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State emergency workers have descended on western Suffolk County to assess the damage centered around Smithtown and Stony Brook after this week’s 1,000-year storm that caused two dams to burst, flooding out the hamlets.
In the meantime, community members have opened their wallets to assist storm survivors.
Those include Ronnie and Hui Borgese, who are lucky to be alive. The couple and their pets managed to escape their home as some of the home partially collapsed due to the raging waters.
The Borgeses exchanged wedding vows on the property — now condemned — just four weeks ago. Their property was located across the pond from the historic Stony Brook Grist Mill, which survived the storm.
Disaster recovery experts from the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services have begun working with their local counterparts in Nassau and Suffolk counties to assess damage statewide in order to determine the state’s ability to request federal disaster relief resources from FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Up to 10 inches of rain fell over stretches of northwestern Suffolk in under 24 hours.
“My administration is working diligently to provide resources for Long Island communities affected by recent severe weather,” Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement. “As families and businesses look to rebuild, we are making every effort to help Suffolk County residents get the assistance they need.”
Disaster recovery experts from the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services have begun working with their local counterparts on the county levels “to assess damage statewide in order to determine the state’s ability to request federal disaster relief resources from FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration,” Hochul announced.
Rainfall totals assessed by the state’s Weather Risk Communication Center reports that the NYS Mesonet’s Stony Brook site (9.4 inches) represent a 1-in-1,000-year event at that location, exceeding prior records set during Hurricane Ida in 2021, state officials said.
Meanwhile, Suffolk County Ed Romaine said Tuesday the destroyed dam at Blydenburgh Park in Smithtown will be rebuilt.
The intense weather caused the collapse of the park’s dam and concrete bridge, releasing millions of gallons of water into the Nissequogue River. The resulting floodwaters inundated nearby roadways, impacting homes, schools, and businesses. Additionally, a dam and road at Mill Pond in Stony Brook’s Avalon Nature Preserve also collapsed. The severity of the situation prompted the county to declare a state of emergency.
Stump Pond was dammed in 1798 to power a grist mill, according to Suffolk County Parks. In recent times, the body of water was used for recreational fishing, kayaking, and canoeing, as well as for a 5.7-mile loop trail for hikers.
“We will restore Stump Pond,” Romaine said. “Our commissioner of Department of Public Works has already begun the process of fast-tracking repairs, and we have been in contact with the Department of Environmental Conservation on the project.”
Romaine said that hydrostatic pressure broke both dams. “We’re going to have to reevaluate in light of the storms that we’re seeing now,” he said. “The once-in-a-hundred-year storms are coming more often. We’re going to have to take a look at our infrastructure.”
Romaine said he is working with Senator Chuck Schumer’s office to help bring in federal aid to restore the county-operated park in Smithtown, and he also called on Gov. Kathy Hochul to declare a state of emergency to begin the process of receiving state aid.
As for the Mill Pond in Stony Brook, plans for the future are still being developed, as the damaged area is jointly owned by the Town of Brookhaven, the Town of Smithtown, and the Ward Melville Heritage Organization.
“We’re going to address all of this,” said Romaine on the destruction caused by the storm. “We’re going to work with our partners in town government. More importantly, as we go forward, we’ll be looking at all our sumps and dams in Suffolk County, because, obviously, we’re in a new era where heavy rains can cause massive damage.”
Suffolk County is urging residents to document any damage sustained during the storm. You can do so by clicking here.
— with Nick Esposito
Photo: Curious locals flocked to the now-drained Stony Brook duck pond Monday afternoon, some with tears in their eyes as wildlife and fish struggled to escape the muck that was once the pond at Avalon Nature Preserve. (Nick Esposito)
