Article

CLIMATE IMPACT PROGRAMS TO CONSIDER

June 25, 2024

Our photo, sand fencing for the Grove beach stocked up and already in progress for deployment to bolster the beach against flooding risks. It’s an example of a long standing local effort by the Cherry Grove Dune Fund to deal with the ongoing risks of flooding from more adverse climate changes predicted to come.


In this post a look at some other efforts that also touch on the same issue and some potential grant programs they offer.

Here is a summary of some recent developments all of which have some potential impacts on Cherry Grove and FI Pines residents in a voluntary way.


Waste control

As the ground water level rises so do threats to cesspools. The Citizens Campaign for the Environment has just released a 215-page report assessing strategies for the future for FI communities. Sprinkled through the report are references to Cherry Grove and FI Pines. Both communities figure prominently in this issue as per statistics included in the report scattered throughout its contents.

For those looking for grant information to effect some waste control measures for their homes and businesses there is some grant information of note, and also to be noted as with this grant offer and several others to be noted here funds are limited, waiting lists exist, there are income tests but the program does offer some financial help to offset costs potentially for those eligible: https://reclaimourwater.info/

See the full report here:

https://drive.google.com/.../1-UBehXEl0Gu5z.../view...


RAISE YOUR HOUSE

Brookhaven Town is involved in a grant program to help raise houses to prevent their flooding, again limited funds, waiting list dependent on new funds, but once again a potential source of help financing raising a home safer from flood waters: https://www.brookhavenny.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=4241


SAY GOOD BYE

Lastly NY State does have a costal retreat strategy in effect that includes a property buyout for eligible coastal properties, like all the above programs there are limiting factors. Blue Buffer program: https://hcr.ny.gov/form/blue-buffers-request-form

What makes this program unique is that once the home is sold that's it, the land reverts to a forever wild status.

This editor notes that with all these programs future funding streams will matter but for those interested now getting on a waiting list, if it comes to that, it does seem it can pay off in the end.






The views and opinions expressed in this blog post are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent or the owners of the Boys of Fire Island site.

share this

Related Articles

Related Articles

By Julian Morales June 3, 2026
Most people who come to Fire Island Pines come in July. The harbor is full, the ferry is packed, the houses are booked months in advance. That version of the Pines is real. So is a different one. September and October in the Pines are quieter, cooler, and less expensive than the peak weeks that precede them. The same homes are there. The same boardwalks. The same beach. What changes is the register. If you have done a summer week and want to know what the island is when the season starts to wind down, this post is the specific account. If peak pricing or peak crowds have kept you from the Pines at all, this post is also for you. Groups of six to ten people find the shoulder season straightforward to plan once they know what actually shifts.
By Julian Morales May 12, 2026
Tea Dance turns sixty this summer.
By Julian Morales April 28, 2026
Every summer, Fire Island Pines hosts Pines Party. A three-day charitable event on the beach that brings thousands of people to the island for one of the most concentrated weekends of the season. Now in its 27th year, the event has raised over $4.8 million for its beneficiaries. In 2026, it runs July 31 through August 2, under the theme Altar Ego. For many people, Pines Party is a weekend on their calendar. For the Pines community, it is something that goes back further than 1999, rooted in a moment when the community had to decide what it was going to do about the worst crisis it had ever faced. That story is worth knowing before you arrive.
ALL ARTICLES