Manhattan Ferry Sails In
Recent sightings of the New York Fast Ferry in Lake Montauk and Fort Pond Bay have renewed fears that a ferry service will be established in Montauk and touched off a pre-election political squabble among members of the East Hampton Town Board over its ferry moratorium on Tuesday.
The ferry company has been operating a trial weekend passenger-only service between Manhattan and Greenport since mid-August. On the weekends, its 125-foot, 350-passenger catamaran has been seen sailing in Noyac Bay, off Sag Harbor, and around Shelter Island.
Last week, John Koenig, a partner in the firm, said the company decided to run the day trips rather than leave the boat idle at the dock in Greenport, where it has been moored over the weekends. The company had no plans to expand its service, he added.
No Such Rule
But when the boat made at least one visit to Lake Montauk, sailing to Star Island before turning around, and at least two visits to Fort Pond Bay, the alarm went off.
Rumors have circulated that ferries must visit a potential site at least 10 times before applying for the right to dock, but Bill Taylor, the town's senior harbormaster, said there was no such rule.
He said, however, that his office had received a report last weekend that the boat was approaching the Perry B. Duryea and Son lobster company dock on Fort Pond Bay. By the time a patrol boat arrived to investigate, the ferry had already sailed out of the bay, he said.
The Duryeas could not be reached for comment by press time, but the family has denied reports in recent years that it wants to establish a ferry link to Montauk. Nonetheless, a group, Stop the Ferry, has been formed to oppose such a link, and there is evidence that Cross Sound Ferry, Perry B. Duryea Jr., and the Metropolitan Transit Authority once met to disuss a ferry link.
No Ban On Sailing
Although the town's ferry moratorium, which expires on Oct. 31, bans the vessels from docking in town harbors, it does not prohibit them from sailing in town waters. All five members of the Town Board have gone on record in opposition to allowing ferries to dock in town.
On Tuesday, Councilman Tom Knobel, a Republican, who is challenging Supervisor Cathy Lester, a Democrat, in the November election, tried to quell fears a ferry would be allowed to operate, while questioning whether Democrats were trying to make it a campaign issue.
"We are not going to have a ferry in the Town of East Hampton," he said. "Nancy and I have been pushing for legislation for over a year, and it only seems to be possible to do it at election time," he said, referring to his fellow Republican, Councilwoman Nancy McCaffrey.
Democrats' Ploy?
Mr. Knobel said he found it "strange coincidence that a ferry was wandering around in the bay" with an election nearing. "The only people it can do any good for is the people who want something to stop," he said. "That's why I'm so upset about it."
Supervisor Lester called Mr. Knobel's insinuation that Democrats somehow supported the ferry's visits as "ridiculous" and added that she and Councilman Pete Hammerle, a Democrat, supported extending the moratorium until Oct. 31, so the town could write a good law.
"We should earnestly put legislation together that will stand up in court," Ms. Lester said yesterday. "And it should be a bipartisan effort to make that happen."
Wording The Ban
At Tuesday's work session, Richard Kahn and Russell Stein, two Montauk attorneys representing Stop the Ferry, gave the board a memorandum written by Michael Gerard, an environmental attorney their group has hired. "It is an objective analysis of what the powers of the town regarding ferries are," said Mr. Kahn yesterday.
Ms. Lester said the memo was "a well done paper" and said the board would discuss how it might help it craft a law as early as next week.
Although Republicans have favored an outright ferry ban in town harbors and bays, Mr. Hammerle said Mr. Gerard's report suggested that "would not be the strongest stand the town could take." He suggested the law should be written to include a solid environmental basis for the ban.
"You have a five-member board here that doesn't want to see auto or passenger ferry service come to the town," Mr. Hammerle said. "But we have to be careful of what we do."