A North Babylon homeowner says his yard was destroyed by construction crews while he was away.
After returning from a five-month stay in Florida, Gerard Wright says he came home to find brick work torn down, a gutter damaged and a rose garden gone.
He says workers did around $20,000 in damage while installing new sewers as part of a Suffolk County project.
Wright says his wife had worked on the rose garden for over two decades - only for it to be destroyed.
"This was a beautiful place - it was my wife's pride and joy," Wright said. "Now she comes home, she sees it, it took her about 15 minutes to compose herself and stop crying."
The work was done as part of Suffolk County's Carlls River Sewer Project - which is supposed to clean up the water in the area.
The block is still an active construction site and several other homes also had their yards dug up.
Dave Accardi, the project foreman for Pioneer Landscaping, says workers tried their best to preserve the property while still getting sewer lines installed.
He says everything will be fully restored at no cost starting on Friday.
"Once the ground dries out I'm going to start doing all your brick work, put in all your brick work," Accardi said. "It's been a little too wet the last days because it's been raining."
Gerard is still skeptical about whether his house will be back to normal any time soon.
"This holiday season's not going to be a good one for us obviously," Gerard said. "Usually we decorate the house, but it's in bad shape."
A Suffolk County spokesperson said they are also aware of Gerard's concerns and took immediate steps to rectify them.
The contractor says the brick work will be completed in a few days. From there, topsoil will be put down and the grass would be re-seeded in the spring.
The sewer is already fully installed and functioning.