The Fishers Island Ferry District has filed a $2 million lawsuit against the Town of Southold, alleging that town police “forcibly” and unlawfully seized and occupied a residential property maintained by the district.
At the heart of the dispute is a four bedroom house at 357 Whistler Avenue, one of a number of properties on the island owned by the town but managed by the ferry district.
In court papers filed last month, ferry district officials claim that in January, Southold police “forcibly” cut the locks, “ejected all property and people” from the home, and have been living there ever since — a move the district contends was made without the approval of its governing board.
A review of public records and interviews with numerous people familiar with the situation suggest that the allegations are part of a broader and more complicated history between the town and the ferry district.
It remains unclear who was ejected from the property. Attorney Keith Corbett, who represents the ferry district, and FIFD island manager David McCall did not return calls for comment on Friday. FIFD Commissioner Thomas Cashel declined comment. Southold Police Chief Steve Grattan directed a media inquiry to the town attorney’s office.
Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski said in an interview Friday that “right now, the police are using what is the town’s building [at 357 Whistler] and we’re trying to sort it out and are very eager to work with the ferry district.”
Southold purchased the house from the federal government in 1984 — supported by a $14,000 private donation.
Like several other properties on Fishers Island, it remains town-owned but is overseen by the ferry district’s board of commissioners, who manage rentals and direct profits back to the district. A 2015 state audit found the ferry district earned more than $77,000 from its property rentals the year prior. The town also owns roughly 200 acres at the Elizabeth Field airport on the island.
For years, the house at 357 Whistler was occupied by a district manager who lived on the island full-time. After the manager left, the home sat vacant. In June 2023, the town’s Building Department issued a two-year rental permit, allowing the property to be used by ferry district staff through mid-2025.
Four months later, the ferry board approved a $147,000 renovation — upgrading the bathrooms, kitchen and floors, records show. The ferry district board arranged to lease the house to the private Hay Harbor Club for summer 2024 and planned to list it on the open market for year-round rental that fall.
Meanwhile, changes were underway in island law enforcement. State troopers, who had patrolled Fishers Island from barracks at 752 Whistler Ave., left in late 2023, citing poor building conditions. With their departure, Southold Town Police assumed patrol duties for the island’s several hundred year-round residents — a number that swells into the thousands each summer.
To house its officers, the town rented a $5000-a-month three bedroom Fishers Island home, according to interviews and public records. While the island is part of Southold Town’s jurisdiction, it is only publicly accessible by taking a ferry to New London, CT. and another to the island — a half-day trip in each direction.
By late fall last year, Southold officials were eyeing the vacant 357 Whistler Ave. for police housing. In November 2024, the town board notified the ferry district of its intention to seize the property.
Sources familiar with the situation said the town offered multiple times to compensate the district for the costs of the renovation, but the district failed to provide documentation verifying the costs. Last December, the board initiated emergency action to convert the house into police quarters. The town also paid the 2025 property taxes.
On Dec. 30, the ferry district formally rejected the move. One source said this week that the district re-secured 357 Whistler Ave. with new locks and refused to hand over the keys, forcing police to cut them to gain entry.
“This is multi-millionaires and billionaires trying to get their way,” the person said, referring to the district’s lawsuit.
A second source said the town was left with few options, because all other town-owned properties outside the ferry district itself were already rented, and suggested that the district was putting rental income profit ahead of police housing.
Last week, town officials visited Fishers Island to take stock of municipal holdings there.
“This is a long-standing relationship that has evolved over time,” Krupski said. “So it’s good to go over and take a look at everything, because we need to get a handle on how things are being managed.”
Town attorney Paul DeChance said the review was part of a larger, ongoing process of “reviewing the management and schedule of rentals and rental income from those parcels, which may be altered as a result of the present action.”