Environment, Erosion Top Worries in Montauk
When Tom Bogdan of Montauk formed a grassroots citizen group, Montauk United, a year or so ago, it was in response to what he saw as a “non-responsive local government” that he believed was failing at addressing critical problems in the hamlet, largely related to summertime tourism.
But after the town board acted on a number of fronts to rein in traffic, noise, illegal rentals, overcrowding at nightspots, and the like, he realized that his group might change its focus.
So, Mr. Bogdan turned his attention to information-gathering, designing a survey to pinpoint the status, issues, and opinions of the community to create “a guidepost for the town board” and for community discussion, he told the town board at a meeting last week as he presented its results.
The purpose, according to the survey, was for the Montauk community to “understand for the first time who we are, what we think, the importance of social, political, and environmental issues affecting our lives, and how best to proceed in the future.”
The questions were developed by Sally Krusch, a market research professional, in concert with the Concerned Citizens of Montauk and the Montauk Citizens Advisory Committee.
The survey was sent in August to 3,800 Montauk property owners, and there was a return rate of 58 percent, with 90 percent of those who filled out the survey taking the time to write out additional, individual comments.
Fifty-seven percent of the respondents were second-home owners, while 39 percent make Montauk their primary residence. The majority of those who gave their opinions — 56 percent overall, and 69 percent of those who said they lived in Montauk full time — had owned property in Montauk for more than 20 years. Sixty percent of those who filled out the survey were between 55 and 74 years old.
Topping the list of issues of concern were the environment, coastal erosion, traffic congestion, and Montauk’s image or reputation, as phrased in the survey, and in that order. Beyond the top four issues, issues of most concern, in descending order, were taxis, rental control, late-night music, use of the village green, non-local events, and a category called “other issues.”
Respondents were also asked to rate the importance of a specific list of issues. Of most concern was clean drinking water, followed by the effects of septic systems on water quality, coastal erosion and flooding, land preservation and stewardship, the environmental impact of new development, code enforcement, and public access to beaches and shorelines.
According to Montauk United, the results mean that “people have a true appreciation for Montauk,” and that “we are on the right track.”
The survey asked how residents “feel about the overall quality of life in Montauk today, compared to previous points in time,” and found that 36 percent thought it was “somewhat better,” and 31 percent felt it was “about the same.” Eleven percent thought it was “much better,” and 13 percent said it was “somewhat worse.”
But, comparing the current quality of life in Montauk to that of five years ago, 35 percent of the people who answered the survey said it was “somewhat worse.”
On the question of live music, which has been a source of noise complaints, 24 percent of the Montaukers said that it should only be allowed indoors. And 93 percent said that there should be a curfew for outdoor music. The town code allows outdoor music until 9 p.m. or until 11 for specially permitted events.
Stricter regulation of taxicabs drew a 79-percent approval rate. And the notion of cutting off alcohol sales at 2 a.m. instead of at the 4 a.m. last call time set by New York State drew support from 75 percent of the survey takers.
The question of whether Montauk should incorporate as an independent village resulted in a split vote: 45 percent said no, 19 percent said yes, and 36 percent said they didn’t know.
While the citizens advisory committee system is set up to provide the town board with input from residents, the survey is “information from thousands,” versus just from the handful of residents that serve on the citizens advisory group, Mr. Bogdan said.
He shared a smattering of words that residents had used to describe what they liked best about Montauk: open space, family, small town, fishing, beauty, beaches, relaxed, ocean, fresh air. The words used to describe what people like least? They were: clubs, tourists, drunks, traffic, rude people, and the like.