Shelter Island Town Supervisor Gerry Siller didn’t mince words when he spoke Friday about what Islanders expect as the community prepares for a Memorial Day influx of visitors. In short, he’d like to see respect for local values.
“We’ve been very, very fortunate on Shelter Island,” Siller said. “It’s a combination of we’ve tried to stay ahead of the curve from Day One, there’s luck involved, and also the people that are here.”
“The people that live here and the people that chose to come here to sit this thing out have been very vigilant and trying very hard to respect each other,” he said.
“Our concern now is that we’re going into new uncharted waters. It’s the high season, we’re getting a lot more people coming out. And we just hope [going forward] that they respect us the way we’ve all respected each other.”
“We ask you to keep your social distance, wear a mask when you can’t keep your social distance, buy what you need, and don’t stockpile,” he said. “And again, just respect each other.”
How much say does the county have?
Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming was guest speaker at the Friday meeting. Her district includes Shelter Island. She praised the Town officials and residents for their response to the virus outbreak, saying, on Shelter Island “you seem to do everything right.”
“Keep it up,” she said. “It’s important. We’re in this together.”
Regarding reopening, Shelter Island Police Chief James Read told Fleming that Islanders want to know “how much say does the county have with the governor when he’s making decisions that impact our region.”
“The small group that’s judging the reopening includes the county executive of both Nassau and Suffolk,” Fleming said. “So [Suffolk County Executive] Steve Bellone is in the room when those crucial decisions are being made. And bringing to the governor the sort of realities of our communities.”
“So if there’s information that you think is important for Shelter Island that should get to the governor, that’s probably the best way to do it,” she said, offering to help facilitate any such communication.
For instance, Cheif Read said, while Island businesses are permitted to serve food for takeout or delivery, patrons may not eat the food at outdoor tables on the premises. Relaxing that rule could make a difference in helping these businesses remain viable, he said.
Likewise, he said, it strikes many as unfair that except in the cases of essential businesses, patrons may not enter most small retail shops — like those here on Shelter Island. And this is so even as big box retail outlets that offer the same products remain open. Our small businesses, he noted, may be better equipped than large ones to ensure safety precautions are met.
“Is the governor hearing what we’re feeling at a local level,” he asked.
“It’s a good question, and I can’t necessarily answer it definitively. But I do know that the county executive and governor have a good relationship, that they’re in regular contact,” she said. “Certainly, Suffolk County has been hit really hard with COVID and I think the governor is sensitive to that.”
And, she noted that outdoor dining is one thing on Shelter Island, but quite another in places that draw large crowds like Montauk. Perhaps permission in these areas could be granted at the discretion of local officials, Chief Read suggested.
She said the matter does deserve attention and she would be sure to pass along the request.
[See more coverage of her remarks in this Gazette post]
Share the road
Supervisor Siller cautioned visitors to be sure to share the road. While Shelter Island is a small community, our roads are busy.
“When people come out here they like to think they’re in the country,” he said. “There’s no traffic and they can do what they want. But it’s a two-way street when you say ‘Share the Road’. The pedestrians have to share it with vehicles, also.”
Pedestrians should walk facing traffic, he said, adding, “it boggles my mind when people don’t do that.”
Cyclists should ride in single file with traffic.
Beaches
Portable restrooms will be available at the Town’s two public bathing beaches, Crescent and Wades. There will be hand-washing stations, too. No lifeguards will be in place until June 27. Volunteer Park restroom will also be open. All restrooms are being cleaned more frequently.
The Police Department will enforce parking regulations at the beaches and time restrictions elsewhere. Beach parking this year is for residents only — no visitor parking permits will be issued. The new 5-year residents stickers are green. If you have an expired yellow resident parking sticker on your vehicle, you will not get a ticket. But you must replace this expired permit before June 15 when the amnesty period ends. To do so, email a copy of your registration to the Town Clerk’s office at townclerk@shelterislandtown.us.
Parking at the Town landing at Bootlegger’s Alley has become problematic. Always a popular destination for dog-walkers, the beach has lately become a popular fishing spot, too. As a result of increased traffic there, the Town will implement new parking restrictions near the landing.
Resident only parking will be allowed on one side of the street, with non-resident parking on the other. No parking will be allowed near the landing itself. That will keep access free for those launching boats and also the Fire Department, which in areas without hydrants (most places here) must pump seawater for firefighting.
Please note, dogs are not allowed at Wades Beach and Crescent Beach from Memorial Day through Labor Day whether they’re leashed or not. Elsewhere on the dogs must be leashed or under the direct control of their owner at all times.
Masks
The Town asks that everyone wear a mask when out in public in situations were social distancing cannot be maintained. This means, keep a mask with you at all times when you are out in public so that you have ready access to it. Under emergency orders, you must wear a mask to enter a place of business.
“The mask is not to protect you, it’s to protect others from you,” Chief Read said. “So please do your best.”
“Our community has done an excellent job in honoring the requests, whether they come from the Town, the County or the State,” Read said. “Our ability to comply with orders and not involve local law enforcement in simple requests, simple means to protect our community, really has been great.”
Outdoor dining
As mentioned, outdoor dining is not permitted at restaurants, markets, delis and other food provisioners, Read said. That’s because these outdoor facilities are considered an extension of the premises. Right now, eateries may provide takeout/delivery only and are not allowed to have patrons dine on premises.
The Town has reached out to every restaurant, café and eatery and all owners have agreed to comply with these rules, Read said.
“Everybody we’ve talked to has been great about that,” Read said. Where possible, these establishments have marked or removed chairs and/or upended their tables to discourage patrons from sitting down to eat.
“We’ve spent some time leading up to this busy weekend talking about those things. I wanted to thank our local business and thank our community for cooperating with us and allowing us not to have to take a police action on this.”
Contact tracing
Chief Read said Suffolk County is still in need of contact tracers. New York’s re-opening guidelines call for each region to have in place 30 contact tracers per 100K residents. The Long Island region needs about 1,850 contact tracers and has not yet met this metric.
The state has hired Pubic Consulting Group to hire contact tracers. For those interested in applying for a position, Chief Read shared this link to the PCG website.
These remote, work-from-home jobs of 20 to 40 hours per week will augment efforts of the Suffolk County Department of Health. Contact tracers are required to follow set scripts and adhere to policies and procedures developed by New York State, the PCG says. No rate of pay was provided in the job notice.
In her remarks Friday, Legislator Fleming said members of government are also encouraged to volunteer. “I myself and my staff have all volunteered to be contact tracers, and the state is encouraging folks in government to do the same so we can get up and running.”
