By Chris Munzing
The barrier island will be changed forever if the proposed Unites States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Storm Damage Reduction Project is passed by the Long Beach City Council some time early next year. The project has been debated by residents, environmentalists and elected officials island-wide. The project would encompass the City of Long Beach as well as the Town of Hempstead communities of Point Lookout and Lido Beach.
USACE officials, who say the project will strengthen the barrier island's beaches and provide protection from future storms, is expected to present its final proposal to the Long Beach City Council in March, two months later than recently reported.
The plan that has been discussed in recent years calls for four new jetties off Point Lookout, the addition of 110 feet of sand, extending the beach out into the ocean up and down the coast, and a 75-foot wide berm at the back of the beach, from Point Lookout to Long Beach's West End.
The existing jetties would be refurbished, and the beaches would reportedly be replenished with dredged sand every five years for the next 50 years.
Long Beach officials have expressed a number of concerns about the proposal over the past few years, and are still awaiting answers to many questions, including the city's share of the cost. The total cost is expected to be more than the $85 million that has been discussed for several years.
But officials representing the city's neighbors hope the wait will soon end. Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray wishes that the project were under way right now, due to the extensive damage the eastern end of the island has suffered. Point Lookout has seen large-scale erosion, and officials fear the possibility of more to come.
"Any significant storm we have always causes more erosion," said Murray. "We're very concerned with property damage caused by the erosion and flooding as well."
The Town of Hempstead would be responsible for about $3 million of the total tab, according to Murray. She said the town has the money readily available and wants to start using it.
At the moment, the Army Corps plan requires participation from Long Beach and Nassau County, which is already on board. The Village of Atlantic Beach decided long ago not to participate, and town property in East Atlantic Beach was recently dropped.
Should Long Beach opt out of the plan, Murray said, she would then begin immediate talks with the Army Corps to have the Lido and, especially, Point Lookout segments of the project begun as soon as possible.
Gerald Ottavino, chairman of the Point Lookout Civic Association's Beach & Environmental Committees, believes that the project needs to start immediately for the safety of the beachfront in Point Lookout. "The project's been around for many years," he said. "Obviously, Long Beach drives the project, and I would like to see the commitment to a definite yes or a definite no."
Ottavino echoed Murray's concerns regarding the safety of the beachfront properties and the quality of life. "I want that to start as soon as possible," he said. "We have little to no beach to sit on. Mother Nature has taken away, but not given back. It is a matter of time."
As for oceanfront properties, Ottavino said, "I'm scared to death of storm season. We've also been blessed with a lot of luck -- we missed [Hurricane Isabel] by degrees. The chances are getting to be greater and greater."
In many cases with homes along the oceanfront in Point Lookout, the backyards are dangerously close to the shoreline. While the homes are safe for the moment, officials say there is no telling what the future will hold. A large-scale storm could seriously undermine the properties and render them uninhabitable.
Atlantic Beach environmentalist Morris Kramer, a longtime proponent of the USACE project, often uses the same word to describe the situation in Point Lookout: desperate. "They need this desperately," he said. "Point Lookout and Point Lookout town beach are under major attack by erosion." Since 1991, Kramer estimates, the town park has lost anywhere from 15 to 20 feet of beach.
Kramer, who has been at the forefront of the project for over a decade and has devoted his life to preserving the barrier island and surrounding areas, believes that the Town of Hempstead has done all it can on its own and needs the USACE to take the next step. "The Town of Hempstead has taken heroic steps to keep that place from evaporating," he said.
Of all the areas involved in the USACE's proposal, Kramer believes that Point Lookout is the most in need, and should Long Beach reject the plan, he said, Point Lookout must pursue it. "If Long Beach rejects it, which would be stupid and self-destructive, I hope Point Lookout can do it for themselves," Kramer said.
Point Lookout Civic Association President Frank Ryan agreed with Kramer that Point Lookout should pursue the project if Long Beach backs out. However, Ryan does not foresee that happening, and believes that it is beneficial for Point Lookout and Lido to be tied to Long Beach. "If you're going to do it, it should encompass the whole island," he said.
Ryan also said that the situation is bad and getting worse for the coastal areas. "We need not only short-term nourishment, but long-term as well," he said. "It's an increasingly tenuous situation."
Ottavino said that he would like to see the USACE implement an incremental plan, doing the work in sections. This would allow an area to be fully completed much quicker, but would also delay progress in other areas. If this were the case, Ottavino is hopeful that the Point Lookout area would be taken care of first, as the problem there is significantly worse than in other areas of the barrier island.
