Sandy Severely Damages Town Beaches

Babylon's Town beaches have sustainted severe damage from Hurricane Sandy, Supervisor Rich Schaffer said.

Gilgo is all but gone, the supervisor said Thursday. 

"Gilgo beach pretty much doesn’t exist anymore. It's pretty much washed away...You look over the parkway and look down and you see the ocean," he said.

Ventian Shores also took a harsh beating, Schaffer said.

The Department of Transportation has closed Ocean Parkway due to a breach on the Eastbound side, just East of Gilgo Beach, DOT spokesperson Eileen Peters said.

The DOT is working to get Oak Beach residents moving in and out, as well as those living in West Gilgo and other Gilgo communities.

Captree Island is accessible via the Robert Moses Parkway, and the town is working on getting an aerial assessment.

Schaffer said that Tanner Park suffered a great deal of damage. "We lost part of the boardwalk area and fishing pier. There's also damage to the Tanner Park Marina."

There is also serious damage at the Cedar Beach marina, he said.

The main course of action is to see how residents are doing, getting people the assistance they need, Schaffer said.