Photo credit – Matt Meduri
In April, Congressman Nick LaLota (R, NY-01) announced the procurement of $1.5 million for significant projects for the Port Jefferson Harbor. The funding for the Town of Brookhaven was administered by the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations Bill, which was signed into law in March. Funding for the project will allow for dredging and structural improvements for the Town of Brookhaven Marina. The Port Jefferson Harbor is currently maintained at a depth of twenty-six feet to provide passage from the harbor entrance to the Village of Port Jefferson.
Estimates report that 14,000 cubic yards of sediment must be dredged from the Town Marina and adjacent lands, while 40,000 to 50,000 cubic yards of additional dredging remains necessary within the larger harbor.
The check comes off the heels of a 2022 study that found portions of breakwater within the Port Jefferson Harbor are in inferior condition and have essentially failed.
The check is also timely after the remnants of Hurricane Ernesto caused worse-than-expected damage across the North Shore, especially the drainage of nearby Mill Pond in Stony Brook.
LaLota (pictured below) joined Town and State officials on Monday morning to formally present the check.
LaLota called the funding a “significant federal investment” to improve infrastructure of the Village’s harbor and marina.
“We are here to ensure that the federal government pays the right amount of attention to us Long Islanders. It’s unfair and unfortunate that both Albany and Washington have both neglected Long Island,” said LaLota. “For every dollar a New Yorker sends to Washington, we get eighty-five cents back. It’s worse on the State level. Long Island has been an ATM or piggy bank of sorts for Albany and the Five Boroughs. We’re here to make that a little more right today.”
LaLota said that the federal investment can make Long Islander “safer and more affordable,” adding that elected officials are hoping to retain the population with improved opportunity, affordability, and infrastructure.
LaLota joked that Brookhaven Town Supervisor Dan Panico (R-Center Moriches) acknowledges LaLota’s “love” for the Town of Brookhaven, but challenged him to “show me the money.”
“They say love doesn’t come free,” quipped Supervisor Panico. “This is such an important harbor. This federal money will go forward and be spent efficiently by the Town to promote interstate commerce, but also a great deal of economic activity at this marina. This marina is our widely utilized marina in all of Brookhaven; it is our biggest marina.”
Panico said that interstate commerce is a large component of the funds, as the ferries regularly carry passengers to and from Bridgeport, Connecticut. Panico added that despite the marina’s location in the village, the Town of Brookhaven “appreciates the money so much,” because if federal funds had not been procured, the Town, by virtue of its taxpayers, would have had to foot the bill.
“This money will be spent on the wave wall to prevent our marina from silting up. The balance of the money will be spent on bulkheading, which is expensive and needed. And the remainder of the money, if there is money leftover, will be used for vital dredging for this harbor,” said Panico.
Wave walls are designed to catch, deflect, and redirect sea water as it hits the wall. The distinct curves of wave walls replicate the appearance of an ocean wave. Such structures are used to reduce the amount of erosion at the base of the wall.
Bulkheads are watershed retaining walls built to prevent shorelines from wave energy and erosion, typically found on or near waterfront properties.
Dredging is the process of removing sediment and materials from the bottom of bodies of water to allow waterways to remain safe, unobstructed, and navigable.
“We’re proud to have a partner in Congressman LaLota, who knows that Brookhaven is a beautiful place geographically, from the bay to the sound, that boasts beautiful harbors and waterways, and he knows that taking care of that for our economy and our environment requires an infusion of federal money,” said Panico. “Congressman LaLota came through today for the Town of Brookhaven, and I am confident he will come through for the residents of Brookhaven in the future.”
Deputy Town Supervisor and Councilman Neil Foley (R-Blue Point), who represents the South Shore-based Fifth District, said that he represents more coastline than the other members of the council.
“The number-one complaint I get on the South Shore is dredging for safety reasons. Dredging is the key for the health of bays, creeks, and rivers,” said Foley. “We also had the opportunity to build a wave wall five or six years ago on the Great South Bay. It has made such a difference with storms and storm surges. Nick, I can’t thank you enough for your partnership and for looking out for Brookhaven.”
Brookhaven Highway Superintendent Dan Losquadro (R-Shoreham) (pictured above) was also present to accept the federal funds.
“Most people don’t realize that just behind us is the only deep-water commercial dock in the Town of Brookhaven and one of the only on Long Island that we’re able to bring barges into,” said Losquadro. “Most of our asphalt plants get their stone aggregate from that dock. The health and safety of this harbor and for it to remain navigable is key to public works here in Brookhaven, Suffolk County and on Long Island. I have to thank the Congressman for coming through with this funding, while seemingly a small project in the grand scheme of things, it’s very important to public works and departments like mine across Long Island.”
Finally, New York State Assemblyman Ed Flood (R-Port Jefferson Station) heralded the federal funds and the importance of the issues they seek to remedy.
“For every taxpayer dollar we send to Albany, we get about seventy-three cents on return; that’s just unacceptable,” said Flood. “That’s something myself and my colleagues are bringing to the fight in Albany, to ensure that Long Islanders get their fair share.”
Flood mentioned that, along with the $1.5 million from Congress, the State passed the Clean Water Infrastructure Act last year, which frees up about $500 million worth of grants available through the state.
“As we reconvene in January, I and my colleagues that represent the area will continue to fight for those dollars to be available for Long Islanders to ensure that we have ocean waters and to ensure that we have the right infrastructure in place,” said Flood (pictured above). “As we saw several weeks ago, what Mother Nature can do, we need projects like this. We need to be able to ensure the safety and the longevity of our beautiful harbors to ensure that we don’t have it washed away by coastal flooding and these one-in-a-hundred year storms that seem to happen every three to four years now.”
Congressman LaLota spoke to the effects on local ecology and hydrology that the project will likely incur.
“Anytime you want to touch the bay bottom, you have to go through the right authorities. The Town, who’s going to run this project, I am very confident, will ensure that we’re going through the right environmental agencies,” LaLota told The Messenger. “When we do this good work and dredge the right way, we can get the shipping in and out of the harbor and that we do so in accordance with those rules to protect our environment. It’s a very balanced approach that we’ve taken on other projects like this and we’ll take that same balanced approach with this one as well.”
The Port Jefferson Marina is located at 130 West Broadway in Port Jefferson Village.
