Shoreline Stabilization Project Begins In Sound Beach

After years of issues and a few very concerning months after Hurricane Sandy and the February snowstorm, Sound Beach property owners were pleased to see the first step of stabilization at the shoreline completed this week.

New Brookhaven town Superintendent of Highways Dan Losquadro and Councilwoman Jane Bonner gathered on Shore Drive in Sound Beach to announce the completion of the first phase of the project Friday.

Erosion has been an issue for years in the area but when a drainage pipe broke after the storm, the danger became severe. With the town highway department in flux in the early part of the year, nothing was getting done.

"It's something that was long overdue and unfortunately a lot more damage was sustained here than was necessary," Losquadro said. "Fortunately in less than two months through hard work, we know that we at least won't sustain any more damage and can move forward with the mitigation aspect."

To address this area, phase 2 will create a drainage sump just east at the old Pickwick Beach parking lot.

"We will then tie in all the existing drainage structures here to put that water into the ground before it gets over the bluff face," Losquadro said.

The Sound Beach Property Owners Association continued to lose members due to lost beach access at the site. There are two access points and this east point has been closed. While the staircase won't be fixed for this season, the Town hopes to have it fixed and the point opened for the 2014 season.

"When meeting with members I don't think they believed this was ever going to happen," Bonner said. "This is not a permanent fix but will stabilize the area so we can move to Phase 2."

Association member Bob Bedrossian was on hand at the announcement and was excited to see a start to the stabilization.

"If they hadn't done this we would've been in big trouble," he said. "We've been working on this a long time and are very pleased that it's hapened. We are a little disappointed that we couldn't get the beach open on the East side. Because this went out we've lost a lot of membership in the community."

SBPOA president Brian Calo also expressed the importance of this project.

"Just a month ago, this area was a rainstorm away from placing residents and the community in imminent danger," Calo said in a release. "Now the community can sleep assured that issues such as these will be overcome and rectified."