Friday, October 9, 2026
The water has always been part of the appeal of a concert at the Northwell at Jones Beach Theater. Last week, it came inside.
The rare late-September nor’easter sent floodwaters through the orchestra seating area of the Wantagh amphitheater, down its aisleways and into the promenade, flooding restrooms, concessions and other areas of the venue as coastal waters rose art Jones Beach.
The flooding forced the cancellation of the scheduled Logic and G-Eazy concert on Sept. 30, but park officials said that the damage came as the concert season was winding down, and should not affect next year’s schedule.
“The orchestra seating area completely flooded and [water] went down the aisleways and flooded the promenade, concessions and bathrooms,” said George Gorman, regional director for the Long Island region of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
Jones Beach State Park Director Jeffrey Mason said the water not only climbed the steps into the promenade, but also flowed through the open aisleways that lead from the orchestra area to the back of the amphitheater.
That offers a glimpse into how quickly coastal flooding can move through a large outdoor venue. “It actually just went through the aisleways,” Mason said. “It went through the aisleways onto the promenade.”
Live Nation, which maintains the theater, pumped out the water and was assessing the damage. Gorman said there would be no impact on the venue’s 2027 season.
The theater, however, was only one area of the state park that was affected by the storm. The most significant damage was concentrated on the bay side, officials said, where storm-driven water and erosion damaged three fishing piers at Field 10 and portions of the boat basin area. And a section of the multi-use path near the boat basin collapsed because of erosion, and remains closed.
Two of the three damaged fishing piers have already been repaired and reopened, and the third was expected to reopen within days, Gorman said. A fourth pier has remained closed since a previous storm caused structural damage to its pilings.
Engineers were evaluating the more extensive erosion near the boat basin and the fourth fishing pier. No cost estimates or completion dates had been released at press time.
The storm also showed where the park’s preparations worked. Before the storm, crews built a 6- to 8-foot-high sand berm along the oceanfront. High water reached the seawall in other locations, but the berm held, and kept floodwaters out of the park’s Central Mall, officials said.
“Our preparations and planning worked well,” Gorman said.
Mason said the park also used erosion-control fencing and sandbags around buildings as part of its preparations.
That contrast — a heavily flooded concert venue on the bay side and a protected Central Mall on the oceanfront — illustrates the complicated nature of protecting a park surrounded by water. Jones Beach is situated on a barrier island, where coastal facilities are particularly vulnerable to flooding, according to Rima Taher, a civil and structural engineer and a senior university lecturer at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. As well, barrier islands’ higher water tables limit how much additional water the ground can absorb.
Flooding can also do damage that is not immediately visible. Saltwater can contribute to corrosion, while floodwaters can damage electrical equipment, plumbing and other systems. Engineers inspecting a flooded facility must evaluate not only visible damage but foundations, structural elements and other potential hazards before determining whether it is safe to reopen.
At Jones Beach, however, the focus is now on cleaning up, repairing what can be repaired and determining what needs a longer-term solution. The park’s oceanfront facilities are once again operating largely without major restrictions, Gorman said.
At the theater, the cleanup is now in Live Nation’s hands, with the company expected to develop a repair plan and submit it to the state parks office for approval and assistance as needed.
The storm may have left its mark on Jones Beach, but officials say it did not fundamentally change how the park is preparing for the next one. For now, the berm remains in place, the oceanfront remains largely protected and engineers are turning their attention to the places where the water found a way through — theater aisles included.
