Huntington revives 16-year-old plan to create a public walkway for Huntington Harbor
Views of Huntington Harbor from Halesite Park in Halesite on Monday. Credit: Rick Kopstein
A 16-year-old plan to revitalize Huntington Harbor is once again on the horizon.
The Huntington Town Board approved adopting the Harbor Walk Plan, which aims to build a public walkway along Huntington Harbor to improve pedestrian access to the shoreline, tie together existing parks and develop new parkland along the waterfront, Town Supervisor Ed Smyth said July 11.
The plan serves as a nonbinding framework for state officials to seek government funding, according to town documents.
“What this resolution does is it enables Assemblyman Keith Brown and other members of the state delegation to apply for environmental bond act money and see what’s available for this project in that bond,” Smyth said. “I’m looking forward to making progress on a decades-old plan.”
In 2007, the New York State Department of State did a study of the Huntington Harbor area to evaluate constructing a walkway along and around the water at Halesite Park, Mill Dam Road, West Shore Road, Gold Star Battalion Beach and Coindre Hall, town and state officials said. The plan was proposed under former Town Supervisor Frank Petrone but a lack of funding stalled the project, town officials said.
Brown [R-Northport] said he always wanted to spruce up Huntington Harbor and was informed about the 2007 plan by a former town official.
“When I saw the plan, I said this would be wonderful,” he said. “One of my pet peeves is that the waterfront is not accessible; I’ve always thought it would be nice to have an esplanade, and was happy when I found out there was already a plan in place for one.”
Brown said criteria and guidelines for the $4.2 billion environmental bond act will be published in October. He said with the town adopting the general findings and recommendations in the 2007 report it gives him the ability to get in line to get some of the funding.
The Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022 was approved by voters across the state last fall for capital projects to combat climate change and to protect the environment and public health.
Brown said he has already secured $150,000 in State and Municipal (SAM) Facilities Grant money and has earmarked $30,000 of it for design and engineering work at Huntington Harbor.
Brown said he does not yet have an estimated cost of the project or timeline. He said the first step would be securing state funds.
The Town Board approved the measure 5-0 at its July 11 meeting.
