Suffolk County Long Island Sound Coastal Erosion Forum partners and speakers, Port Jefferson Village Center, May 10, 2023; from left: Tom Mohrman, Maidstone Landing Association; Corey Humphrey, Suffolk County Soil & Water Conservation District; Kathleen Fallon, NYSG; Suffolk County Legislator Stephanie Bontempi; Elizabeth Hornstein, NYSG; Village of Port Jefferson Trustee Rebecca Kassay; Mark Lowery, NYSDEC; Suffolk County Legislators Sarah Anker, Kara Hahn, and Al Krupski; Barbara Kendall, NYSDOS; Ryan Porciello, NYSDEC; Alexa Fournier, NYSDEC; Sarah Schaefer-Brown, NYSG. Credit: Long Island Sound Study

Contacts:

Elizabeth Hornstein, NYSG Sustainable and Resilient Communities Specialist, Suffolk County, E: eeh78@cornell.edu, Phone: (631) 824-4575

Sarah Schaefer-Brown, NYSG Sustainable and Resilient Communities Specialist, Nassau County, E: scs292@cornell.edu, Phone: (516) 832-2591

Sara Powell, NYSG Sustainable and Resilient Communities Specialist, Westchester County, E: slp285@cornell.edu, Phone: (914) 369-1591

The Long Island Sound Coastal Erosion Forums held in Suffolk and Nassau Counties brought together more than 90 state and local decision-makers, planners, engineers, and environmental professionals to learn and discuss how to address erosion and increase community resilience

Stony Brook, NY, March 25, 2024 - A regional Long Island Sound needs assessment of more than 300 stakeholders, conducted by New York Sea Grant (NYSG) Sustainable & Resilient Communities (SRC) Extension Professionals, identified coastal erosion as a primary environmental challenge on Long Island’s north shore. 

In response, NYSG’s SRC Extension Professionals and Coastal Processes and Hazards Specialist planned and held Coastal Erosion Forums in Suffolk and Nassau Counties in May 2023 to share information on best practices to address coastal erosion, identify opportunities to increase resilience, and enhance coordination across communities. Lively small group discussions delved into how to educate homeowners who live and buy property on the coast, how state and federal agencies can better support municipalities and communities dealing with shoreline erosion, and how to balance conserving coastal habitats with protection of coastal communities and infrastructure. More than 90 stakeholders attended the two events, including state and local decision-makers, planners, engineers, and environmental professionals. Many of the forum attendees indicated they gained useful knowledge and made valuable connections. A number of next steps were identified that NYSG staff and its partners are now working to move forward.

NYSG’s Coastal Erosion Forums provided stakeholders with opportunities to learn about best practices for addressing erosion, discuss opportunities to increase resilience, and enhance coordination across their communities.

Project Partners: 


• Long Island Sound Study
• Nassau County and Suffolk County Soil and Water Conservation Districts
• Suffolk County Legislators Sarah Anker, Stephanie Bontempi, Kara Hahn, and Al Krupski

Funding: 

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency


More Info: New York Sea Grant

New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York (SUNY), is one of 34 university-based programs under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Sea Grant College Program.

Since 1971, NYSG has represented a statewide network of integrated research, education and extension services promoting coastal community economic vitality, environmental sustainability and citizen awareness and understanding about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources.

Through NYSG’s efforts, the combined talents of university scientists and extension specialists help develop and transfer science-based information to many coastal user groups—businesses and industries, federal, state and local government decision-makers and agency managers, educators, the media and the interested public.

The program maintains Great Lakes offices at Cornell University, SUNY Buffalo, Rochester Institute of Technology, SUNY Oswego, the Wayne County Cooperative Extension office in Newark, and in Watertown. In the State's marine waters, NYSG has offices at Stony Brook University and with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Nassau County on Long Island, in Queens, at Brooklyn College, with Cornell Cooperative Extension in NYC, in Bronx, with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County in Kingston, and with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Westchester County in Elmsford.

For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org has Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, and YouTube links. NYSG offers a free e-list sign up via www.nyseagrant.org/nycoastlines for its flagship publication, NY Coastlines/Currents, which is published quarterly.