Most South Shore beaches open this weekend

Tropical Storm Irene left Long Island with significant erosion and extensive flooding, but most South Shore beaches are expected to be open before the Labor Day weekend.

Some beaches, primarily in Bayville and elsewhere on the North Shore, gained sand thanks to Irene.

Monday state, county and town employees were pumping out floodwater, assessing damage and beginning repairs.

Three Babylon town beaches opened, although state beach parks remain closed. Three shoreline state parks will reopen Tuesday: Hither Hills, Montauk Point and fields 2 and 3 at Robert Moses.

The state beach that took the worst erosion hit, as is usual in storms, was Robert Moses. "There was some erosion but some sand came back" after the storm, said Ronald Foley, state parks regional director. "There will be a usable beach but we need to get it cleaned up first," hopefully by the weekend.

At Jones Beach, park manager Susan Guliani said buildings are missing roof shingles, there was damage to light poles and pumping equipment and 2 miles of snow fence that helped hold the sand on the beachfront was destroyed.

The surf flooded picnic areas and recreation areas and the basement of the Central Mall concession building.

Most Suffolk County parks will reopen Tuesday. The exceptions are Meschutt Beach and the outer beach at Smith Point, where there was erosion, dune washovers in two areas and lost snow fencing installed to support the dunes. "We'll be open for Labor Day weekend," County Executive Steve Levy said of all county parks.

Nassau County's Nickerson Beach was flooded and some damaged sections of the boardwalk leading to the beach have been removed. The county expects the park to be ready for Labor Day weekend.

Babylon officials reopened Overlook, Gilgo and Cedar beaches Monday. The storm stripped away many of the primary dunes at Gilgo and West Gilgo beaches -- roughly 120,000 cubic yards of sand -- leaving very little storm protection going forward, a town spokesman said. In some locations, the surf washed over Ocean Parkway, but there's no immediate threat of the road being undermined, the town said.

East Hampton Town beaches reopened Monday, but swimming was still prohibited because of tide conditions. Town Supervisor Bill Wilkinson said that at some Montauk ocean beaches "believe it or not this seems to have deposited a lot more sand."

The reason for sand accumulation at some beaches and less erosion than anticipated at many others was the wind direction and the spacing of the waves.

"It was the highest storm surge I have seen -- 5 foot -- in Long Island Sound, but the winds were out of the south" and blowing away from the Island, said Jay Tanski, a coastal specialist with the New York State Sea Grant Extension Program. "That meant you weren't getting the wave activity to cause the erosion that you would normally get with that high of a tide."

And, he added, "When there are widely spaced waves, even if they are large, they can bring sand onshore."

With Yamiche Alcindor

and Kery Murakami

What's set to open on the shoreline

Shoreline state parks that will remain closed Tuesday because of flooding, loss of power or cleanup:

• Captree (will reopen when electric power is restored)

• Caumsett

• Jones Beach

• Nissequogue River

• Orient Beach

• Sunken Meadow

• Wildwood

Shoreline state parks that will open Tuesday:

• Camp Hero

• Heckscher (Field 8 and Picnic Area)

• Hither Hills

• Montauk Point

• Robert Moses (Fields 2 and 3)

Suffolk County shoreline parks will reopen Tuesday except for Meschutt Beach and the outer beach at Smith Point.

• Nassau County's Nickerson Beach, which sustained major flooding, is expected to open by Labor Day weekend.

• East Hampton town beaches, but not swimming, reopened Monday.

• Babylon reopened Overlook, Gilgo and Cedar beaches Monday.

• Oyster Bay's Tobay Beach could reopen Tuesday afternoon if power is restored.