County’s Gift To Sag Harbor

    “It looks like it’s actually happening,” County Legislator Jay Schneiderman said of the county’s transfer of Long Wharf to Sag Harbor Village after the unanimous County Legislature vote Tuesday to do so. “It has been a couple of years in the works,” he said, “historically, a couple of hundred years,” he said.

    Though the transfer still needs County Executive Steve Bellone’s signature, Mr. Schneiderman said he doesn’t expect a veto. The next steps would then be the Sag Harbor Village Board’s approval and legal documents to transfer the deed.

    Mr. Schneiderman said that he feels the timing is perfect, with a mayor, Brian Gilbride, who “understands its importance” and who is willing to take on the responsibility. Mayor Gilbride was present at the vote, which for $1 authorized “the conveyance of county-owned right-of-way. . . .”

    On his way home from Hauppauge on Tuesday, Mayor Gilbride said that Long Wharf has always been a vital part of the community, and that he looks forward to getting it repaired, a job for which he will set up a reserve fund.

    With an engineer’s report from a few years ago detailing needed repairs not including recent damage from Hurricane Sandy, the mayor said he will get an updated evaluation and then “start a program to pick away at it. . . . We’ll start at it right away,” he said.

    The windmill that sits at the entrance to the wharf, as well as the beach that extends to the Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter Veterans Memorial Bridge, was transferred to the village in July. Thanks to donations from the community, the windmill was recently reshingled and severe damage to the windmill’s blades was repaired.

     “The future of the Long Wharf has been in limbo for several years,” said State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. in a message on Tuesday. “The transfer will permit the village to maximize the potential of this iconic landmark to the benefit of all residents and taxpayers consistent with its maritime heritage,” he said.