Mastic Beach flood protection effort awarded $10 million in state grants
Neighborhood Road, foreground, in Mastic Beach. State officials have announced a $10 million grant to improve drainage downtown as part of a multimillion-dollar development, a key component of which will be construction around the road. Credit: Tom Lambui
State officials have announced a $10 million grant to improve drainage in downtown Mastic Beach as part of a multimillion-dollar redevelopment of the former village.
The grant awarded to the Town of Brookhaven is expected to pay for new underground stormwater storage systems, trees to absorb storm runoff, and bio-retention such as sand, mulch and plants to slow the effects of flooding, state officials said Monday in a news release.
Improved drainage is seen as a key to revitalization in Mastic Beach, a low-lying area beset by chronic flooding and pollution discharges into nearby Narrow Bay, officials have said.
“This grant is to help defray the costs associated with the stormwater capture needs of the downtown revitalization of Mastic Beach,” Brookhaven Supervisor Dan Panico said Monday in a statement emailed to Newsday. "The cost of public infrastructure projects, combined with the realities we face as municipal planners forced to deal with increasingly ferocious storm events, make revitalization projects incredibly costly.”
Brookhaven officials last year laid out a $400 million to $600 million redevelopment plan that calls for construction of about 630 homes in a blighted, triangle-shaped section around Neighborhood Road. The plan, crafted by Jericho-based master developer Beechwood Organization, also calls for tens of thousands of square footage for shops and restaurants.
Town officials expect to approve zoning changes by the end of the year. Construction could begin as soon as next year, Beechwood officials have said.
Mastic Beach residents generally have supported the project, saying it would create jobs and new housing in the area.
Beechwood principal Steven Dubb said in an email he was "extremely grateful" and added the grant "has moved us that much closer to the starting line."
The grant was among $61 million worth of awards statewide announced Monday from the state's Green Resiliency Grant program.
Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.
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