The Head of the Harbor village board has given its village attorney the green light to file a lawsuit against the Ward Melville Heritage Organization in the most significant attempt yet to force work to begin on a road and pond that have been left in disarray since being damaged in a massive storm last August.

"The residents of the village of Head of the Harbor are taking this on the chin and it has been a year with no action," Head of the Harbor village attorney Brian Egan said.

Attorney Brian Egan said the village is "imminently prepared with the lawsuit."

"While we thought that everybody would be adults and get this done and take the action needed to be done, now it's obvious to the village that litigation is going to be necessary," Egan said.

Once filed, the lawsuit will ask a judge to determine that the heritage organization is the owner of Harbor Road and is responsible for repairing it.

Ownership has been the center of this year of infighting between the Ward Melville Heritage Organization, the Town of Brookville and the village of Head of the Harbor. The latter two are on the same side.

"To allow this to remain unabated to me is absolutely terrible," Brookhaven Town Supervisor Dan Panico said.

Earlier this year, Brookhaven Town Supervisor Dan Panico produced records that showed the Ward Melville Heritage Organization owns Harbor Road and is responsible for repairing it. At the same time, the nonprofit said its document search was inconclusive as to who owns the property.

The lack of accountability has left the road destroyed, the pond drained and filled with greenery and created a public safety issue as first responders have to navigate windy, narrow back roads instead of a more direct route through the area.

"Just because you say you don't own something that's not going to protect you from litigation that may come," Panico said. "We can still get this right. Sign on the dotted line and let's get this project going."

Panico said the town met with members of the heritage organization two weeks ago, where the nonprofit presented a plan where the town, the Ward Melville Heritage Organization and about six her groups would all chip in about $540,000 each to restore the road without going through FEMA. He said, the town would be on board if the heritage organization could get approvals for it.

FEMA previously said it would reimburse about 75% of the project, but the Ward Melville Heritage Organization has been reluctant to go through the federal government, claiming it can do the work faster and cheaper.

But everything changed when, as News 12 reported, last Wednesday, members of the Ward Melville Heritage Organization went before the Head of the Harbor village board and presented a much different plan.

Trustee Graham Scaife told the board and the packed room that the Ward Melville Heritage Organization would contribute about $1 million to the project and called on the public to pressure the town and Suffolk County to cover the rest.

This has left the two sides at a growing stalemate, with residents on both sides of the road that connects Head of the Harbor and Stony Brook caught in the middle.

Panico said he spoke with Gov. Kathy Hochul's office on Tuesday and shared his "concerns over the plan when the project is at least 75% reimbursable by FEMA."

He said, a viable solution "may involve having the state come in and take the property out of Ward Melville Heritage Organization’s ownership."

Ward Melville Heritage Organization President Gloria Rocchio told News 12 over the phone that she is still fighting for a resolution without any intervention.

"It is a disaster [but it] should not be the case [for it] to come down to who owns the land," she said. "It should be shared in costs by all parties involved."

A spokesperson for Gov. Kathy Hochul's office told News 12 in a statement: "The New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES) is available to assist eligible entities in applying for FEMA reimbursement for this project. We would encourage the property owner to work closely with DHSES to pursue that funding so needed repairs can move forward."

Egan said without some type of agreement, he expects the lawsuit will be filed in state supreme court within the next couple of weeks.