Displaced Riverhead families get go-ahead

A dozen Riverhead families whose homes were destroyed by record floods last year were told by state and federal officials Friday that -- finally -- all of the bureaucratic red tape that delayed reimbursement for their losses had finally been cut.

And, sometime in the next three weeks, attorneys for the homeowners and Riverhead Town, along with elected county, state and federal officials, will meet to begin the final work needed to get them into new houses.

"We're walking, but we're going to get there," said Joyce Anderson, 50, who had lived at 177 Horton Ave. all her life. She is staying with three brothers who live together nearby and said it could take another year before she is in a new home.

Many of the residents on Horton Avenue were related by birth or marriage, and many had lived there for decades.

"This was a phenomenally difficult time in your life . . . you're at the finish line now," Suffolk Legis. Daniel Losquadro (R-Shoreham) told the families.

Under the agreement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the federal government will pay $2.24 million of a $2.99 million project to buy, demolish and remove the damaged homes, then convert the area into a wetlands.

A second phase of the restoration work, to control runoff from nearby farms, will cost an additional $608,631, with the federal government paying $456,473. The town and county will pay the other 25 percent cost of both those projects.

Suffolk Legis. Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches) said the county was working to find a 10-acre site in Riverhead where new, affordable housing could be built for the displaced families. He declined to name a specific site because negotiations over the purchase have not been completed.

In addition, a suit residents filed in June against the Town of Riverhead will have to be dismissed before a final settlement is reached, officials said.

Rep. Tim Bishop (D-Southampton) said that with the federal and state work completed it will be up to Riverhead Town to work with the families on a fair-market price for their homes and do the demolition and wetlands conversion.

Meanwhile, the Long Island Housing Partnership said Horton Avenue families will be given priority to purchase new, affordable houses in Riverhead the group is working on building.

Shirley Coverdale, who runs a church-based group in Riverhead that assisted the displaced residents, said the community and all of Long Island had pulled together to help them.

"It's unfortunate, but a disaster brings out the best in people," she said.