Hello all   If you would like to call or email  Mr McCarron to ensure a timely and thorough response, his email is jmccarron@huntingtonny.gov and 631 351 3000  ( I hope you so    It will help ) 

Deputy Supervisor McCarron, Thank you and Mr. Aronov for meeting with the Greater Eatons Neck Community civic leaders representing the 2,000 residents of Eatons Neck.  And thank you to Supervisor Smyth for assigning you personally, back on 3/9/23, as our TOH focal point for both the failed Seawall and PSEG continuous power outage issues facing the community. 

We provided detailed background briefing materials in advance of the meeting, and asked you out to meet with us to assess the situation, determine the level of risk to the community and develop a plan forward. Waiting for our sole access route to fail before action is taken cannot be an option - we take this this issue as being deadly serious, because our consequences are so high. Over 1,200 people have now signed the “Seawall Petition” which you were provided.

Sadly though, the seawall has already failed and we are now just awaiting the catastrophic event! 

The Seawall supporting buttress and whaler structure FAILED, the metal sheet walls are rusted through and BUCKLED, the rocks in front and in back are undermined and settling into a SINKHOLE, a portion of the parking area is UNDERMINED, the cement has settled and cracked across a 20foot section, the road shoulders are WASHED OUT with 2 foot drops off the roads edge, leaving the road bed foundations exposed and in spots they are being undermined, and the road is FLOODED on an increasingly regular basis.

This is no longer an “If”, it’s a “When” – It is a “Known Hazard” that the Village of Asharoken and Town of Huntington need to address and take steps to remedy, to secure safe passage on our ONLY road to the mainland.

So, our urgent requests for help from the TOH are: 
1)    Can the TOH take the lead on behalf of Asharoken and Eatons Neck residents to determine if the road in the area of the Seawall meet TOH and /or NYS safety standards for safe passage of 2,000 residents? If not, what actions are required? 

2)    Can the TOH work with NYS Senator Materra and Representative Lolota to assess the failed Seawall for repair / replacement options?

3)    Can the TOH work with NYS Senator Materra and Representative Lolota to assess the rock “sinkhole” and requirements to refill and any possible undermining of the road? 

4)    Are there sufficient emergency plans in place for when the catastrophe happens? And what exactly are they?

5)    In terms of the longer-term actions - the Army Corps 3 year intensive study in 2016 concluded that the extreme erosion and damages to Asharoken Avenue are the result of “Federal Actions” taken at the adjacent Northport Power Plant (former sand mining) site. Is TOH prepared to take the lead for this community and seek mitigation by the Army Corp for corrective action? 

6)    The army corps recommended solution was a $15m sand replenishment, $2m groin field by the most fragile road area at the Seawall and $7m for public access.  What is the TOH’s assessment of that plan and if you agree with it, how will you pursue making that happen?

7)    We appreciate your offer to contact NYS Senator Materra and Representative Lolota to ask them to guide us on the best way to get to the Army Corps to urgently repair the seawall and restore Asharoken Beach to ensure safe passage for Asharoken and Eatons Neck residents in the years to come. We look forward to your debrief in advance of our next meeting in late April. 

8)    In addition, we look forward to your feedback on the strength of the case in our draft letter that the Army Corps actions over the last 90 years are responsible for the excessive erosion of Asharoken beach, and the Federal government should repair the Seawall and restore Asharoken beach at Federal Expense as a mitigation of damages caused by Federal actions.

9)    The Seawall is now a time bomb. We must get ahead of the inevitable catastrophe.

As we discussed, the 2,000 TOH Eatons Neck residents, that YOU are responsible for, are anxiously awaiting the TOH, Suffolk and NYS assessment and plan forward, and the community leads would like to schedule for you (your team and perhaps County and NYS) to meet with us again before the end of April, and then plan for a community wide public session sometime shortly thereafter.

Regarding the PSEG continuous power outages (we provided you with a written update),  the COO of PSEGLI has been responsive to date, initiated many of the quick fixes promised and will be addressing the Eatons Neck community leads in late April with the longer terms options including burying the main line, switching and re-routing options, and possible parallel feed underwater from Huntington. You should plan on attending that meeting as it might likely have funding consequences that TOH will need to address. 

Best regards,

John J Ballow

For the Greater Eatons Neck Community