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Storm Causes Massive Erosion, Knocks Out Chunks Of Long Island Beaches

BABYLON, NY (WCBS 880) - Saturday night's storm was just the latest in a series of devastating hits to Long Island's beautiful south shore beaches.

WCBS 880 Long Island Bureau Chief Mike Xirinachs: They Hope To Have The Beaches Ready For Memorial Day

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"The damage has been pretty severe. If we were to open up Robert Moses field 5 today for the swimming public, if this was a summer time, we would be opening up less than 50 percent, maybe even as low as 25 percent," says New York State Parks spokesman George Gorman.

Gorman added that the east end of Robert Moses State Park sees the most erosion. "The east end of Robert Moses is the most concern for us. We do see the most erosion there. Jones Beach on the east side, east of field 6, we see erosion there. But the rest of Jones Beach is building up. And then we've seen some minor erosion at the other north shore beaches. This has not been a real good winter for us."

A sand replenishment project is planned for next month in the hope of having the beach ready for the big Memorial Day weekend.

Of course, as Gorman points out, anything can happen between now and then.

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