Scraping Bottom

Suffolk County took on the responsibility for keeping its harbors navigable in the 1960s, when the number of recreational boaters on the East End was small. County government was run by a Board of Supervisors then, five of whom were from the five East End towns.

Over the years, the number and size of boats of every kind, including commercial fishing boats, have grown exponentially. What was true in 1960 continues to be true today, only more so. Many of the boats in local waters come summer are transient, and many come from other parts of Suffolk County, Huntington Harbor, for example, and the North Fork.

While the United States Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for keeping Montauk Harbor open, along with Shinnecock in Southampton and Mattituck in Southold, that leaves a lot of waterways dependent on the county.

In East Hampton, officials have been begging the county for over a year to do a thorough dredging of Three Mile Harbor, something that has not been done since 1974. All necessary permits are in place. The county, however, seems willing only to do a little of the necessary dredging at a time, leaving a good number of the boats hard aground and the marinas that service them annoyed that the harbor's condition is not good for business.

A dredge contracted by the county this spring, for example, left Three Mile Harbor on April 15 despite the pleas of the Town Trustees and Town Board, and despite the town's offer to lay out the $100,000 for channel dredging if the county would agree to return the money when it could. The County Department of Public Works, which is in charge, declined, citing budget and a prior commitment at Fresh Pond in Southampton.

As of this writing, County Legislator George Guldi was trying to see whether he could turn the Department of Public Works around before Memorial Day. Make no mistake: This is not some kind of political boondoggle or pork that's being asked for, and more than business is at stake. It's a matter of safety.