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Senator Carl Marcellino, R-Syosset, blamed the DEC for holding up repairs to the Asharoken sea wall because of concerns over ecological impacts of dredging at a town hall-style meeting in Northport on Thursday.
"The DEC is the problem, not the Army Corps," he said. "The DEC has a concern of disturbing the bottom, hurting the shellfish beds at the bottom, and disrupting the food chain and worsening the lobster die off."
Swift and constant erosion has proven to be a major problem for the sea wall, causing large boulders to move away from the base. Both Marcellino and Asharoken Mayor Pat Irving, present at the meeting, agreed that a design flaw is at the root of the problem.
"When we held meetings at Eaton's Neck Firehouse talking about repairing the wall, we were told that they would only repair the wall as it was, to the original specifications. Both the mayor and my comments to them was, wait a minute, it failed. It's going to fail again."
A woman in the audience suggested artificial reefs as an eco-friendly alternative to dredging which would keep sand from moving with minimal disruption to the ecosystem along the sea bed. Marcellino agreed, but added that lanes must be kept clear for shipping and recreational boaters. He also discussed building groins and said they presented their own set of problems. "The theory is now not to disturb the natural flow of sand along the bottom, but to work with it," he said.
In a sort of punctuation mark to the subject, flooding shut down Asharoken Avenue for over an hour on Thursday afternoon with seawater and floating debris obstructing the road after a period of prolonged rain and heavy wind. One Asharoken resident in the audience said he was stranded by the floods and urged Marcellino to do something before more severe storms hit. "This is it, this is the time," he said.
Irving sent a video of Thursday's wash over to Marcellino who then sent it to the DEC. He said he is working on a compromise with the DEC, but could not give a deadline as to when anything would be decided.
"The state is in desperate money straights," said Marcellino, "and the state and DEC have other requests where the situation is just as desperate...All we can do is keep the pressure on and hope that it works."
Hikerr
7:12 am on Thursday, January 19, 2012
Sounds like Dune Road all over again. Why do the taxpayer have to fund this. How many beaches on Asharoken are open to the general public?
doug geed
9:35 am on Thursday, January 19, 2012
Bill M - here's the answer why it's not Dune Road. There is one road with this seawall that allows access for several thousand residents that live in an area called Eatons Neck. When the seawall is breeched (which is virtually every storm lately) these residents are cutoff from everything. One road in and out, seawall breeched - no access. Thank God there has not been a medical emergency when this road is closed. Save the fish, but kill the people. Way to go DEC.
Jerry Hannon
11:31 am on Thursday, January 19, 2012
For Bill M, beside Mr Geed's spot-on comments about who uses this road, let me answer another point you made, regarding access to beaches.
There is a Town of Huntington beach, open to all Huntington residents, on Eatons Neck, Hobart Beach. This beach has swimming sections, as well as a boat ramp, and there is a wildlife sanctuary at the tip of the peninsula. Therefore, other citizens of Huntington use this road to have access to Hobart Beach, and not just Eatons Neck residents, and most certainly not just Village of Asharoken residents.
So please don't confuse the people of the Town of Huntington with our uber-rich friends in the Hamptons; this single-road-access is known as Asharoken Avenue only where it passes through that Village, but it is called Eatons Neck Road when it passes the border of these two communities.
As to Mr. Geed's denigration of the DEC, that view is shortsighted as the DEC has important responsibilities which must be considered on matters such as the legitimate need to preserve public access via this unique route.
Let's try to have more light and less heat in these discussions.
Hikerr
6:49 am on Friday, January 20, 2012
Did you not notice that when you bought your homes that you needed to cross a sandbar to get there? Why should I or anyone else have to pay for peoples mistakes.If that is where you want to live then you pay to fix the problem! I pay enough in taxes and don't see anyone footing the bills for any dum moves I may have made.
Ralph B
1:00 pm on Friday, January 20, 2012
Hey Bill M. It wasn't a sand bar when the homes were built and purchased. It was a beautiful beach that replenished itself that was nowhere near threatening the road. Maybe people should have had the knowledge that jetties were going to be installed for the power plant that would block all of the sand replenishment. And by the way, the thousands of people that live in Eatons Neck pay taxes too. Very high taxes. Do you think that maybe some of that tax money goes to the services used by you? Also, 'DUM' is spelt 'Dumb'. Point made?
Hikerr
2:45 pm on Friday, January 20, 2012
OK someone please make an argument as to why anyone who does not live in Eatons Neck should help foot the bill for this. Try and make sense for us all.
Jerry Hannon
2:59 pm on Friday, January 20, 2012
I'm not sure why you don't get it, Bill M, but:
(1) There is a Town-owned public beach, and a public park, and a wildlife sanctuary, available for ALL Huntington residents at the southern end of Eatons Neck;
(2) People on Eatons Neck pay taxes too, and some of their tax money goes to road repairs in your community and my community, far from Eatons Neck; and,
(3) We are one Town, with common interests, and varying family needs and interests, so why should one citizen be selfish about the other citizens of this Town?
Amanda K
7:27 am on Saturday, January 21, 2012
Sure Bill M, how about this - you need a bridge replaced, Should only the people that live on the other side of the bridge pay for the replacement? I'm not from Eatons Neck but this is clearly a problem that needs to be addressed now. The DEC needs to provide an approach that will work. The people in Eatons Neck are the same as you and me and they deserve to be able to travel to and from their homes, all of the time.
Andy
1:40 pm on Saturday, January 21, 2012
Also Bill M, the recent work on the sea wall was paid for by a federal fund. The Sand Replacement Project cost will be a 50/50 split between Federal and Non Federal funds. The state carry a larger portion of Non Federal funds. I live in Eatons Neck and I (as do the majority of my neighbors) certainly do not live in a house even close to the size of those on Dune Road. I would certainly rank my house size and value on par with most of the Town of Huntington homes. So if some event were to happen in your neighborhood that required public infrastructure replacement or improvement, I would be happy to see my tax money (federal, state or local) be spent to help members of our community.