Resort communities like Sodus Point are supposed to be havens for people to escape the stresses of life, Sen. Chuck Schumer said while standing in front of the bay channel Friday afternoon.
“People come here for relaxation,” said Schumer at Wayne County’s Sodus Point Park, where the nearby beach has been eroded considerably by the record-high waters of Lake Ontario.
Instead of relaxation, it’s been a summer of sandbags and pumps as residents try to stave off flooding from the lake and its embayments, including Sodus Bay. Sodus Point businesses have been struggling mightily because of a drop in visitors to the bucolic Wayne County village, whose businesses rely on the summer tourist season for survival.
“It’s been tough, and that’s why I’m here,” said Schumer, a Democrat who also serves as Senate minority leader.
While the high lake waters continue to be the topic of the day in waterfront communities like Sodus Point, a lack of action by the Army Corps of Engineers is exacerbating the issue at Sodus Point, said Schumer. He said the Army Corps needs to conduct repairs to a bay breakwater and a steel wall, as well as a breach in a slim piece of land called Crescent Beach that keeps Lake Ontario’s waves and sediment-filled waters from invading the bay.
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