Pacts finalized for next phase of 83-mile Fire Island to Montauk Point project

New York State has finalized six contracts to share costs and work on the next phase of the roughly 83-mile Fire Island to Montauk Point Coastal Storm Risk Management Project along Suffolk County’s Atlantic coast shoreline that aims to bolster a key part of Long Island against storms and protect homes and businesses, according to the office of Gov. Kathy Hochul.

The contracts are with Babylon, Brookhaven, East Hampton, Islip, Southampton and the county, and allow work to be done on their property, as well as what’s called a federal Project Partnership Agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which are doing the work or contracting it out.

The corps did not return a message seeking comment.

Hochul spokesman Gordon Tepper says funding for the agreements, in a project with $1.7 billion in state money, is via the New York State budget and "includes the entire 'non-federal' cost-share associated with the project along with the advance of local cost-share amounts."

"Protecting Long Island’s South Shore means making significant, long-term investments before the next storm arrives. By securing these agreements and committing the resources needed to sustain the Fire Island to Montauk Point project, we are making these communities stronger and safer, ensuring future generations inherit a more resilient shoreline," Hochul said in a statement sent by her office.

The work must be greenlit by the corps and the state comptroller’s office.

James Martin, a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), says the project has 50% federal dollars.

"With these agreements, coastal communities from Fire Island to Montauk will have renourishment for their beaches to be healthy and resilient for decades to come," Schumer said in a statement sent by his office.

The project has been in the works for years, but the ravages of Superstorm Sandy made the project more urgent.

The timeline is at the discretion of the corps, and is based on dredge availability. The projects will be ongoing for the next 30 to 50 years, Martin said.

There have been over 60 years of plans and talks to help protect Long Island’s coasts, Newsday reported in 2021, when ground was broken on one element of FIMP, as the project is abbreviated.

"It is the last piece of the puzzle for the protection of the South Shore of Long Island," Col. Matthew Luzzatto, New York District commander for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, told Newsday then. "When there’s a common cause and common needs needing to be met, people can come together and accomplish those things."

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.