Long Island family says town is at fault after backyard collapsed during storms
PORT JEFFERSON STATION, N.Y. – Sunday's storm forced one Long Island family out of their home after their backyard collapsed. They believe the town is at fault and the whole disaster could have been prevented.
Port Jefferson Station resident Steven Abrams said his entire backyard collapsed after Sunday's rain storm, but the erosion started back on July 13.
"Literal specks of dirt dripping down that hill, watching my property erode. And now it's all gone," Abrams said.
Port Jefferson Station homeowner says he was told his property was fine before collapse
The married father of two said it all started with a breach of an easement line pipe that runs underground through his yard.
Abrams said he called the town of Brookhaven right away when he noticed the erosion back in July. Within days, engineers stopped by and took pictures.
Over time, with each additional rain event, the backyard chipped away. He said at one point, he was assured his property was fine.
"We had foremen, highway department personnel back here looking me and my wife in the eyes telling us that my property was structurally safe," Abrams said.
Now, both his and his neighbor's homes are deemed unsafe.
"Everything I worked for is gone"
There's a crack in Abrams' basement's foundation, and the deck and pool are unstable. His wife doesn't believe the structure will ever be safe again.
"She'll never walk through this door again due to the safety of this compromised structure," Abrams said.
He said his young children are scared.
"Would we have died? What am I supposed to tell a 5-year-old? Everything I worked for is gone. And this is where we stand," Abrams said.
Crews are now hard at work reinforcing the land below Steven Abrams' Port Jefferson Station home.
The family filed a claim but says the insurance company has to investigate before shelling out any sort of temporary assistance. They say the Red Cross did offer some cash for emergency lodging, but that money has since dried up.
The Brookhaven Highway Department oversees the broken pipe. Brookhaven Superintendent of Highways Daniel Losquadro said from a legal standpoint, he cannot comment on the town's liability.
Stabilization work should be completed over the next few days, and a permanent repair to rebuild the recharge basin will start once that's done.
Losquadro said 45 homes in the county were severely damaged after this week's storms, and the town is committed to working with the families that have been affected.