The Coalition to Transform East Hampton Airport has submitted a bid to the East Hampton Town clerk to lease the 97-acre town parcel in Wainscott used by the Maidstone Gun Club since 1983. However, at the town board work session Tuesday, Rob Connelly, the town attorney, made it clear the bid would not get far.
“The town cannot entertain an offer from a third party. They’re already in a contract and that would be breach of contract,” Mr. Connelly told the board. “Your hands are tied.”
In the 40 years the club has leased the parcel, just north of the airport in Wainscott, it has only paid $100 per month. The 30-year lease, which was an extension of an original 10-year lease, expired last October. The Maidstone Gun Club gave the town notice of its intention to renew the lease on March 2, 2022, according to Mr. Connelly. A few months later, on Aug. 5, 2022, the gun club “voluntarily closed its rifle range,” when police received a report of a bullet striking a house. On Dec. 2, Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice Christopher Modelewski issued an order which shuttered operations there.
“Were the gun club found to be in breach of the original contract, would they still have the right to renew?” asked Town Councilman Tom Flight.
“The town never put them on notice of being in breach,” came the answer from Mr. Connelly. “They exercised their option in March, which was prior to when the lawsuit started in November of 2022.”
In the bid submitted to the town, the Coalition to Transform East Hampton Airport laid out its lease offer, which includes a promise to rent the property for $500 more than whatever is offered by the gun club, along with a term of at least 20 years. The coalition does not now know how much the gun club would pay if it renewed its lease.
“The C.T.A. will also agree in its lease that the property will be open to all citizens of the Town of East Hampton for passive recreation such as walking, hiking, and mountain biking on existing trails, will not limit its use to members of a single organization and will not charge a fee or require references for such use,” states the last of five bullet points in the offer.
The town and the gun club have been negotiating modifications to the lease agreement, such as a new rental rate and additional safety protocols, Mr. Connelly said. Since the gun club opted to renew the agreement, the town is “legally bound and obligated to renew and extend the lease.”
Barry Raebeck, director of the Coalition to Transform East Hampton Airport, addressed the East Hampton Town Board last Thursday about the bid, which he submitted the following day. “What is more vital for our community than a pristine watershed and open spaces to enjoy peacefully?” he asked. “As environmentally responsible citizens, we are willing to donate just that.” Mr. Raebeck also criticized the town for the decision to “subsidize an outdoor rifle and pistol range” in an “era of horrific, and controllable, gun violence.”
The topic was also addressed at a Wainscott Citizens Advisory Committee meeting on Saturday.
“It’s obviously a gift from a public entity to a private organization,” Mr. Raebeck, who is also on the Wainscott C.A.C., said of the $100-per-month lease. When asked about the funding — how does he know he could afford to pay $500 more than the gun club if he doesn’t know the gun club’s offer? — Mr. Raebeck said that the organization has “deep pockets.”
Lead contamination is a byproduct of gun clubs, he added. The expired lease also states that the gun club must abide by town noise ordinances, which Mr. Raebeck alleges it routinely failed to do while in operation. The gun club’s hours — 9 a.m. to dusk, 365 days per year — are “ludicrous,” he added.
A member of the Wainscott C.A.C. applauded his organization’s proposal, but a dissenting voice in the audience also spoke up.
“I take umbrage to what Barry has said: that they can outbuy because they’ve got deep pockets,” said Barbara D’Andrea, adding, “That’s offensive to somebody who’s a local person just trying to get by.” As for the environmental concerns, Ms. D’Andrea said, the gun club is willing to cooperate with concerned citizens. “I just hate seeing the local people have something else torn away from them because they’ve got more money,” she added. In addition, she said, the police departments use the gun club to practice, which is “important” for the community.
“Whatever the outcome of the pending litigation, or any potential land transfers, the department continues to hold out hope that the portion of the property where the department trains may somehow be reserved for police department training purposes,” East Hampton Town Police Chief Michael Sarlo said in an email. “The availability of a range for our officers, as well as for our townwide emergency services unit, to regularly train is extremely important to our operations.” Due to time constraints and increased demand for in-service training, he said, it is difficult for officers to make it to the
Westhampton ranges belonging to Suffolk County and Southampton Police Departments.
“First of all, I’m a local, I’ve been here since 1957,” Dr. Raebeck responded at the Wainscott C.A.C. meeting. “I’m not a billionaire, I’m a public-school teacher. . . . The fact that we have to go to this length is not because I’m an elitist, it’s because I’m an environmentalist.”
As for the environmental concerns, he said, the gun club is located in a watershed.
In a separate conversation, Mr. Raebeck added that the club frequently violates the noise clause in the lease, which states that it cannot “exceed normal, peak background noise levels at a distance of more than 1,000 feet from the perimeter.”
Representatives of the Maidstone Gun Club did not respond to requests for comment by phone or email.
“We know they have their reasons for previously negotiating with the gun club, but now there is clearly a better option for the community and for the board,” Mr. Raebeck said. “We feel like we’re doing the board a tremendous favor because they could get out from under the litigation, they could get more money for the land, and they could offer something to the community that is actually wanted.”
If Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez thought Mr. Raebeck and the W.C.A.C. were doing the board a favor, she didn’t mention that at Tuesday’s meeting. Instead, she expressed confusion with their actions.
“When Carolyn Logan Gluck, who’s the chair of the Wainscott C.A.C. called in, she commented that we were sure that the Wainscott C.A.C. could comment on the lease before executed. I can’t imagine what town board member or member of the town attorney’s office would have made that offer. That’s not the way we operate. Lease agreements are drafted and decided by the town. Typically, we then do a resolution that authorizes the supervisor to sign it. This is also a matter of litigation, so I’m baffled as to who made that statement and when.”
“I would never advise a client to bring a third party in to negotiate,” said Mr. Connelly.
“It was said a prior town board member had made these assurances,” said Councilwoman Cate Rogers, who is the board’s liaison to the Wainscott citizens group.
“Safety is paramount for the neighbors and members of the gun club,” continued Supervisor Burke-Gonzalez. “I’m not quite sure why Mr. Raebeck came and made this offer. I know he is aware of the lease that’s in effect. So, that was another confusing element as to where this offer came from. I believe he has a copy of the lease.”
