.

The expansion is slated to be completed by 2022.

New York's marine resources are critical to the state's economy, supporting nearly 350,000 jobs and generating billions of dollars through tourism, fishing, and other industries; more than 500,000 anglers in the region will reap the benefits of the initiative, supporting the marine economy, which accounts for approximately 9.7 percent of Long Island's total gross domestic product, Cuomo said.