Supervisor: Sandy Forever Changed Montauk

The Town of East Hampton is still awaiting the Army Corps of Engineers economic analysis of the proposals for erosion control in downtown Montauk, but Supervisor Bill Wilkinson said no matter what the final project looks like, the town is better off than it was a year ago.

"I'm wise enough, both politically and professionally, to realize that regardless of what course we accept this is great progress," said Wilkinson, a Montauk resident.

"To get the federal government to recognize the vulnerability of downtown Montauk and the economic impact of downtown Montauk is an accomplishment. We asked for help and Rep. Tim Bishop responded like a superstar. We delivered on something that's never been available, supportable or applicable to the Town of East Hampton and I'm thankful to Tim Bishop."

Earlier this year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency allocated $700 million for the implementation of the Fire Island to Montauk Point project out of the $3.5 billion Congress appropriated for construction projects in the areas impacted by Hurricane Sandy.

The application for the funding, submitted by the town, was for 2.3 miles of beach re-nourishment, from East Deck Motel at Ditch Plains to Oceanside Resort, an area that experience severe erosion during the storm — beachfront hotels had their foundations exposed. Wilkinson said the town will address Ditch Plains separately to re-nourish regularly.

There was other damage outside of downtown Montauk, as well.

Further west down the oceanfront, the Beach Barge, a 30-year-old snack shack on the ocean in front of Gurney's Inn was destroyed. It has since been rebuilt. On the sound, where the water was above the jetty, West Lake Drive and Gosman's parking lot were washed out and the storm eroded away sand in front of the homes along Soundview Drive, damaging some, including the Sun-n-Sound motel. The Montauk School, perched on a hill, sustained wind damage to classrooms when a roof on the 1965 addition was blown back.

As for the Army Corps project, Wilkinson said the ultimate decision rests with the new administration, as he is leaving his post at the end of the year. "I hope we come to a quick conclusion and we see shovels in the sand by the first quarter. Anything that would delay that is putting risk to the overall project."

Even before Sandy hit, Wilkinson said the town mobilized, something he is proud of. "I remember plugging holes with Steve Lynch before the storm. I really remember a town workforce that was seamless in a team approach to responding to the storm," he said.

Among the most memorable feats, Wilkinson said was when he and Highway Superintendent Lynch decided to take action after a dune was breached on Napeague, flooding Montauk Highway and temporarily cutting off Montauk from the rest of East Hampton. With the help of Pat Bistrain Jr., they plugged the hole.

"I remember that we thought we escaped any real incident of injury," Wilkinson said. Then, on the morning of Oct. 30, Montauk resident Edith Wright's body washed up on Georgica Beach in East Hampton Village. She had drowned in the surf after going for a walk with her dog after the worst of the storm had passed.

"This other stuff we can eventually recover from. When you deal with human life it brings a whole other perspective," he said.

Wilkinson said the town, like much of the East Coast, will forever be changed by Sandy. "I think we're in a better position simply for the fact that we will never take for the granted that entering October is past the hurricane season. It's a huge education on the changes that are going on on in the environment — the insight of not looking at past storms as the template for the future."