Against the backdrop of fishing boats and oyster cages, a bipartisan group of Suffolk County officials, legislators and community leaders gathered in Greenport Monday to mark what many described as a turning point for the East End’s maritime economy: the signing of the county’s first-ever working waterfront preservation law.
“This is a great day for the East End and for Suffolk County,” said County Executive Ed Romaine, moments before signing the legislation.
The new law allows Suffolk County to purchase development rights from commercial waterfront property owners, ensuring those parcels remain dedicated to maritime uses in perpetuity. With $9.5 million in capital funding earmarked through 2028, the county also created a 17-member Working Waterfront Committee to oversee easement applications.
Property owners will be able to apply to the Working Waterfront Committee, which will review applications based on each site’s economic and cultural significance to Suffolk’s maritime economy.
Romaine credited former Suffolk County Executive John V.N. Klein with having the vision to create the farmland preservation measure a half century ago — which he said has preserved “well over” 12,000 acres countywide.
Now, he warned, the county faces similar pressures on its shoreline.
“We began to see that a lot of our working waterfront was disappearing because of the attraction of real estate to building condos, homes or other things,” Romaine said, noting that the state’s three largest fishing fleet’s come out of Montauk, Shinnecock and Greenport, respectively.
“We need working waterfronts to encourage those in the oyster business, to encourage those growing kelp, encourage those who are fishing — all those who earn their living by the sea.”
Legislator Catherine Stark (below, center), who represents the North Fork, called the law “an investment in our economy, our maritime traditions and the future of the East End and the rest of Suffolk County.”
“For generations, families have made their living on the water,” Stark said. “Fishing, aquaculture, boat building and marine repair all have been central to our way of life. These industries employ more than 38,000 residents and support nearly 3,000 businesses. They generate $3 billion in revenue for Suffolk County each year. 1.5 billion of those dollars is direct salaries to our residents.”
Stark said that development pressures are eroding access to working docks.
“This new law provides real protection by preserving more than 2,400 acres of commercial waterfront available,” she said.
“This is about protecting jobs, small businesses and a heritage that is central to who we are.”
Her South Fork colleague, Legislator Ann Welker, echoed that sentiment.
“This is a day filled with hope,” said Welker (below right). Representing a district that includes both Montauk and Shinnecock, Welker said that “protecting our working waterfronts is essential to preserving both the character and the economy of Suffolk County.”
She credited Romaine with inspiring the bill after learning about “the plight of the ice house at the dock at Gosman’s in Montauk,” and praised county Commissioner of Economic Development Sarah Lansdale for coordinating months of community outreach.
“This was truly an amazing collaboration,” Welker said. “Today, we shine a light on our future as we stand where sea, sky and shorelines meet, honoring Suffolk County’s farming and fishing history, while looking forward with hope to what lies ahead due to the power of this groundbreaking legislation.”
Legislator Jim Mazzarella, chair of the county Economic Development Committee emphasized the personal ties Long Islanders feel to their shoreline.
“Drag netting for bait fish, bamboo poling for snappers, treading for clams, body surfing in the ocean — the connection as Long Islanders to the working waterfront in our communities is unparalleled. That’s who we are. I know that’s who I am,” he said.
Greenport Mayor Kevin Stuessi (above left) called it “a momentous day.
“Greenport has always been about community and bringing people together,” Stuessi said.
“We are very much looking forward to doing more on preservation of historic waterfront and water quality through this bill.”
For those working directly on the water, the new law offered reassurance.
“Since the 1800s Long Island fishermen have been shipping fish into New York City,” said Bonnie Brady, (above center) executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association. “But when we lose access to ice, fuel, a place to pack our fish and fix our vessels, we risk losing something much deeper — our ability to work and provide food for our neighbors, our state and our nation and to pass this way of life on to the next generation.”
“This working waterfront legislation is more than just a policy,” Brady added. “It is a promise — a promise that Suffolk County stands with the men and women who harvest wild local seafood and keep coastal communities alive.”
Karen Rivara, (above right) a longtime local aquaculture entrepreneur, spoke about her own decades-long search for dockside access.
“I began my search for a working waterfront 35 years ago when I was working at the Blue Points company,” she said. “It took me until 2000 to be able to establish my farm at the Peconic Land Trust Shellfisher Preserve in Southold.”
Now, Rivara said, the law “will give hope to those folks that they can establish a business as I did, on a working waterfront that’s been preserved for traditional use of commercial fishing and aquaculture.”
As Romaine put pen to paper, a round of applause echoed across Greenport’s harbor front.
“If we do not have a working waterfront,” he warned, “we’re going to miss out on one of the heritage industries of this county. So my deepest thanks to the legislators standing here. Their leadership made it happen. I can’t wait to sign this bill.”