Repairing Amityville's beach pavilion could cost $120,000

A member of the committee charged with reopening the Sandy-damaged pavilion at Amityville's municipal beach said repairing the building could cost as much as $120,000.

Dave Heller, who owns a plumbing and heating business in the village and also serves on the New York Rising Community Reconstruction committee, said the cost could fall if contractors who live in the village volunteer their labor. He said he has also asked New York Rising about a grant to cover some of the cost.

The reconstruction program was created to develop recovery plans for communities that were severely damaged by superstorm Sandy and earlier storms.

Officials said a restored pavilion, with offices for beach workers and a kitchen offering meals for children and their parents, could help revitalize the beach and bring more visitors. For generations, the village has offered free or low-cost summer programs, including swimming and sailing lessons, but attendance has fallen in recent years.

Heller said new amenities at the beach could increase attendance and burden the existing facility. The building's bathrooms are hooked up to a cesspool, not a sewer system. And the parking lot is cracked and uneven, with standing water after rains, he said.

"Being a mechanical contractor, these are issues I see when all of a sudden you've got a lot of people together," he said.

The pavilion was never insured, and Heller said Mayor James Wandell had asked him to find free or low-cost solutions that the village's budget can accommodate.

Trustee Dennis Siry, who has been working since last summer with Heller on planning for the pavilion, said basic repairs to ensure safety and fix the building's kitchen could be done for as little as $60,000.

"The village doesn't have enough money," Siry said. "We're looking for other ways to finance it. If we have to, we can find it in next year's budget."

There are no immediate plans to replace the pavilion with a modern elevated building. Heller said that would cost $350,000 to $400,000, not including the cost of utility hookups and parking lot repairs.

The cinder block pavilion was built in 1965, and until Sandy struck in October 2012 housed a nurse's station, manager's office, kitchen and bathrooms. Only the bathrooms have been usable since the storm.