Business & Tech

Destroyed by Fire, Montauk Fish Dock Will Be Rebuilt Soon

A grant helped cover the costs of repairing the the property's bulkhead, and will also help rebuild and expand facility.

A vital component of the fishing industry in Montauk is in the process of being rebuilt after a fire destroyed its building in May 2012.

Montauk Fish Dock Inc., a commercial refueling and fish unloading, packing,
and distribution facility that services the Montauk commercial fishing
fleet, received a $120,000 grant from Empire State Development Corporation to help rebuild and expand on the business, located on Montauk Harbor. Empire State Development, an initiative of the governor's office, finances projects by issuing tax exempt bonds.

"It's very exciting," said Perry (Chip) Duryea III, a general partner in Montauk East LP, which owns the property. Paul Farnham's business has been a tenant since 1988.

After an electrical fire gutted the building, and compromised the bulkhead, Farnham kept the business going. "To his credit, he was up and running within a week," Duryea said. He brought in some rented trailers and even worked through the 2012-13 winter.

New York State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr., I-Sag Harbor, applauded the grant on Thursday. "This funding will help ensure that an historic commercial
fishing dock remains a vital part of the commercial fishing infrastructure
of Montauk Harbor. By expanding dockside processing and distribution
services here on Long Island, we can generate economic revenue and make
certain that the fishing community remains on the East End," he said.

The cost to rebuilt was estimated at about $560,000, according to Thiele.

Duryea said they needed help to repair the bulkhead and the building and researched grant money. "It was joint effort on the part of the Paul as the tenant and Montauk East as the landlord to secure finances," he said. "We turned to a variety of finance-sources and one of those was Empire State Development because we had heard there was some grant funding available for projects like this with the intention of having an operation doing more than it was."

When the building is complete, Duryea said Montauk Fish Dock hopes to process seafood there and is considering having a wholesale display for local restauranteurs.

The grant was split into two phases — $60,000 for the bulkhead repair, which was recently completed, and $60,000 for the building restoration, which Duryea said will begin with a few weeks. It will help fund the purchase of machinery and equipment.

"It's really an example of coming back from a dire situation," Duryea said, adding that Montauk Fish Dock is critical to the commercial boats, the day boats in particular.

The May 2012 fire was the second time a fire had broken out at Farnham's business. The first fire was about 10 years earlier, he said at the time, when a television shorted-out sparking a blaze. It took about a year and a half to rebuild, though the damage wasn't as extensive as the latest blaze.

Duryea said that Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office called recently and said they will be sending a film crew to the dock on Wednesday to see the tile fish boats packing out there. "I guess they've taken quite an interest in the process," he said.


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