Levy eyes land swap for Horton Avenue flood victims

It's been 92 days since Horton Avenue flooded. And nine families, which include both renters and property owners, have yet to be able to move back home.

Finally, there might, just might, be some help.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy is exploring the possibility of a land swap, which, if successful, could begin to bring them some relief.

"We are looking to do something unprecedented without setting a precedent," Levy said in an interview, "because these people need help."

Indeed, they do.

So he's asked the county attorney to investigate the possibility of swapping county-owned land in the Town of Riverhead for land at the base of Horton Avenue, which has been flooding for decades.

In the most recent storm, the base of the block was so inundated with fast-rising floodwaters that a 92-year-old man had to be rescued by boat from the home he shared with his daughter.

"We are ecstatic about the county being willing to help," Sean Walter, Riverhead Town supervisor, said in an interview. "He is helping to bring several people to the table to try to help Horton Avenue residents."

In the past, relocating homes away from the flood-plagued area fell to the town. For almost two decades, ending in the early 1980s, Riverhead moved more than 20 Horton Avenue homes to higher ground. But, Walter said, the town has neither the funds nor the space to move any more homes.

That's where Levy has stepped in to try and help. Currently, town and county officials are examining maps of Riverhead, looking for suitable parcels that would total about 3 acres of county-owned land.

Suffolk owns "several thousand acres" of land in the town, although much of it, such as the protected Pine Barrens, could not be part of any proposed swap, officials said.

But even a successful land swap - which would turn Horton Avenue into open space - would not solve residents' woes.

Which is why Levy and Walter also are waiting to see whether the Federal Emergency Management Agency reverses its recent decision to deny Suffolk "disaster area" status from the second of two March storms that slammed the county.

"We are cautiously optimistic as we await word from Washington," said Jon Schneider, a spokesman for Rep. Tim Bishop, who has taken a lead in pressing the state's case for appeal.

A disaster declaration would help Horton Avenue by making Suffolk eligible to compete for a larger amount of federal so-called "mitigation aid," a portion of which could be used to buy out owners of the most damaged homes on Horton Avenue.

The homeowners could then use those proceeds to help build houses on parcels that Riverhead would gain from a successful county land swap.

But what if the U.S. government does not come through?

That's where the not-for-profit, building trades, philanthropy and other groups wanting to help come in, Levy said.

"We wouldn't do a land swap and leave Horton Avenue residents to pitch tents anyway," he said.

"Everybody's trying to come up with a plan, with a series of actions that would result in getting people out of there and onto higher land," he said.

In a best-case scenario, Levy would like to find a piece of land big enough to transplant all the affected homes.

"We are grateful that things are proceeding," said Linda Hobson, who has become a spokeswoman for the neighborhood. "We need all the help we can get."

Still, residents aren't taking any chances, either. "If officials handle it, they handle it," said J. Stewart Moore, a Central Islip lawyer representing 15 families. Moore this week filed notices of claim against the county and the town on their behalf, preserving for a year their right to sue. "All they have to do is fix it, and fix it does not mean put them back in the same homes."

Hobson said that residents don't want to take legal action against the town or county.

"In no way, shape or form does the notice of claim mean we are not appreciative of all that is going on," she said, noting that the group acted on Moore's advice to have a legal "safety net."

"We are willing to work with anyone who wants to work with us," she said. "We're tired, we're stressed and all we want to do is go home."