Babylon Town to repair canal entrance in Copiague's American Venice neighborhood

Babylon Town plans to spend nearly $1.8 million in federal aid to repair what has become a hazardous entrance to a canal in Copiague.

The town will construct new bulkheading and dredge the mouth of Grand Canal, said Brian Zitani, Babylon's waterways management supervisor.

The area's bulkheading had eroded, bringing storm surge farther up the canal and causing debris to build up on the waterway's bottom, presenting a navigational hazard to boaters, Zitani said. Rialto Square, a circular underwater island whose visible perimeter served as a guide to boaters, also needed new bulkheading, he said. 

The 100-year-old bulkheading at the mouth of the canal had been failing for years, Zitani said. Pieces were breaking off into the water and the town removed the bulkhead remnants a few years ago, he said.

"It really was a hazard for navigation," Zitani said. "Nothing was functional anymore."

Babylon is using nearly $1.8 million from the U.S. American Rescue Plan Act, the federal COVID-19 relief program.

The town used $8.8 million from the governor's Office of Storm Recovery to repair two historic bridges along the canal in 2019.

Grand Canal and Rialto island were the centerpiece of the American Venice neighborhood when it was constructed in the late 1920s to resemble Venice, Italy. Rialto island is now underwater in the middle of the mouth of the canal where it meets the Great South Bay.

Without the bulkheading, those living on the canal had to deal with intense waves knocking boats against docks, he said.

But it wasn’t a quick fix for the town to take on.

Because the bulkhead is privately owned, Zitani said, "it’s up to the property owners to maintain them." Residents didn’t have the money to fund the repairs, he said.

American Venice civic board members said they had lobbied town officials for years to repair the disintegrating bulkheading.

"It’s definitely a marine hazard," said Tony Serravillo, who lives on the canal. Boaters were "running aground two or three times a day."

At the request of the civic and nearby residents, the town decided in 2020 to rebuild the canal entrance.

The town couldn’t get permits from the state Department of Environmental Conservation to install solid bulkheading, Zitani said. Instead, Babylon will use wave baffles, which resemble fencing with overlapping slats, he said. Similar to bulkheading, the baffles work to stop wave action, Zitani said, but also allow water to pass through. The technology will result in less debris buildup and the fiberglass baffles have a much longer lifespan than treated lumber, he said.

The town was told Rialto island could not be filled in to once again be above water, but the perimeter will remain visible to boaters, Zitani said.

"We’re mimicking the old layout," he said. The wave baffles will surround the island and breakwaters will extend another 100 feet out into the bay, he added. The channel will then be dredged. Work has already begun and is expected to be finished by the end of the year, Zitani said.

John Frevola, a board member for the American Venice Civic Association, said there was a lot of arguing when plans for the work first started taking shape.

"When I met with the DEC and a couple of people from the town, they wanted to take it out completely," Frevola said of Rialto island. "I said you’re not taking it out, this is historical. We fought for that."

Frevola, whose grandparents bought a home in American Venice during the Great Depression, said the island once housed a gazebo and was used as a base for the developer. Realtors took prospective homebuyers out in gondolas along the canals to view the newly built homes.

Fortifying the island is a way to protect homeowners’ boats from storm surge, he said. The dredging is also welcome, he said, as boats — including his — have hit bottom on numerous occasions. He said the work has been a long time coming.

"It’ll look really nice, and it upgrades the neighborhood," Frevola said.

By Denise M. Bonilla

denise.bonilla@newsday.comdenisebonilla

Denise Bonilla has worked at Newsday since 2003 and covers the Town of Babylon, including the villages of Lindenhurst and Amityville.