Napeague Lawsuit Deadline Extended Five Days

No decisions or rulings coming out of the on Friday, as had been expected.

At a meeting of the East Hampton Trustees Tuesday night, their attorney, John Courtney, explained that the plaintiffs in the suit made a motion for summary judgment to be extended from April 15 until April 20. By asking for this, the plaintiffs think they will win without going to trial, according to Courtney. He said the trustees will now have five more days to respond to their request.

These Napeague homeowners and homeowner associations are suing the trustees and the East Hampton Town Board over beach rights and access in this area.

“They think they own the beach, and they’re suing because we allowed people some recreational activities like beach driving,” said Courtney.

In past meetings, the trustees have discussed this matter in executive session, but they did not do so at Tuesday’s meeting.

Also at Tuesday night’s meeting, about a dozen homeowners came before the trustees for permits and problems with their homes and property.

Eileen Raffo, of Lazy Point, came over concern about her erosion, which has washed away sand this past winter, and she is in the process of building it back up.

Diane McNally, clerk of the board of trustees, said the board is “finding ways to stabilize the shoreline that will make everyone happy.” She added that there is an effort underway to make sure all the boards know what the others are doing.

Another Lazy Point resident, Robin Weingast, came to ask about her fence and other aspects of her property, which she is also trying to build back up. “I’m suffering, because I think I went about it all wrong, and I’m here to get guidance from the board,” she said. “I’ve already lost 15 feet of beach, and I don’t know what to do.”

Trustee member Joe Bloecker explained that Weingast did “many things without a permit,” on trustee land, such as putting in sod in an area where the natural vegetation is beach grass. He said she also has a dock that does not belong there, but Weingast countered that it was there before she moved in.

He added that her fence needs to meet the town height requirement, and that she painted it blue, which does not fit in with the neighborhood. Weingast asked the board for help in complying with their regulations.

Another resident, Henry Schwatsman, came in to protest a proposed development of houses in the Lion Head Beach wetlands area in Springs, saying he worried about accumulated pollution from septic systems.

“This development wants to exploit the system, by putting three houses on a freshwater pond, and also constructing three pools in a vegetated buffer.” He claimed this “an abuse of the system for people to just make money.”

“I’m afraid this pond will be sacrificed, and to lose it is a sin,” he said. “This is not the right kind of project for this town.”

But Kelly Risotto, a senior ecologist of Land Use Ecological Services of Medford, said buffers and setbacks are provided in the plan. “The buffers we’re proposing are wider than any found on undeveloped lots on either side of these ponds. This project has mitigation built in, to offset the impacts of development. Risotto added that this project meets all the setbacks for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and Suffolk County Health Department.

In other matters, the Winter Flounder Project is still continuing, and the Piping Plover season has begun, so people should take caution to protect these endangered shore birds.