Stony Brook road, dam repairs: Signs of a thaw in 17-month stalemate

Brookhaven Town officials and a trustee of a Stony Brook nonprofit expressed a rare note of optimism this week that they may be nearing agreement on a plan to repair a dam and road that collapsed in a 2024 storm.

Supervisor Dan Panico said Thursday during a town board meeting that recent discussions have produced an unspecified proposal that officials hope will be accepted in an upcoming meeting with federal and state disaster relief agencies.

Efforts to rebuild the dam and a portion of Harbor Road, which crosses over it, have stalled for than a year amid disputes over ownership of the property, which is within a public park owned by Stony Brook nonprofit Ward Melville Heritage Organization.

Estimates for restoring the road and dam have ranged from $4.5 million to $10 million. The nonprofit, the town, Head of the Harbor and Suffolk County are seeking up to 75% reimbursement of the project from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

Officials of the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services had said at a mid-December meeting that FEMA was unlikely to approve reimbursement for a new dam, instead expressing a preference for a culvert, Panico said previously.

Ward Melville Heritage Organization president Gloria Rocchio has opposed the culvert because it would not restore a pond that drained out in the storm.

'We're going to get this done'

On Thursday, during a discussion of Harbor Road that lasted nearly two hours, Panico and Ward Melville Heritage Organization trustee Graham Scaife both said they believe a resolution is imminent.

"I think we are going to get there," Panico told several dozen Stony Brook and Head of the Harbor residents attending the town board meeting at Brookhaven Town Hall in Farmingville. "We're still here and we're going to get this done."

Scaife, who previously said the nonprofit does not have enough money to pay for repairs on its own, also said there was renewed reason for optimism.

"I believe we are close," he told Brookhaven Town Board members. "I believe we are close to getting this done."

The dam and a 100- to 200-foot section of Harbor Road collapsed in a torrential Aug. 18-19, 2024, rainstorm that caused millions of dollars in damage from Huntington to Shoreham. The dam collapse caused a pond to drain out, destroying a major tourism draw in the heart of Stony Brook.

Ward Melville Heritage Organization previously denied it owns Harbor Road and the dam, but recently the nonprofit has worked with Brookhaven and Head of the Harbor officials to resolve the reconstruction issue.

Panico said Thursday he is arranging a meeting between town and village officials, Ward Melville Heritage Organization and representatives of FEMA and the state homeland security agency to discuss reimbursement.

A less optimistic view

Head of the Harbor Mayor Michael Utevsky, in a phone interview Friday, said "there has been no change" in the matter since the December meeting. He added rebuilding Harbor Road is "the most important issue in our village, and I wish there was more progress to report.”

Head of the Harbor filed a lawsuit in August asking a state Supreme Court judge to order Ward Melville Heritage Organization to repair the dam and road. Brookhaven Town is listed as a "nominal defendant" in the lawsuit, which is awaiting trial.

Costs related to the lawsuit will contribute to an 8.2% tax hike in the tiny village, Head of the Harbor officials have said. 

Residents speaking at Thursday's meeting held a range of views, some blaming the town for the impasse, and some faulting the nonprofit, the village or all parties involved.