STONY BROOK – The summer 2024 storms saw two dams washed away: the Stump Pond Dam in Smithtown’s Blydenburgh Park, and the Mill Pond Dam in Stony Brook.
Mill Pond has been revered as a generational touchstone for the unofficial village of Stony Brook, but the storm also took out Harbor Road, which connects Stony Brook with the Village of Head of the Harbor. The pond was also a recreational gem for the Village as well as St. James and other nearby Smithtonians.
The last two years consisted of a scavenger hunt for ownership of the physical property upon which the dam once sat, with the Ward Melville Heritage Organization (WMHO) insisting they were not the owners, while the Town of Brookhaven and Suffolk County each completed exhaustive records searches proving the opposite.
Head of the Harbor, led by Mayor Michael Utevsky, sued the WMHO to repair the road and the dam, but the case was thrown out in April as the Village lacked legal standing to force action outside its own boundaries.
That all coalesced around a race against the expiration date of FEMA dollars that could have been used for the cleanup.
However, the murky issue saw some clarity Wednesday afternoon, as Congressman Nick LaLota (R-Amityville), who represents Smithtown and northern Brookhaven, returned from Washington with $5 million for road resurfacing, $2.5 million of which will go to the remediation of the pond bed and the reconstruction of the dam.
LaLota said that while Harbor Road isn’t a “bona fide federal interest,” it made sense for Washington to step in.
“It gives an investment back to us Long Islanders, who, frankly, don’t get enough from either Washington or Albany,” said LaLota just above the empty pond bed, now overflowing with vegetation. “We pay a lot of taxes, we want to enjoy a quiet life here, and we want a clean, smooth road to drive on.”
LaLota shared that Governor Kathy Hochul (D-Hamburg) is also eager to contribute $2.75 million to cover excess costs, and more might be on the table as the project gets underway. The WMHO is funding the engineering part of the project.
Brookhaven Town Supervisor Dan Panico (R-Center Moriches) said the $2.5 million “makes a world of difference” in the trajectory of the project, and confirmed he had contact with Hochul and Assemblywoman Rebecca Kassay (D-Port Jefferson) on State aid. He also lauded LaLota’s tenacity on the issue, as well as his and Congressman Andrew Garbarino’s (R-Bayport) hard-fought triumph in increasing the SALT tax cap, a move that required them to buck their party on the Hill multiple times.
“Over the past five years, we have seen a 30% increase in construction costs; we have not seen a 30% increase in State funding,” said Brookhaven Highway Superintendent Dan Losquadro (R-Shoreham), who is running for County Comptroller this year. “We’ve barely seen a 10% increase over the past five years. These funds will allow us to keep our paving schedule on pace. Long gone are the days of doing more with less. We are far into the realm of doing less with less.”
Losquadro added that most of the technical aspects, such as funding and permitting, appear in place.
“We’re in the preliminary design phase that will allow us to move forward with various regulatory agencies,” said Losquadro. The initial comments and review phase will “hopefully” be completed by July. Regulatory agencies include the State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The anticipated date for work bids is the end of 2026, with construction taking place in 2027.
“Having done dozens of federal projects, I can tell you that that is a blistering pace, but one that I’m confident we can achieve.”
The new dam will have modern features, such as the ability to lower passage and to dewater in case of maintenance or emergencies. Losquadro said that the original intention is to restore the pond back to its “original aesthetic appearance.”
