Village Marina Set to Open After Electrical Inspection

Months after Hurricane Sandy ravaged the 89-slip Westhampton Beach Marina, the docks are set to open with full electric and water hook-up on Friday, pending an inspection by the Long Island Power Authority.

The marina has been accessible since Memorial Day weekend, however, only a few boaters have taken advantage since electric or water have not been available.

"There was a problem with the electric and it has to be re-inspected," said Veronica Wagner, who oversees the village's basin.

When it made landfall on Oct. 29, Hurricane Sandy washed over the marina, tossing boats into the street and flooding the area — the entire electric system was compromised and bulkheading damaged.

To date, Wagner said only one boater has complained on the repair time-line and the village has been “very accommodating” to boaters, who paid $95,225 in pre-paid fees in February. She said a few boaters, who normally dock on the north side of the marina, which had the worst damage after the storm and took longer to repair, were offered different slips.

That one boater is Lisa Fox, a Speonk resident, whose husband David owns a business in Westhampton Beach. She said they paid $2,000 to dock their boat at the marina, but have yet been able to put their boat in a slip because they need electric and water hook up and is now paying another facility on top of what they already paid to the village.

"They should have told me that the docks wouldn't be ready when I had to pay in February," she said.

Fox has reached out to the village, asking for a partial refund, but she said, she was told no, because the damage was an act of God.

Fox believes the village should have known by February if the marina would be ready on time — the hurricane was in October.

The village, meanwhile, said it is looking forward to the re-inspection by LIPA so that pre-paid boaters, as well as transient dockers can take full advantage of the marina, which has 10-transient slips.