Brookhaven Hamlet, NY Walking Tour April 11, 2010

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This event is one of several sponsored by the Town of Brookhaven in celebration of the town's 355th anniversary.

Vicious Storm Strikes Brookhaven/South Haven

A vicious early Spring storm hit the Northeast coast Saturday, March 13, 2010, with aftereffects into Sunday and Monday. Hurricane force gusts accompanied strong winds and heavy rain for much of Saturday, and strong winds continued into Sunday and Monday. Brookhaven and South Haven Hamlets felt the effects, but there was surprisingly little property damage. Parts of the hamlets were without power, telephone and cable service. And quite a few large trees were felled. Streets and yards were were littered with smaller branches. Fortunately, in spite of the winds, tides were not exceptionally high.

This tree on Beaver Dam Road toppled across the front yard, but missed the house.

A common scene through the hamlets as trees and limbs were cleared. This photo is at a residence at the foot of Mott Lane

This tree was felled on South Country Road. It's a bit surprising that it lasted as long has it did, being mostly hollow. While it struck the house, it did not appear as if major damage was done.

This tree, on South Country Road in front of the Presbyterian Manse, brought down some telephone lines but missed the power cables.

This is the side yard of the Post-Morrow Foundation headquarters on Bay Road. Photo contributed by Marty Van Lith.

Cemetery Maintenance Lawsuit Update

Just an update on how things are going with the legal proceedings for the Fire Place History Club's cemetery lawsuit—

The Town of Brookhaven responded to our 45-point reply to their first response, in which they had denied owning the cemeteries, claiming that they are privately owned and thus the Town is not responsible. They also denied responsibility for maintenance and care of abandoned cemeteries. They did not address one single point of the 45 points we made demonstrating that the Town is mandated by NYS law to maintain these cemeteries. Instead, they continued pursuing their contention that these are private cemeteries and none of their business.

We answered this second Town response by reiterating our first response and saying that it's irrelevant anyway since the law requires the Town to maintain abandoned cemeteries by "whomsoever owned" in any town.

While it was originally thought that the case would be settled by this Tuesday, March 9, it turns out that's the date on which all final paperwork is due in court. The decision will be made whenever Justice Tanebaum gets around to it, which our attorney Reggie Seltzer doesn't think will be anytime soon. So, we are still in limbo and may have to cancel some of the work we have grant money for Hollis to do.