Millions for Asharoken seawall restoration eases concerns in Eatons Neck

John Ballow, who has lived on Eatons Neck for more than 40 years, is among those leading the charge to shore up the deteriorating Asharoken seawall, which for decades has helped protect a fragile link between his community and the rest of Long Island.

"Everybody recognizes this is a safety issue," Ballow said one recent afternoon as he stood at the wall next to Asharoken Avenue. "When this is closed for whatever reason, 2,100 people are trapped," he said of the low-lying, two-lane roadway. "We cannot get our ambulances out. We can't get out or we can't get home. Our kids at school can't get home."

So Ballow, a representative for five local homeowners associations and the Eatons Neck Fire Department, was relieved to learn that Gov. Kathy Hochul's administration has earmarked $12 million in the state budget to reconstruct the decaying wall that was designed to hold back Long Island Sound.

The money, he said, is a great start for the long-term project.

Philip Whiter, who's lived on Eatons Neck since 1984, agrees.

If a storm or high tides on the Sound wash over the road, "We would not be able to get mutual aid out here," said Whiter, chairman of the board of fire commissioners for the fire department.

Wash-overs have happened before.

In 2010, Newsday reported, a nor'easter left about 700 families in Eatons Neck and Asharoken temporarily cut off from the rest of the Island. And both men recalled a 1992 storm, before the wall was built. "We lost the road for a solid four days," Whiter said.

The money is part of a $28.5 million funding package announced June 18 to help rebuild roads, dams and seawalls across the state. The largest chunk of the funds is headed Asharoken's way.

Asharoken Mayor Greg Letica said he’s thrilled the village will finally be on the way to fixing the problem. “It’s critical that we rebuild the seawall, so we don’t lose Asharoken Avenue during a storm,” he said of the only point of entry and exit for the Eatons Neck peninsula.

Wash-overs have also compromised the roadway itself, Ballow said. When it floods, the water is "actually seeking its way out underneath the road," undermining it, he said.

"You got to stabilize the patient before you do anything,” he said. “This stabilizes that area to stop the bleeding so that we can keep a roadbed solid.”

A 15-year life span

The wall was built in 1994 as temporary flood protection, Ballow said, with a 15-year life span. At more than 900 feet long, it's made up of boulders shored up by a bulkhead made of sheet metal, as well as a concrete wall and rocks, Newsday previously reported.

"You can do the math, 2026 minus 1994 is more than 15 years," Ballow said. "It has eroded, it has corroded."

But, Letica said, there are still steps to be taken to get to the construction phase.

He said Asharoken needs financial guidance regarding the disbursement from the state; to discuss logistics with utility companies; and to bid the project out.

Letica also said he doesn't know if the money would require the village to match funds for the project. The last estimate for construction cost for the seawall, last fall, was about $10.3 million, he said.

In September, village officials declined to accept $1 million in federal aid to go toward fixing the wall. At the time, Letica said, Asharoken would need to approve a resolution showing it had $1.25 million on hand for the repairs and that the village also would contribute $250,000.

Those requirements were “above and beyond" what the village could support, he said.

An earlier offer by the federal government to restore the beach near the seawall by replenishing sand there, paid for mostly by Superstorm Sandy relief funds, was declined by the village. That help would have required Asharoken beaches to be open to the public.

“This is not a sand-on-the-beach project,” Letica said. “This is a reconstruction of the seawall. It has nothing to do with beach restoration and therefore requires no public access commitment of any kind.”

He said “ideally,” and eventually, the beach in that area will be restored as part of a long-term resiliency project.

A collaborative effort

Letica credits a team of "determined" people working collaboratively to get the state funds. Village officials were assisted by state Sen. Mario Mattera (R-St. James) and Assemb. Keith Brown (R-Northport) working with the governor’s office to secure the money.

Letica also credited Asharoken Village resident John Murn with arranging a meeting in May 2025 between village officials and Hochul. The governor was presented with almost 1,000 signed petitions seeking help in restoring the seawall, something Letica called a game-changer.

Both Letica and Brown applauded Catherine Fee, a consultant hired by the village in December to advocate and lobby on Asharoken's behalf and who led efforts on the petitions.

“Securing this funding took coordination across every level of government and the hard work of more than 30 partners who collaborated to find a solution for the failing Asharoken seawall,” Brown said.

Mattera said after many years trying to figure out how to address the seawall issue, the money “will finally be a reality, and that is something that will provide every resident in this area with much-deserved peace of mind.”