The following is a letter from the Quogue Village Trustees, published in The Quogue Village Voice.

The Quogue Village Voice
Published by the Village Trustees
PO Box 926, Quogue, NY 11959
contact@villageofquogueny.gov
631-653-4498

Many residents have visited the Quogue Village Beach over the past month or so, and some have expressed concern after observing that the steps have been lost, the overpass has been rendered unusable because of eroded sand, the sand-filled geocubes we installed in 2010 to protect the facilities are exposed and the ocean is lapping up against them. High northeast winds over the past weekend and on Monday and high tides this week have continued the erosion. Quogue is not the only place that has been affected. The intensive efforts by the Town of Southampton and Suffolk County to place sand and hold back the ocean in the vicinity of Shinnecock Inlet have been very prevalent in local and regional news reports. Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman is seeking further assistance from New York State and at the Federal level.

While exceedingly unwelcome, storms of the nature we experienced this Fall are not too unusual. Just to cover the recent past, in the Fall of 2009, a nor’easter ate away at the beach for three days taking out many feet of dune, destroying decks and undermining the snail house. In 2012, hurricane Sandy tore away beach, flooded buildings and exposed the geocubes. In 2018, a series of four nor’easters in March took away our stairs again and flattened the beach.

In each of these instances, the beach was repaired and restored and operating by the opening of the Village Beach on Memorial Day weekend. We do not control Mother Nature, of course. We will, however, do our very best to see that the same will be true this year. Beyond making a relatively modest investment to cover our geocubes with sand when beach conditions allow machinery to operate on the beach, we do not believe that repairs of the stairway and restoration of the beach at this time of year are wise given the possibility of winter storms. Be assured , however, that in the Spring the necessary work will commence. That will likely include placement of truck-delivered sand as well as construction work. Over the winter, we intend to stock pile sand in the parking lot, as we have in the past. We also intend to seek an extension of the work period past April 1, the normal start of restrictions imposed on account of piping plovers and other protected bird species, on the basis that the Village Beach area is an inhospitable location for birds to nest.

Those of you who are curious about the status of the Fire Island to Montauk Point (FIMP) project may be interested in knowing that our latest information (via Congressman Zeldin’s office) is that the final report is now under review at the Army Corps of Engineers headquarters. Design and work contracts will go out in early 2020, we understand, with actual work to commence in 2021. While the scope of the proposed activity in Quogue is not entirely clear, beach work is planned on the eastern part of our beach. Via several channels, we have advised that the eastern beach in Quogue requires attention and reevaluation as the area is resurveyed prior to nourishment work being commenced.

We wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, a joyful holiday season and a mild winter.

Our mailing address is:
Village of Quogue
7 Village Lane
Quogue, NY 11959