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For those of you who haven't heard the extraordinary news, Governor Hochul today announced that the state is partnering with Suffolk County to fund $3 million for beach replenishment in Fire Island's eastern communities, including the Pines. The governor held a press conference to announce the news and dispatched her aides and the commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Conservation to visit the Pines this afternoon, where they surveyed the damage from the recent storms (many thanks to Walter Boss and Karen McCutcheon for working with this team today).
This wonderful news caps an intense public relations and government relations campaign that FIPPOA, community members and Actum, our public affairs firm, has spearheaded. As you know, we have had a great deal of media coverage and have communicated almost daily with our elected officials at every level of government, from the town level to Washington, working together to secure funding for emergency repairs and putting pressure on the Army Corps of Engineers to reverse its decision to bypass the east end. Our elected officials are coming through for us in a big way, and we thank them all, with huge gratitude to the governor for her actions today.
This is still not yet a guarantee that the Pines will get a beach project this winter/spring, though it is a major step in the right direction. As I reported in the last newsletter, we have decided to stop waiting on the Corps to agree to honor their contractual obligation to repair the beach – the agency is currently considering a fifth application – though Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, and Governor Hochul, have been working tirelessly on that front.
But we are done waiting on the Corps, and instead are pushing for a smaller, stopgap project to pump sand onto our beach in the coming month to save our homes. With the tireless help of Neil Foley, our Brookhaven councilman, and a dedicated team at the town, we are on the way to securing every permit we need – a herculean achievement on their part. But this is contingent upon Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Corporation, which is already pumping sand for the Corps on Fire Island’s west end, to agree to take this job on. They have cited timing challenges, as they are scheduled for other projects. But they are aware that we have a crisis, and we are working with our partners to get them to take this on.
Thanks to Kathy Hochul, funding the project will be less of a problem, though we may well still have to self-fund at least part of it. We have not been given a pricetag on the project by Great Lakes, and we do not yet know when and how the state money will be disbursed. When we learn more we will share the information with you.
This has been a great team effort, and I am so grateful for your support and collaboration. I will continue to keep you informed on the latest developments.
Best,
Henry
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