Fairview Avenue Flood: Whose Problem is it?

A road in Holtsville has been flooded for over a month, and the Town of Brookhaven has yet to fix the problem.

Fairview Avenue, located just off North Ocean Avenue, between Sunrise Highway and the Long Island Expressway, has substantial flooding due to a water basin located in the brush next to the road.  

There are also multiple drainage pipes that have been lying dormant on Fairview, tucked away in weeds and grass for the better part of 12 years. The pipes should have been installed by the housing developers who constructed homes near the property, according to Suffolk County Legislator Jack Eddington's office.

"We have to look back in the records to see if we can hold the builder of that culdesac accountable," said Eddington, who has sent a letter to Town of Brookhaven Highway Superintendent John Rouse regarding the issue. "From what I'm getting, the builder just walked away from the project. I'm not looking to blame anybody other than to find out how we can resolve it."

Eddington said all building codes and plans would have been filed with the Town, but he was unclear if the files from 12 years ago are available. A woman with the Town's planning department said she would be looking for the information.

After multiple calls to the Town of Brookhaven Highway Department, a receptionist said it was an issue that Suffolk County should handle.

The County says otherwise.

"Fairview Avenue is a Town of Brookhaven maintained road," said Bill Colavito, the Director of Highway Design for Suffolk County. "Why they say it's a County issue I have no idea."

Colavito said the County responded after massive rains in March to make sure that the Patchogue River was flowing free and clear and that there was no blockage in the Holtsville neighborhood, which it flows into.

While the river has not caused an issue, the situation is still, "a mess," Colavito said.

Colavito mentioned that John Schmidt, an assistant civil engineer with the Town of Brookhaven, has been one of the Town workers saying it's a County issue.

"It's not a highway issue," Schmidt said Monday afternoon. "I think it should be done through a different department. I don't want to comment without knowing the facts."

When asked if the problem would sit idle until the Town and County figure out who is responsible, Schmidt was silent for a few seconds and said, "it's not a highway issue."

"He's 100 percent wrong," Colavito said. "All of those roads, Fourth Avenue, Fifth Avenue, Fairview, they're all Town roads."

It seems the issue that that Town is holding on to, is that part of the woods next to Fairview are County wetlands, meaning they think that is the source of the flooding. It's part of the County's open space land and they own it to protect the buffer of the Patchogue River.

"We just checked to see if something was blocking near there and there was nothing," Colavito said. "It's truly a mess out there and I don't know why they keep on saying it's a County issue. If they have good proof that it is ours, then they can give us a call and we can discuss."

For years prior to its repaving and restructuring within the past 24 months, floods used to regularly hamper the road, but over the past 30 days things have increasingly grown worse with the higher water tables across Long Island.

Residents have placed three cones next to potholes that are covered by the water. The Holtsville Civic Association is looking into the situation as well.

"The woman I spoke to [at the town] said there were numerous complaints about that spot and they would get to it as soon as they could," said Adrienne Wilber, a resident of the neighborhood. "She mentioned that several houses near the flood reported having flooded basements. She told me if nothing is done to call back in two weeks. I felt like I was just getting lip service. To think, we just reelected Mr. John Rouse. He even came to a Holtsville Civic Association meeting before the election."

Sachem Patch will post updates when they come in.