A tough road to recovery on Rocky Point's Hagerman Landing Road after historic August storm 

More than four months after a rainstorm transformed Karen Sinda's quiet Rocky Point street into what looked more like an Olympic-sized swimming pool, destroying the first floor of her Hagerman Landing Road home, the bills continue to mount up. 

First came the $14,000 needed to bring in a dumpster, clean up the water and sludge, remove the flooded items and pull out the flooring and Sheetrock. Then she needed to replace the electrical panel, boiler and hot water heater.

And Sinda, 61, and her fiance, Jeff Litzko, 60, said they still must complete flooring, painting, carpentry and trim in the basement of their home.

"We are not replacing the van Goghs flooded in our basement," she said with a touch of sarcasm. "This is modest. We're not doing anything crazy here."

To date, she estimates they've spent about $87,000 — maxing out credit cards and dipping into personal savings — with the bill expected to grow into the low six figures next year.

Sinda said she and Litzko earn too much money to qualify for state reimbursement for the flood damage. And like four other neighbors on a block where five homes sustained major damage in the storm that began Aug. 18 and continued Aug. 19, they don't have flood insurance.

"It's like a nightmare we still can't recover from," Sinda said. "The financial aspects are just crazy. I don't think anyone can really contemplate the kind of dollars involved."

'They ignored it'

Hagerman Landing Road, a dead-end street across from town and county parkland that ends in a Long Island Sound beach, sustained some of the worst damage in the storm that dropped about 10 inches of rain in the hardest hit parts of Suffolk County's North Shore.

With storm drains clogged by dirt and debris, the water rapidly pooled, reaching a depth of up to 10 feet in some areas, according to residents. Many had to cope with flooded basements and first floors because of a storm that caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage on the block. 

Brookhaven Town Highway Superintendent Dan Losquadro told Newsday shortly after the storm that Hagerman Landing Road is a natural drainage point to the Sound that acts like a funnel for surrounding roads.

During the weather event, storm drains and pipes that normally would carry rainwater to the Sound were crowded by dirt and debris, before "the volume of rain over the short-term period overwhelmed and destroyed systems that easily survived catastrophic events," Losquadro said at the time.

The situation became so dire the Rocky Point Fire Department was forced to make rescues with a rope pulley system, guiding Jerry and Yvonne Montesantos, along with their shih tzu, Sofia, and another block resident through waist-deep water.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, who declared a disaster emergency for the county, said in the aftermath the "1-in-1,000-year rain event" caused damage to roughly 2,000 Suffolk residents and businesses, including parts of Smithtown, Stony Brook and Commack.

FEMA issued a federal emergency declaration authorizing the agency to provide assistance repairing roads, bridges and utilities. But FEMA denied Hochul's request for federal residential aid.

Last month, Miller Place attorney John Ray filed a notice of claim — a precursor to a lawsuit against a municipality — against Brookhaven Town on behalf of Sinda, Litzko, the Montesantos couple and Constantine Giannakos, 57, and Despina Giannakos, 53, who also live on the block.

The Nov. 15 document contends the town had a responsibility to maintain drains and catch basins on nearby Lower Rocky Point Road and Hagerman Landing Road that are designed to carry rainwater from the surrounding community to a sump and out to the Sound.

But Ray argues the town "negligently maintained" the sump, making the municipality responsible for his client's flood damage. The notice of claim said Litzko sent an email to the town on Sept. 24, 2023, warning about defects in the drainage system, including the sump.

"They ignored it," Ray said. "They never fixed the system. They never fixed the sump. They completely let the sump degenerate."

Drew Scott, a Brookhaven Town spokesman, declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.

'Worse things in life'

Constantine Giannakos, who lives at the corner of Hagerman Landing Road and Midland Avenue, recalls being awoken at 2:30 a.m. on Aug. 19 to a "lake of water" outside his window.

Giannakos' concern was for the finished basement apartment where his mother, who suffers from dementia, typically would be sleeping. She stayed in an upstairs bedroom that night — a fortuitous decision, as the basement completely flooded.

To date, Giannakos estimates he's spent about $17,000 to fix damage, including on repairs to the boiler, hot water heater and electrical panel, and to remove water and sludge. He expects to spend about $85,000 to make the basement livable again, including with a functioning kitchen and bathroom.

Despite the cost, Giannakos says he's taking it all in stride.

"There's worse things in life," said Giannakos, adding that he's been tentatively approved for a state grant to address the storm damage, aid capped at $50,000. "Nobody got hurt. Nobody got killed. … It's something that can be fixed. We're lucky enough that we have the upstairs that we can live in."

But Giannakos said he remains frustrated with the lack of action to prevent future flooding. He recently put a pair of handwritten signs on the street, advising motorists of "Lake Hagerman" in one direction and "Midland River" in the other. Rainwater, he said, often flows downhill from four different elevated directions, all toward Hagerman Landing Road, creating a "perfect storm" for the block.

'So much stress'

The storm wreaked havoc on the Montesantos' single-story property. Before the storm, the couple invested more than $200,000 into renovating the residence — which had been their summer home for 45 years — with top-of-the-line appliances and finishes.

Then came the flood, which Yvonne Montesantos, 74, said left her and her husband, Jerry, 76, in tatters, both physically and financially.

She said she lost her left shoe during the fire department rescue, leading to a serious foot infection after she waded through contaminated floodwaters.

Montesantos said she also lost her dentures and hearing aids, which need to be replaced, and injured a hip, which will require surgery. Jerry, she said, has Type 2 diabetes and has been in failing health since the rescue.

Their home, meanwhile, was unlivable for six weeks, forcing them to stay in a hotel while repairs were ongoing.

The bill, she said, is deep into six figures — and they still need gutters, leaders and new windows.

One bit of good news, she said, is that while her family doesn’t know if they’ll get the maximum $50,000 in aid that is available, they’ve tentatively been approved for a state grant.

"We've run out of money," said Montesantos, adding that much of the furniture that's now in the house was donated by friends, family or an assisted living facility. "There's been so much stress."

The Hagerman Landing Road resident said she wants civil engineers to determine what can done to prevent another flood during the next storm.

"I don't want to hear that it was '1 in 1,000,'" Montesantos said. "Because that one could happen again."

With Virginia Huie

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.