Feds to reconsider decision on Fire Island erosion protections after pressure from state

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has agreed to reconsider an earlier decision not to replenish badly storm-damaged Fire Island shoreline following pressure from state officials and a Dec. 1 request from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, which warned the Long Island shorefront could be “susceptible to catastrophic failure” if not immediately repaired.

In a statement last week, USACE Public Affairs Specialist James D’Ambrosio said: “We are working with our partners at the state, federal and local levels to review the data from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s letter dated Dec. 1, 2023. We look forward to working with our partners on all levels to continue to find ways to mitigate the effects of coastal storms and increase resiliency.”

In October, the USACE rejected a request from Sen. Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, backed by a group of Fire Island homeowners, to undertake a massive emergency sand replenishment project to repair damaged shoreline in Davis Park, Fire Island Pines and other shorefront areas of the barrier island.

The USACE said the areas did not meet minimum eligibility requirements under existing guidelines.

In the weeks since, Fire Island residents, led by the Fire Island Pines Property Owners Association and the Seaview Association, amassed more than 10,000 petition signatures requesting action. And the DEC, backed by Gov. Kathy Hochul, Gillibrand and Schumer, as well as Suffolk County officials, made it clear September shoreline damage caused by Hurricane Lee and Tropical Storm Ophelia has not only put Fire Island at risk — but noted that damage could lead to inlet breaches.

Those breaches could threaten mainland Long Island.

The Dec. 1 letter from the DEC's director of the Bureau of Flood Protection and Dam Safety, Kenneth Kosinski, said: “Extreme weather conditions from Sept. 15 to 26, 2023, caused significant damage” that undermined three ongoing USACE projects — Fire Island Inlet to Moriches Inlet, West of Shinnecock Inlet and Fire Island Inlet to Shores Westerly.

Kosinski warned that without emergency intervention by the USACE those areas had been left in “a vulnerable and weakened state” susceptible to additional damage if “another storm impacts the area before they are repaired.”

Gillibrand said she is “committed” to working with Suffolk, state DEC and USACE officials to secure federal support.

“While I was very disappointed with the Corps’ preliminary denial of the emergency aid request back in October, I am grateful that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and Suffolk County have now formally submitted the request,” Gillibrand said in a statement.

“Since Fire Island lacks paved roads, beaches along the southern shore of Long Island connect residents to essential services needed to live safely in these communities,” Gillibrand said. “Without emergency efforts to rebuild Fire Island’s eroded beaches that have weathered a series of violent storms, EMTs, firefighters, police, and other first responders won’t have reliable pathways needed to serve nearly 5,000 homes on the barrier island in the case of an emergency.”

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”