'Grist' For The Mill In One Long Island Town

LONG ISLAND, NY — Call it 'grist' for the mill.

The Ward Melville Heritage Organization and Town of Brookhaven are disputing which entity owns Harbor Road in Stony Brook — a main thoroughfare linking two villages and now left destroyed by historic flooding last August with the repairs still unresolved — as a group of concerned residents plan a rally on Saturday amid calls for a resolution to the debacle after close to a year.

The Ward Melville Heritage Organization, stewards of Mill Pond and the Grist Mill, contends the roadway is owned by Brookhaven, while the town maintains its the non-profit instead.

After the flooding, which collapsed a dam under the roadway, releasing water from Mill Pond into Long Island Sound, decimating the once pristine water habitat enjoyed by wildlife, and residents alike.

It jeopardized at least one nearby property where a ridge was left sloped into a ravine created by the collapse, and the home remains teetering on the edge.

Brookhaven, as the local governing municipality, was believed to be the owner of the roadway, which would make its highway department responsible for securing Federal Emergency Management Agency grant money and undertaking the rebuild.

The Ward Melville Heritage Organization

Gloria Rocchio, the Ward Melville Heritage Organization's president, told Patch that the group's title search shows that the roadway is partially owned by Brookhaven and the Village of Head of Harbor.
The part of the roadway that lies in question concerns from Main Street to the spillway.

"It's only 130 feet and 50 feet at most; that's what we're talking about," she said.

The organization feels that Brookhaven owns the section of roadway in question, and that their research indicates as such.

"They are basically saying they don't own anything," she said.

At the spillway, the two municipalities of Brookhaven and Head of Harbor's boundaries meet, she said.

"I'm not talking about the road now or the pond; I'm talking about the creek, " Rocchio said. "There's been controversy over the boundary line between the two mentioned entities probably 200 years."

"It's very complicated," she added.

The Town Of Brookhaven

Town Councilman Jonathan Kornreich, whose council district includes the area, said that title searches by two different companies run by both Brookhaven and Suffolk County show the roadway belongs to the Ward Melville Heritage Organization, and if there is a different finding, it should be presented.

"These aren't confidential documents," he said. "Anyone can do a title search. It's not like a secret document."

Kornreich explained that the road surface, which is about the top two inches of the collapsed dam, is owned by Brookhaven.

"We own the wear surface, like the asphalt, and we do the road maintenance," he said. "So, at some point in the past, the Town of Brookhaven owned — repaved the top of the dam, but it's actually not listed as a road in our inventory."

"I wish that the Town of Brookhaven owned the road because we applied for FEMA aid on all kinds of other projects and got FEMA aid," he said. "It's not like we don't want to fix it. We had every intention of fixing it until we found out that we don't own it, and so we can't. We can't sign the FEMA application, but, Ward Melville can sign the FEMA application."

FEMA will cover 75 percent of the cost, and the town and the county are willing to cover the other 25 percent, if Ward Melville will apply for it, according to Kornreich.

"I mean, this would be great if the town owned it. We'd be fixing it already," he added.

Town officials reiterated some of what Kornreich said at a news conference at Town Hall on Friday, Newday reported.

Neither the Ward Melville Heritage Organization, nor the town provided their title searches to Patch.

Who Really Owns The Land?

Head of Harbor Mayor Michael Utevsky said he was asked to attend the town's news conference because he did not want to give the appearance of taking either side in the dispute, though he does plan to attend the rally on Saturday.

He confirmed that his village, which lies in the Town of Smithtown, owns part of the road that is intact, but the part that collapsed is over the town line in Brookhaven.

"There is some possibility that the intact part of the road that's within our village may be redone as part of redoing the entire road and hardening it and making it more resilient," he said. "However, we haven't seen any engineering studies that justify that expense yet. We're looking forward to to determine making that determination."

Utevsky, a real estate attorney, did note that basically either side — either the heritage organization or the town could lay claim to the area that needs to be addressed.

Three title searches done that Utevsky has seen by entities outside the village, show that the land under the road, belonging to Stony Brook Community Fund, "an affiliate" of the Ward Millville Heritage Organization, he said.

"I don't consider that 100 percent conclusive because it's clear that the road itself is a public road," he said. "Even the latest title search I've seen from the county says that the road is a public road. Even the latest title search I've seen from the county says that the road is a public road."

Then there's a section of the state's highway law Section 189, which stipulates that if a road has been used by the public for 10 years, it becomes a town road, according to Utevsky.

"In my view, as mayor, as a real estate lawyer, I think Brookhaven could legitimately claim ownership of that road," he said. "I also think Ward Melville Heritage Organization could legitimately claim ownership of that road based on deeds, so either side could claim that it owns the road."

A Call For Change In Collaboration Despite For Ownership Debacle

In the meantime, concerned residents are adding their names to a petition on Change.org "imploring" all the stakeholders work on a plan for the repairs and the restoration of the pond. Not only are road and pond cultural and historic losses to the community, the road is creating hazardous driving conditions and impeding first responders by adding to their response times.

So far, nearly 1,000 signatures have been collected.

A rally has also been planned by the community on Saturday at the corner of Harbor Road and Main Street, according to the Facebook page, "Rebuild Harbor Road, Restore Our Pond."

In an invite to the event, organizer Beth Zweig referred to the flooding as "catastrophic" for the village's "beloved" pond.

Zweig referred to the potential rebuild as "locked in a stalemate as to who owns the road and is responsible for its repair" with "no resolution in sight."

She says the road continues to disintegrate, and the pond is a mud pit, and a major thoroughfare in the community is completely inaccessible."

"We are residents of the community who are imploring the Town of Brookhaven and Ward Melville Heritage Organization to devise a plan to Rebuild Harbor Road and Restore the Pond."

Beyond the cultural and historical significance of losing the pond, which has been around since the 1800s, the collapse of a major thoroughfare in the neighborhood has led to dangerous driving conditions and delayed response times for emergency vehicles, according to Zweig.

She warned that another big storm, which forecasters say could be on the horizon this summer, could cause even more catastrophic damage.

The rally has been organized "to unite the community in protest over the lack of progress in resolving this neighborhood hazard," she said.

Everyone is welcome to participate, including those "who have memories of feeding ducks at the pond, those whose personal or business interests rely on having a functioning road, and those who want to try to be part of the solution."

"We are looking forward to meeting you," her post concluded.

Like many in the surrounding area, Utevsky has concerns about the rebuild.

"One of the big difficulties is that this road is right between two jurisdictions," he said. "It affects people on both sides."

The village's access is "so greatly affected," he said, adding that residents often use the Three Village Library and the schools.

"Their access is made much more difficult by the loss of Harbor Road," he said. "And of course, you've probably been advised that there's a real problem with emergency services. For any fire truck, police car, or ambulance to get to the eastern part of our village, from Stony Brook Hospital, from Stony Brook Fire Department, the response times are delayed by several minutes because of the loss of Harbor Road, and that can be critical in the event of an emergency."

"So we're especially concerned about the loss of access for emergency service," he added.

Hopes For The Future

As the mayor of his village, he just wants the road rebuilt.

"I don't care who owns it," he added. "And that's been the standoff for the last six, eight months — a battle of title reports."

"[The town] is willing to be part of the process, but they're not willing to say they're the owners," he said. "They're not willing to be the prime person. They are willing to work on the rebuilding."

"It is very mystifying, this whole thing," he said. "I'll leave it at that."

The rally to rebuild Harbor Road kicks off at Main Street at 12 p.m.

Follow Three Village Patch as this story continues to develop.