The Town of Shelter Island has added temporary sanitary facilities at Bootleggers Alley, which has lately become a popular spot for off-Island beachgoers, local officials say.
Other measures to address emerging needs were taken too, after the Town Board held a lengthy discussion at its weekly work session on Wednesday afternoon.
Among them, additional trash cans, signs in English and Spanish encouraging social distancing and wearing of masks, and increased patrols to enforce fishing licenses and beachgoer behavior.
Supervisor’s statement
When the board got to the topic of Bootleggers Alley about an hour into its meeting, Supervisor Gerry Siller read this statement:
“As many of you know, the beach areas around the Bootlegger’s Alley town landing have become popular spots for beachgoers and fishing, with large numbers of people visiting — many from off-Island — particularly on weekends.”
“This past weekend, it is estimated that 50 to 100 people were present. These folks have the right to use the beach here below the high tide line and for the most part have been courteous and respectful of our area.”
“The bay constables and Shelter Island Police have been patrolling the beach and issuing tickets for those violating the law. However, the increase in numbers and their length of stay has caused parking and sanitation issues in the area affecting adjacent property owners and those of us who periodically walk the beach.”
“Shelter Island is not unique in experiencing this surge of use of unofficial beach areas. All the East End towns are reporting and influx of people using similar areas.”
“We believe this probably being caused in part by beaches being closed in New York City and across Long Island due to COVID-19 concerns, and that the condition hopefully will be temporary; time will tell.”
“Last week the Town Board authorized the change in parking to alleviate some of the issues. This week, I’m going to sign an executive order to authorize placement of two portable sanitary facilities in the bulkhead area at the end of Bootleggers Alley as a temporary measure under our COVID-19 emergency declaration to address the unsanitary conditions that are being created.”
“Some have expressed concern that the presence of these facilities may increase the number of people using the beach. While that is certainly a possibility, I feel that addressing the unsanitary conditions is critical.”
“The Town will continue to monitor the use of Bootleggers Alley and other Shelter Island areas and will address each situation as it arises.”
An East End problem
Siller said the problem of crowds on beaches isn’t confined to Shelter Island, but is happening across the East End. For the most part, the beachgoers are arriving in families and groups “just trying to spend the day together,” he said.
“We’re trying real hard to work with everybody.”
The Town agreed last week to limit parking on the narrow road that leads to the landing. Signage went up indicating resident permit parking only on one side of the road, leaving the other side to non-residents. Parking was banned in the immediate vicinity of the landing to keep the lanes clear for people launching boats, and also fire truck access.
Residents have also expressed concerns about sanitary conditions, he said, complaining that people are relieving themselves in the low sand dune along the narrow strip of beach. To address these concerns, the Town Highway Department has moved two portable toilets and a portable hand-washing station to Bootleggers Alley landing area, Siller said.
Increased patrols
Shelter Island Police Chief James Read said that officers would increase patrols at the beach to ensure that beachgoers, including many native Spanish speakers, understand the local rules.
“We’ll pull one of our Spanish interpreters, we’ll walk the beach several times over the weekend, and we’re going to be strong in our delivery that if you want to continue to use this property, you have to respect the property owners, and trespassing, use of sanitary facilities and garbage,” he said.
“We’ll make sure that we get the point across that we are community that embraces people. We welcome people,” Read said. “But we also expect you to follow our rules. We have a nice thing here and we don’t want to ruin it.”
Not just a Silver Beach concern
At Wednesday’s meeting, Town Councilman Jim Colligan reminded the board that while the property below the high water mark belongs to the public, “the vast majority” of the upland area along the sandy beach belongs to the Silver Beach Association.
The bucolic spit of land separates Crab Creek from the channel that runs between Shelter Island and Great Hog Neck in the Town of Southold.
Colligan is president of the homeowners association, which owns numerous small parcels throughout the portion of the West Neck peninsula that was developed post World War II as Silver Beach. However, he said, the issue of crowds on beaches is not just a Silver Beach concern, but could crop up at any of the Town’s numerous public landings.
“Handling this problem is not an easy slam dunk for a town official,” Colligan said, adding “the easy way out is to just go down there and say resident parking only.”
“But there are a bunch of people who think that’s very discriminatory, and it probably is.”
Colligan also implored members of the public “to be more constructive in their comments to the Town Board.”
“This is not a Silver Beach issue, this is a Town issue, ” he said, and became visibly choked up when referencing Memorial Day. Colligan, a retired U.S. Army colonel, is an active member of Shelter Island’s American Legion Mitchell Post 281, which due to COVID-19 concerns had to cancel its traditional public commemoration this weekend and instead televise a pre-recorded ceremony.
“I get a little upset, being the president of the Silver Beach Association on Memorial Day, that people are so locked into the beach. My head was totally locked into honoring our fallen heroes, people I left behind in Vietnam and my comrades.”
“You may not think that that’s important to you on Memorial Day, but that’s the number one important thing in my life on Memorial Day.”
“I didn’t want to get emotional about it, but I think if we stay constructive and we work on this thing together, who know’s where it’s going to lead. But we’re going to try to do everything we can to make this the best situation possible.”
The supervisor responded, “Jim, I’m glad you said it. It’s not a Silver Beach issue, it’s a Town issue and I would hope that the people would address more of their comments to us than to you personally.”
[Editor’s Note: This post was updated Friday and Saturday to reflect that actions discussed at the Wednesday meeting had been taken; and with Jim Colligan’s photo of beachgoers.]
