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CBS 2 Exclusive: Long Island Sound Threatens Hundreds Of North Shore Homes

ROCKY POINT, N.Y> (CBSNewYork) -- Hundreds of homes are in danger and beaches are being swallowed up, but it isn't by the ocean.

As CBS 2's Carolyn Gusoff reported, it's the Long Island Sound that is causing some serious erosion concerns.

One Rocky Point home teetering on the bluffs 100 feet above the Long Island Sound has been condemned; its foundation is gone, and its deck is crumbling.

Linda Albo fears that her house may not be far behind.

"All the homes on the cliffs are in danger of going out to sea," Albo said.

The Sound has swallowed up 80 feet of Albo's backyard in recent storms. Her house is now a hop away from the cliff edge.

Homeowners up and down Suffolk County's North Shore are sounding the alarm about dramatic erosion. The toll that Superstorm Sandy took on Long Island's South Shore has been well documented, but Leg. Sarah Anker said that hundreds of North Shore homes are in peril and dozens have been lost.

"The homes I have seen are no longer livable. Some of the homes have actually fallen off the cliff," Sarah Anker (D-Mt. Sinai) said.

James Webster's back deck hangs over the edge and overlooks miles of beach that has since disappeared.

"One bad storm can mean loss of home, and financial disaster," Webster said.

"It's just been worse over the last few years. We are having more and more of these big storms," said Bill Boehler, president of the Miller Bluffs Homeowners Association.

Anker asked Suffolk County to form an emergency task force of county, state, and federal experts to map a plan. Jetties, bulkheads, and plantings will all be considered. Doing nothing, Anker says, is no longer an option.

In a meeting on Tuesday night, the Suffolk County legislature voted unanimously to form an erosion task force. It will have 180 days to come up with recommendations.

 

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