6-01-2025 11:34am

Residents Demand Action to Rebuild Harbor Road and Restore the Pond

Nine months after a powerful August storm collapsed Harbor Road and drained Mill Pond, more than 200 frustrated residents rallied in Stony Brook on Saturday afternoon, demanding an end to the bureaucratic deadlock that has stalled reconstruction.

Waving signs with pointed messages like “Fix the dam road” and “Stop ducking the problem,” residents from Stony Brook and neighboring communities gathered near the site, urging public officials and the Ward Melville Heritage Organization (WMHO) to resolve the legal limbo blocking federal funding and progress.

“The road continues to fall apart,” said rally organizer Beth Zweig. “The pond is a pit of muddy sludge, and we remain disconnected from our Stony Brook neighbors, as our main thoroughfare is totally impassable.”

Since the collapse, local officials have pointed to an unresolved property ownership dispute as the reason why reconstruction hasn’t begun. A clear title is required to file for federal reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Brookhaven Town and Suffolk County maintain that title records show WMHO as the property owner. At a Friday press conference, Brookhaven Town Supervisor Dan Panico cited notarized documents signed in the 1980s by WMHO President Gloria Rocchio as further evidence of ownership.

“We have proved conclusively who owns the property,” Panico said at the rally, adding that Suffolk County is willing to front the cost of the repairs if the title issue is resolved.

But Rocchio maintains that the organization’s independently obtained title report is inconclusive, and she voiced concerns about potential liability and litigation. “We don’t know if we own it,” she said in response to questions about transferring the property to Brookhaven. She claims that ownership is "undetermined." Rocchio has also claimed to have proof the town owns the road but won't release that to the public.

When presented with town documents showing the WMHO owns the road (at the bottom of this article), Rocchcio claimed to have documents from the county proving the town is the rightful owner but refused to provide them. She claimed it was online. I asked her about this at the rally and was told her staff told her that I already had it. Rally participants yelled, "You need to provide it to the community." As of now, no documentation, other than what the town has released, has been provided.

Brookhaven Councilman Jonathan Kornreich emphasized that the town has completed FEMA applications for other storm-damaged areas and would do the same for Harbor Road, if given the authority.

“If there’s a title report that says that the town owns it, give it to me today,” he said. “We’ll sign the application tomorrow.”

Some officials floated potential paths forward, including arbitration or legal proceedings, but acknowledged the risks of drawn-out delays. Legislator Steven Englebright (D-Setauket) warned that court intervention, with possible appeals, could extend the timeline significantly. Meanwhile, officials ruled out eminent domain as a viable option since FEMA reimbursement requires the owner to apply.

Amid the gridlock, rally participants expressed both anger and a flicker of hope.

Lisa Davidson, a rally organizer and trustee in the Village of Head of the Harbor, told Newsday that she “feels a tiny bit more optimistic” following the event and expressed hope that WMHO would publicly share its title report. “People are so fed up,” she added. “But today helped the community.”

As summer begins and the road remains in ruins, residents say they’re determined to keep up the pressure.

“This isn’t just about a road,” Zweig said. “It’s about restoring our community — and we’re not giving up.”

The Stony Brook Grist Mill and pond have been an integral part of the community for centuries. The dam was originally constructed in 1699. A few years later, a storm very similar to the one last August destroyed the dam and mill, and it was all rebuilt in 1751.

On a personal note, I grew up in Stony Brook and lived about a mile and a half from the pond. Some of my earliest memories are of feeding the ducks there. I currently live about a mile from there, and seeing the state it is in now breaks my heart.

Video of the rally can be found here.

The Brookhaven documents: