One Year after Irene Lindy Docks Close to Completion

It's been a year since Hurricane turned Tropical Storm Lindenhurst - specifically the Lindy Docks (Charles J. Cowan Marina).

The storm packed high winds which took out leaving of without , downed , flooded homes South of Montauk Highway and ripped away the majority of the docks.

Now, a year later, the last phase of the marina repairs are well underway, with the Village anticipating completion of the repairs to the south end of the docks sometime in mid-September - all dependent on weather and tides, of course.

Final Phase
"The entire southern portion of the docks is being rebuilt from the ground up - more than 250 feet on the south side, plus 20 feet to the north on the east and west sides," Village Administrator Shawn Cullinane recently told Lindenhurst Patch.

That includes using fiberglass materials instead of wood to replace and fix the decking, sheathing and bulkhead, Cullinane said.

The repairs also include fixing the anchors underneath the bulkhead, he added, noting Stout Construction of Patchogue, which did the repairs to the west side of docks, is doing this repair work, too.

Forced Cancelation
Unfortunately, the timing of the repairs meant the cancelation of the Lindenhurst Rotary Club's Annual Snapper Derby for the second year in a row. It's usually held at the end of August, and last year's Derby was due to Irene as it was scheduled the same day she rolled into Lindy.

"There won't be any space for the Snapper Derby with the construction," Cullinane said.

"It's a shame because the kids have a ball at the event, but the construction won't be done. We'll have to postpone it another year," said Jackie Milton, president of the Rotary Club.

Year-Long Process
The repairs began earlier this summer to rebuild the south end of the boardwalk that's been closed to the public since last year.

This is the last leg of the repairs, but bringing the docks back to normal so it could weather future storms started, of course, with the initial clean-up of the asphalt section of the docks after it was left littered with boards from the southern and western sections of the boardwalk thanks to Irene.

The main goal was to clean it up, survey the damage and re-open the dock slips to boaters. The Village did that within a few weeks of the storm, and the east side of the docks sustaining the least amount of damage made that a bit easier.

Next came the paperwork to get the and underway. That went slowly, but surely, and while the Village was cutting through red tape, repairs were done on the west side.

The Village also completed repairs to the roof of dock master station at the southern end of the docks. In addition, the Village was able to do some around the Marina, plus complete some .

That paved the way for the Village to reopen almost the entire marina to the public except for the portion on either side and behind the dock master station.

When this last section is finally fixed, the Village expects the docks to last for the long haul.

"The new system should last the next 50 years," Cullinane said, who noted the Village has sought reimbursement from FEMA/SEMO at each stage of the year-long repair process.

Aiming for Completion
Right now, after some delays due to weather and tides, the Village is aiming for the last of the repairs to be finished by Sept. 15.

"It'll be nice to re-open it at that point," he said, noting if construction moves forward without further delays, then the Village could tie the re-opening to this year's Oktoberfest.

"But we've not discussed that yet," he said.

Take a look back here in photos and weigh in: