Patchogue’s Sandspit Lighthouse looks spiffy now, with a ramp and side railings so visitors and residents can meander and enjoy the view. However, most people are unaware of its long history of starts and stops.
“The original one was a WPA project along with the rock pile,” said Matt Sherman, owner of the Davis Park Ferry Company, along with his sister-in-law Stephanie Sherman. (The WPA—Works Progress Administration—was a New Deal agency established in 1935 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression. It employed millions of people who were out of work.)
“It was a port of entry for the documentation of immigrants,” said Sherman. “The green light was installed then and replaced in the 1990s; the original ones are outside the door to Drift 82 restaurant. The green light is federal; the red light on the other side represents the joint venture with the town and village. They marked the entrance to the Patchogue River and flashed red and green.”
If there’s anyone familiar with its origins, it’s the Shermans. Their vessels have been guided by the lighthouse coming and going since Fred Sherman Sr. founded the company in 1947 and began running ferries out of Sandspit Marina, leased from Brookhaven Town. Matt’s dad, Fred Sherman Jr., and his mom, Kiki, then took over, and now Matt, with Stephanie, is at the helm.
“The lighthouse would take storm beatings, particularly back in the 1970s when one gave it a particularly severe wallop,” explained Patchogue Mayor Paul Pontieri.
“The original light fixture was damaged,” he said. “The Brookhaven Town supervisor at the time contacted Jim Tully, the founder and owner of Hampton Drainage. Jim came down with three cesspool covers and affixed a beacon on top, and that’s what the lighthouse leading to Patchogue was.”
Well, it was until 2019. Superstorm Sandy made a mess of that location in 2012, and officials agreed the area, including the jetty, needed work.
“In 2007 we dredged the river,” said Pontieri. “The mistake we made is that we didn’t address the jetty, and sand sifted through and filled in the mouth of the river.”
Town councilman and Deputy Supervisor Neil Foley elaborated on the refurbishment project:
“The jetty at Sandspit was sinking, and the village applied to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for repairs to the jetty. The town obtained Community Development Block Grant funds [from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development] to provide ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act] access. The town built the ramp and railing to the lighthouse to ensure it was accessible to all. The gist of the project was the collaboration between Patchogue Village, Brookhaven Town, and federal partners working together to preserve and improve public access.”
Pontieri said that then-NYS Senator Thomas D. Croci obtained $600,000 for jetty improvements and $50,000 (both federal funds) for the new 22-foot solar-powered unmanned lighthouse. The Town of Brookhaven invested $300,000, and Patchogue Village funded $100,000.
“The lighthouse and the jetty have become a destination and a special place for recreation,” Foley said of the structure at the far end of the ferry parking lot.
Besides those who wield fishing rods, meditate, or have their morning coffee, “I’ve seen many people get married there.”
