Managing Public Lands
Recent dustups over public land in East Hampton Town have a common thread. In two instances, neighbors worry about what would happen if the public actually showed up. And, while the specifics of the debate about Dolphin Drive on Napeague and the opposition to the upcoming purchase of two house lots overlooking Three Mile Harbor are worth a close look, the underlying sense of dread is also noteworthy.
The summer of 2015 has been marked by frustration about crowds, particularly in Montauk, but elsewhere as well. Quiet spots and activities once the sole province of locals are now widely known thanks to being shared on social media and in sectors of the press eager to let everyone in on the secret. We think of the fashion designer Cynthia Rowley’s crowing in some magazine or other about how much she enjoyed harvesting wild mussels at a particular Montauk beach; maybe it’s not her fault alone, but there are no mussels there anymore.
Everywhere you look these days there are more people than ever before, so it is understandable that some property owners might fear a potential onslaught on their streets. That fear, however, does not make it right for public officials to give in to the “not in my backyard” syndrome.
The town’s pending purchase of two parcels on Squaw Road on Three Mile Harbor is sensible and defensible. Those who argue that it would have been preferable for the lots to be sold on the open market and potentially redeveloped, perhaps with far-larger houses, are missing the point: Neutralizing more waterfront and watershed properties is in the collective community’s best interest.
As to Dolphin Drive, we agree with the neighbors that parking along the east side of the road, ostensibly to allow public access to the town-owned South Flora nature preserve, would be unsightly. However, the town should call the residents on their hyperbole about damaging ecological effects by suggesting that parking be permitted along the developed west side of the road instead. Their surely negative reaction to that idea would help sniff out the likely real motive for their opposition: They simply don’t want to see people who don’t live in the neighborhood there at all.
In the end, it falls to the town to ensure that its lands are managed in ways beneficial to both neighbors and the public at large. And neither side should expect total victory.