Asharoken has secured $12 million in state funding to rebuild the deteriorating seawall protecting the only roadway that services two coastal communities.
The project is expected to safeguard Asharoken Avenue - the sole route connecting approximately 2,000 residents to mainland Long Island. Village officials say the seawall has significantly degraded over time because of years of coastal storms, constant wave action, and ongoing erosion.
If the seawall were to fail, flooding would sever the only land access point for residents, emergency responders, workers, students, and families - creating a potentially catastrophic public safety crisis for both the Village of Asharoken and the Town of Huntington’s Eaton’s Neck community.
“For too long, our community has lived with the risk that a major storm could compromise the seawall, destroy Asharoken Avenue and cut off thousands of residents from mainland Long Island," Asharoken Mayor Gregory Letica said on Thursday.
Asharoken village officials said the funding announcement marks a historic and unprecedented level of alignment between the village and the Town of Huntington residents of Eaton's Neck.
“When Superstorm Sandy hit our shores, it upended the lives, homes, and businesses of millions of Long Islanders,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said. “New York cannot afford another Sandy."
The seawall project is part of a broader $28.5 million state-funded infrastructure package for Suffolk County. It includes $6.5 million to restore Harbor Road in Stony Brook, which was washed away during a storm two years ago.
Additional projects funded include $2 million for elevating and improving key roadways in Amityville Harbor to address rising sea levels, as well as $8 million to rebuild the Blydenburgh Dam, which was also destroyed in the same 2024 storm that claimed Harbor Road.