Southampton Town Will Not Receive $3 Million Grant To Raise Dune Road

Southampton Town will not receive a multimillion-dollar state grant to help raise Dune Road—funds that would have allowed work on the long-awaited project to begin this fall—after the town’s highway superintendent derided the plan as using state funds for “a millionaire’s road.”

Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said on Tuesday that he recently had discussions with officials from the governor’s Office of Storm Recovery, who learned about comments made by Town Highway Superintendent Alex Gregor last month, when he raised concerns about using a $3 million grant from the state’s Community Development Block Grant program to fund the work.

Because one requirement of the grant is that it has to be used in areas where residents earn below 50 percent of the county’s median income of about $85,000, Mr. Gregor argued that he did not believe the funds should be used “on a millionaire’s road”—Dune Road, which runs along the oceanfront barrier beach. The grant money has already been allocated to Suffolk County for hazard mitigation efforts, and the county would have administered the funds to the town.

“We were told that it did meet [the requirements], but the governor’s Office of Storm Recovery was concerned, because the actual area, even though it’s within a census tract that meets the criteria … along Dune Road [is] predominantly affluent individuals,” Mr. Schneiderman said. “It’s unfortunate. I felt that we were really close to the finish line on this one. We know how badly that floods.”

On Wednesday, Mr. Gregor said that he simply believed town officials were “trying to do something shady” by looking to use a grant for low- to middle-income communities on Dune Road, and that he had done his own research on the grant when officials did not provide information on it that he requested.

“The town could have done whatever they want—I just wanted to make them aware … that the road doesn’t qualify,” he said. “I’d like to see some confirmation from the state’s storm recovery thing, because [Mr. Schneiderman] was not forthcoming with information about the grant from the beginning.

“I’d like to see the proof rather than just a professional politician making some comments,” Mr. Gregor added. “I’m still supportive of elevating Dune Road, and if they still want to go ahead and do it with [that] money, that’s their call.”

The project as a whole would reduce flooding of the road along the ocean beaches from the Shinnecock Inlet in Hampton Bays to the western Quogue Village border, an estimated $6.8 million endeavor. The $3 million grant would have helped cover the town’s portion of the cost, which includes the stretch of Dune Road that runs through Hampton Bays and East Quogue. According to town officials, residents in those communities earn 58 percent below the county’s median income, thus qualifying them for the grant.

The more affluent Quogue Village had agreed to cover the cost of raising the approximately 1.7 miles of Dune Road that lies within the village on its own, which amounts to approximately $1.7 million.

The $3 million grant was a matching one, and the town would have been able to apply Quogue’s contribution toward it. To complete the match, the town had $1 million that already had been allotted for the work, and Mr. Schneiderman had asked the Town Board to consider authorizing another $500,000. The remaining funds, approximately $600,000, would possibly have been raised privately from the Tiana Erosion Control District tax, which was established to help fund costs related to erosion control.

Town Board members on Tuesday tabled a resolution that would have allocated an additional $500,000 to the project, and intend to revisit it at their meeting on Tuesday, May 3. If the resolution is eventually approved, Mr. Schneiderman said it would be used only if the town can secure a different $3 million funding source.

“I said, ‘Let’s leave the resolution, so in case I can work out another way to get the $3 million from the county, we have this contingency plan in place,’” he said. “It’s contingent. We only add a half million [dollars] if we get the $3 million.”

The supervisor said he has been in touch with officials from Suffolk County Executive Steven Bellone’s office to discuss “plan B,” although he declined to offer details. Suffolk Deputy Executive Jon Schneider did not return a call seeking comment this week.

“I had argued that Tiana Beach and Ponquogue Beach were where most of the community recreate, and they said, ‘Well, you’ll basically have to do this survey showing that most of the people who use the road are low- to moderate- income,’” Mr. Schneiderman said.

“They basically are saying they will not fund this project because of that,” he continued. “So, that $3 million was the key to making this project happen this fall. Now I’m kind of back to the drawing board. I don’t give up easily—I think it needs to happen. We just have to find another way to do it.”