East Hampton Beaches Retreat

The two northeasters that hit the East End a week apart from each other left East Hampton's beaches - especially on the ocean and especially in Wainscott and East Hampton Village - in a state that everyone agrees hasn't been seen in a long time.

While no houses east of the Southampton Town line were demolished or seemed in danger of slipping into the sea, the storms took away vast amounts of sand, and in some places, chunks of dune.

The northeasters revealed a number of shore-hardening structures along the shoreline, some of which had been buried so long residents did not realize they were there.

Devices Uncovered

This week, walks along the beach brought the sight of cement stapods, old septic tanks, and old snow fencing around Beach Lane in Wainscott, the rock revetment in front of the Kennedy house in the Georgica Association, and another revetment in front of the large house immediately to the east of Georgica Beach.

With the prospect of more storms heading our way before winter is over, many East Hampton homeowners and officials are keeping up their guard.

"It's a mess. . . . I think everyone's taking a wait and see to see what happens this week," said Jim Cavanagh, the assistant director of environmental protection for East Hampton Town who issues emergency permits for the town.

Poured Sand

In Wainscott, Harvey Silverman bought 1,500 cubic yards of dredged materials from the East Hampton Town Trustees this week. It was poured in front of his Beach Lane house on Monday and Tuesday.

At least half of the dune in front of Mr. Silverman's house is gone, Mr. Cavanagh said, and if another storm hits he'll likely lose the rest of it. Mr. Silverman's house, he added, is now about 50 to 60 feet from the back side of the dune.

Mr. Silverman's request was the only one the Trustees and Mr. Cavanagh had received so far, though Mr. Cavanagh said he had handed out another four or five emergency permit applications in the last week and expects to see more requests this spring.

Road Ends Barricaded

The world-renowned beaches in East Hampton Village - the most armored ocean beach in all of the town - were hard hit. Although they lie in the midst of a series of groins built by the Army Corps of Engineers, the first storm created an eight-foot drop practically at the edge of the road end at Georgica Beach. It was fenced off.

At Main Beach in the village, the road end was barricaded about 20 feet landward of the edge of the parking field on Friday afternoon; behind it is a large drop, of at least eight feet.

The beach in front of the Maidstone Club was "pretty stable," Tom Lawrence, the building inspector for East Hampton Village, said, and at Two Mile Hollow there was "marked erosion, but so far, so good."

Other Beaches

No houses in the village are in immediate peril, Mr. Lawrence added, including the house on the east side of the Georgica parking lot, which is owned by Inves Corporation International and Elie Hirschfeld of Manhattan and Lily Pond Lane.

The house, built around 1920, is undergoing interior renovations. A worker there said the owner had faith that the revetment in front of it would protect the house, which Mr. Hirschfeld bought about a year ago.

Several spots between Indian Wells and Atlantic Avenue Beaches in Amagansett were unpassable this week, and Barnaby Friedman, an aide in the Town Department of Natural Resources, said that was probably true even at low tide. The beach in front of the White Sands motel on Napeague is also quite narrow, although it does not have a large scarp, or drop, carved out by waves such as the beaches do in front of Amagansett's Beach Hampton.

Cyclical Situation

Montauk was not hard hit relative to other areas, although Ditch Plain, which has had ongoing erosion problems, did lose sand and hardpan is visible near the comfort station, Mr. Friedman said.

Mr. Friedman was quick to point out that the sand had moved offshore and to the west, where, eventually, with some swift winds and waves from the southwest, it should find its way back to the shore.

Larry Penny, the director of the Town Natural Resources Department, agreed. In fact, Mr. Penny said the beaches would be likely to recover by summer. He added that the shore-hardening structures that have been exposed will likely be covered again by then.

Prospects Good?

The stapods uncovered in Wainscott have been exposed perhaps five times over the last 20 years, Mr. Penny said, but have never remained exposed in the summertime. Mr. Penny estimated that between East Hampton and Southampton some two million cubic yards of sand had been washed away.

Rameshwar Das, who heads the Town Waterfront Revitalization Committee, said that areas where dunes had been cut back would be particularly vulnerable to further disruption, especially from vehicles passing along the narrow beaches. However, Mr. Das added that since the waves had not overwashed the dunes, the prospect for rebuilding them were good.

The bay side was also affected by the northeasters, though in most places not to the extent seen on the south shore. Dredged spoils placed to the west of the Lake Montauk jetty were completely washed away, Mr. Friedman said, and, last Thursday, the waters of Accabonac Harbor were right up to many of the houses on Louse Point Road in Springs. The water also reached the Gerard Drive, Springs, roadway, but caused no damage.

"Thank God"

Beyond dealing with the immediate consequences of these storms, Mr. Das and Mr. Penny both said they thought the recent acts of nature would force the town to take another look at its policies concerning erosion control.

A flooding and erosion report, part of the town's Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan, has been complete for two years and will be presented as draft legislation within the first half of the year, Mr. Das said. The plan offers suggested policies for various stretches of the town's 110 miles of shoreline, as well as alternatives to structures.

"Thank God for the revetment," Michael Kennedy, the Georgica Association homeowner whose house is just west of Georgica Pond, said this week. "The house would definately have been undermined" without it, the Manhattan attorney said.

"What Storm?"

In March, he plans to cover the structure with sand and replant beachgrass, he said, adding that he had not see erosion this severe since the storms of 1992, when he lost a retaining wall to the sea.

Many people surveying the beach over the weekend wondered just what had caused the erosion. "What storm?" became a familiar question, especially from those with inland houses.

Many may also underestimate the fragility of the beaches' current state, Mr. Lawrence said. "The ocean throws a boulder like a marble."