No, aliens did not reclaim the “Cable Crossing” building, a historic brick switch house that disappeared from the tip of Orient Point just before Tropical Storm Irene hit this past summer. And no, there is no extra parking space for the Cross Sound Ferry now, as some North Fork Patch readers commented this weekend.

The building and chunk of land that it stood on is owned by the federal government  — Homeland Security, the agency that has overseen Plum Island and its animal disease research center since 2003. Plum Island is powered by underwater cables stemming from Orient Point, and the brick shed was for years surrounded by large “Cable Crossing” signs to warn boaters.

According to John Verrico, spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, the 15-by-15-foot building was built in the early 1900s but had not been used since 1999, and its condition had deteriorated to a point that was no longer safe.

“The roof collapsed earlier this summer and the walls were ready to do same,” Verrico said. “Plum Island management was concerned about collapse and resulting debris in the event of severe storm conditions.”

Verrico added that several “unauthorized people” had been hopping the fence and entering the building recently and with a possible hurricane looming this past August, the building and fence was taken down ultimately due to safety concerns.

“A temporary fence was put up and a new, permanent fence will go up in the coming weeks along with new cable crossing signs,” Verrico said.