Overlooking Cape Cod Bay, the multi-million dollar home is wobbling on the brink of collapse, a standout illustration of the relentless forces of coastal erosion exacerbated by climate change.
The house, unstable, perched on a sandy clump of well ballistic trajectories, is a time bomb, revealing concrete footings as the land beneath it is steadily disappearing.
Boasting vast sliding doors open to the deck and hot tub, the home stands at the barricade. This is a desperate attempt to prevent an imminent plunge into the beach 25 feet below. The previous owner was aware of the erosion and had already demolished the deck and bedroom towers before halting further work and entering into conflict with the town. The property was then sold to a rescue company that did not want to fund its demolition.
Wellfleet officials are deeply concerned about the potential environmental impact of the inevitable collapse of the home. They fear that the shards will damage the delicate oyster beds of the harbor. It is an important part of the local economy and is the most popular source of oysters in New England. The town commissioned report paints a stern picture, predicting that the 5,100-square-foot structure will succumb to the sea within three years.
The looming end of this coastal home reminds us of the vulnerability of the building along the ever-changing coastline of the headland, where rising sea levels that fueled climate change fuels the erosion process.
“So the Cape has always been moving,” said John Cumbler, a retired environmental history professor who also works for the Wellfleet Conservation Board. “The sand is moving.”
The house was built in 2010 on Cape Cod, on the bay side of the peninsula.
The original owners, Mark and Barbara Brush, sought permission from the committee in 2018, constructed a 241-foot wide seawall to prevent erosion. Seven members of the committee (all volunteers) refused the embankment on the grounds that it could have an unintended effect on the way beaches and bays carry nutrients. They also questioned whether it would actually save the house.
This property is located within the Cape Cod National Coast. The National Coast Administration supported Seawall’s denial due to “important locations” within the coastal and well port area, including key habitats and manipulation of precious shellfish.
Blasches sued a refusal in state district court and lost. An appeal to the state’s superior court is pending.
Attorney John Bonoy, a New York man, bought the house in 2022 for $5.5 million. Bonomi’s lawyer declined to comment on the story.
Last year, Wellfleet’s report by Woods Hole Marine Association coastal grants expert Brian McCormack estimated that bluffs are eroding at a rate of 3.8 to 5.6 feet a year. I am. The report estimated the collapse in a maximum of three years, but perhaps faster.
The report said the collapse could send debris to the well net port. There, it takes two to three years for the oyster of the same name in the town, well known to shellfish lovers.
“There’s a lot of fiberglass insulation in the house,” Kambler said. “If that toxic substance is where the flow is received when it enters the well port, then Wellfleet, a major industry outside of tourism. could put the oyster industry at risk.”
Bonomi came to us in October and yes, we understand that our home is at risk of falling into the ocean. We plan what we will do at home by January,” Kambler said. I asked for a plan to remove it from danger. ”
The plan was to be presented at the committee’s January meeting. But Tom Moore, Bonomi’s lawyer, wrote to town in December, saying that Bonomi sold the house to CQN Salvage, the company that was founded in October. Moore writes that the town has “notices to take wise steps to prevent collapse of the embankments and other consequences of further erosion. CQN rescue is prepared to work with the town in such an effort. It’s done, but I don’t fund them.”
It is not clear who owns CQN Salvage. New York State Founding Records do not list officials. Moore refused to speak to the Associated Press.
At a January meeting, Moore appeared on the video and told the committee that the “minimum estimate” for removing the house is at least $1 million.
“So you’re going to do nothing and allow it to fall into the water?” town conservation agent Lescia McKenna asked Moore.
“I’m going to ask you not to fall into the water,” replied Moore.
The committee voted to extend the deadline to comply with the enforcement order until June 1st.
For now, the town is simply left to look at the house. When the AP visited the site recently, he saw a 20 mph wind hitting the mass and cheating the sand.
The nearby sea level in Falmouth has risen 11 inches over the past 90 years, but the pace is accelerating. An AP analysis of data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found that between 1995 and 2024, the sea level around Cape Cod has risen at a rate of 0.16 inches (about 4 millimeters) than in the past 30 years. 。
McCormack, a Woods Hole expert who prepared the town’s report, said it would be difficult to attribute erosion to climate change and sea level rise with a single property. And he said Cape Cod had been eroded “for tens of thousands of years.”
However, he said that Bluff has retreated 54 feet since 2014, and that erosion rates over the past decade are “over the long-term rates announced by the Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management.”
