COASTAL PRESERVATION NETWORK  works to improve the waterfront and coastal greenspaces of College Point, Queens, and to increase public composting in Queens and Oyster Bay, Long Island. Founded in 2002, we are committed to removing shoreline pollution, restoring parks and wetlands, replenishing oysters, expanding public access to the waterfront, advancing coastal infrastructure upgrades, and diverting organic waste from landfills and incinerators.

In Queens, we work at MacNeil Park and Powell's Cove Park, two magnificent East River parks, and, on a stretch of Flushing Bay waterfront nicknamed "Big Rock Beach" but unnamed and unmanaged by city agencies. In MacNeil, we've planted trees, flowers, and seagrasses, ran a solar-powered oyster restoration project, created and hung 30 educational tree tags,  purchased bottle-filler water fountains to reduce plastic waste,  and created interpretive signs to educate on coastal wildlife and on the park's  9/11 Living Memorial Tree Grove. We also helped secure funding to create College Point's only public kayak launch. In Powell's, we restored the entire network of walking paths, installed multiple waterfront benches, and led many coastal cleanups and invasive vine removal projects. We are community partners with the Billion Oyster Project to restore oyster habitat in Powell's Cove. At Big Rock, we led restoration of eroded steps to reconnect the upland area to the beach below,  and removed many decades' worth of  marine debris. We are community partners with the NYC Parks Department to remove abandoned vessels and large debris from this and other spots on College Point's coast. We are also leading the repair of two decaying public piers on Flushing Bay, across from LaGuardia Airport, under a federal grant from U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

In Oyster Bay, we lead a residential food scrap recycling and community composting project at Orkestai Farm, within Planting Fields Arboretum in the village of Upper Brookville.  "Community Composting on Orkestai Farm" is a partnership between CPN and Orkestai, launched in August 2026, following CPN's six-month composting pilot  program on the grounds of Upper Brookville Village Hall. Most of Long Island does not offer community composting or food scrap diversion options, even though this material accounts for  estimated 1/3 of all waste. Ours is among a handful of Long Island grassroots efforts to change that and catch up to NYC , which has a five-borough curbside food scrap collection system. We also operated a food scrap drop off site in College Point before curbside organics collection was permanently offered citywide.

Through shoreline cleanups, hands-on plantings, effective advocacy, educational presentations and strategic partnerships, Coastal is creating more vibrant waterfronts and parks, restoring public access to the coastline, building environmental knowledge, protecting our natural resources, reducing waste, and strengthening community service and pride. CPN is an all-volunteer 501c3 organization established in 2002, funded through city, federal, and private grants and donations, and powered by many dedicated volunteers.