$12.5M FEMA Grant to Replace Town Dock in Port Washington

The Town of North Hempstead will receive $12.5 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to replace the Town Dock in Port Washington due to damages the structure sustained during Hurricane Sandy in October 2012.

The new dock will be equipped with more durable features to hold strong in future storms, the Town says.

“Hurricane Sandy took quite a toll on many of our parks and facilities in North Hempstead, including our beloved Town Dock,” Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth said in a press release.

The project was approved in April 2015 and was originally slated to provide funding for technical assistance from an engineering firm to perform a damage assessment on the Town Dock, but now it will include the replacement of the entire dock. A 500-page report from Rising Tide Engineering determined damages were sustained to the overlay parking lot and concrete catch basins, as well as various other key components to the dock.

The Town Dock, located at 347 Main St., is the headquarters for the Town’s Harbor Patrol. The facility allows residents to moor boats, and is equipped with a pump-out station, pump-out boat, dingy tie-up and a view of Manhasset Bay.

“We must make sure Long Island’s popular downtown waterfront areas—like Port Washington—are rebuilt stronger than before, so that residents are protected from future storms, tourists and visitors keep flocking in, and our businesses thrive long into the future,” Senator Charles E. Schumer said.

Schumer called on the federal government in April 2014 to provide reconstruction of the Town Dock as well as funding for rebuilding and resiliency efforts following Hurricane Sandy.

“After our push, FEMA has agreed to provide the Town of North Hempstead with the federal funding needed to rebuild a new, more resilient Town Dock in the heart of Port Washington’s Main Street area," Schumer said. "I am confident that the new Town Dock will continue to serve as an economic anchor and meet the needs of local boat enthusiasts, fishermen, restaurant-goers, business owners and more.”

A $75,000 grant announced last July from the National Endowment for the Arts will incorporate work from local artists in the rebuilding of the Town Dock. The Town will transform the dock from a underused parking lot to an interactive park with green infrastructure, natural and built art elements, and spaces for community gatherings and arts programming that connect to the area’s maritime heritage.

The Town will also use a $120,000 New York State Department of State Local Waterfront Revitalization Program grant to ensure the Town Dock will incorporate input from local residents and remain an economic driver for the region.

For more information about the Town of North Hempstead or other Hurricane Sandy related projects, call 311 or visit www.northhempsteadny.gov.

Image via TONH: North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth and U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer at North Hempstead’s Town Dock.