Asharoken approves contract to plan for new sea wall to protect road during storms 

Asharoken Village officials have hired a company to create plans for a new protective sea wall to replace the current one that’s beyond repair on Asharoken Avenue.

The rusting wall allows the avenue to flood during storms, alarming residents of Eatons Neck and some Asharoken residents because it cuts off their only connection to the rest of Long Island. Eatons Neck is a community that starts at the northwest end of Asharoken Avenue.

The Asharoken Village board on July 2 approved a $344,605 contract with Huntington-based GEI Consultants Inc., P.C. to create a comprehensive plan for a new sea wall and beach design.

“It’s an important hurdle to overcome because without having a design, there’s no way the village can then seek the proper funding that’s going to be needed to restore the sea wall and beach,” Village Mayor Greg Letica said.

The avenue is under the jurisdiction of the village. Both the village and Eatons Neck are in the Town of Huntington. The five-member board approved the contract 4-0. Deputy Mayor Mary “Pam” Pierce was absent from the meeting.

The design plans are being paid for with a $1 million FEMA hazard mitigation grant the village received last July. The village must cover 10% of the contract cost. The plans are expected to be delivered in January 2026, Letica said.

For the 2,100 people who live in Eatons Neck and parts of Asharoken, where the avenue intersects with Bevin Road, the road’s viability is always the topic of discussion with each approaching and receding storm.

The rusting steel, beach erosion in front of the wall and sinking rocks on the sea side of the wall no longer offer the protection it was supposed to provide. In addition to road access, failure of the wall would wipe out water and electrical lines and telecommunications.

The 1,000-foot-long sea wall was built in 1994 by the Army Corps of Engineers as a temporary solution to protect the road. In 2011, a damaged portion of the wall underwent a $2.2 million rehabilitation project by the Army Corps of Engineers.

In 2016, village residents rejected a proposal to use federal funds to restore a 2.4-mile section of the beach — including a small section in front of the sea wall — because it would have required public access to private beaches.

John Ballow has lived in Eatons Neck since 1985 and serves as a liaison with the village, elected officials and the five civic associations of Eatons Neck: Property owners of Eatons Neck Beach, Eatons Harbor Corporation, Stargazers Association, Old Orchard Woods Association and North Creek Association, as well as the Eatons Neck Fire District.

He said while getting plans for a long-term solution is a step forward, the timeline is of concern.

“The dates are out of whack with the problem,” he said. “The sea wall is compromised; it’s undermined by every high tide, we need help now.”

He said short-term action would require stabilizing the roadbeds and temporary repairs for the bulkheads.

Phil Whiter, chair of the board of fire commissioners for the Eatons Neck Fire Department, said it’s not just a quality-of-life issue, but a potential life or death matter. Even winds have been known to wash out the road, he said.

“We could be in a situation where we can’t get an ambulance off the neck if we need to or get mutual aid support if we have a major event,” Whiter said. “The actual road is in imminent danger of being washed out and with that all of our services. Something needs to be done."