One of the many activi­ties Long Islanders enjoy dur­ing the summer months is a pleasant trip to the beach. And with plenty of outstanding beaches to choose from, it is clear why they are such a large part of their lives. However, many of these beaches were destroyed last October by Hur­ricane Sandy.

The damage done to the beaches was very severe; they suffered a great deal of erosion and pollution, and they also lost much of their boardwalks and jetties. Long Island beach­es and inland parks suffered almost one hundred million dollars in damages, according to CBS News.

Although repair efforts were put on hold at first due to the tremendous amount of damage incurred by the rest of the Island, many Long Island­ers now back in their homes are wondering when they will be able to get back to their be­loved beaches. This has put a great deal of pressure on the Parks Department to restore the beaches to their pre-Sandy conditions.

Jones Beach is currently being rebuilt. This beach has been given a lot of attention in terms of restoration, suf­fering from significant ero­sion and major damage to its boardwalk. Severe damage to its electrical, plumbing, and sanitation systems, in addition to large amounts of debris left behind by the storm, are cur­rently being repaired.

As is imaginable, repair­ing the damage is no easy task. Although a huge portion of the work for this cleanup has been done by private contrac­tors and more than two hun­dred other contract employees, there is still plenty of work to be done.

To prevent a reoccur­rence of the damage that was suffered during the storm, many steps are being taken in order to strengthen the beach itself. For example, Governor Cuomo announced on May 23 that one and a half miles of the two mile boardwalk on Jones Beach have been repaired with stronger materials, like Brazil­ian hardwood. This is to ensure the stability and resilience of the boardwalk to weathering and damage.

The bike path, which formerly ended before Field 5 now extends through that parking lot all the way to the boardwalk.

“I rode all the way to the beach for the first time since Sandy this weekend,” English teacher Mrs. Kathleen Tonn said. “It was the first night of the concert series at Jones Beach Theater. Long Island is back in business.”

Also, the beach’s elec­trical panels were raised any­where from ten to twelve feet above their original positions in order to protect them from damage during possible future flooding. Protective measures are being taken for the access routes that lead to the beach. The traffic lanes that encircle Robert Moses State Park are being rebuilt due to the exten­sive damage that they encoun­tered during the storm.

In addition, much of na­tive vegetation and about five miles of protective sand dunes that were destroyed by Sandy are undergoing restoration.

“There is a significant amount of work ahead at Jones Beach in terms of look­ing at our infrastructure to prepare for the reality of rising sea levels, damaging storms, and rebuilding,” Parks Com­missioner Rose Harvey said. An estimated 550,000 cubic yards of sand were brought into Fields 4 and 5 at the Rob­ert Moses State Park, accord­ing to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Long Islanders are still looking forward to visiting some of their favorite beaches this summer. They are also looking forward to knowing that these beaches will be safer and stronger than ever before.