1 year into Suffolk's waterfront preservation program, 'hard questions' and no 'slam dunk'

Five waterfront businesses with a combined history of more than five centuries in Suffolk County are under review for a government-backed program that seeks to protect them from overdevelopment, one year into the initiative’s inception.

Hampton Shipyard, Remsenburg Marina, Southold Marine Center, Greenport Yacht & Shipbuilding Co. and La Sala Boatyard are among those recommended for conservation easements through the Working Waterfront Preservation Program, a $9.5 million initiative composed of a 17-member committee tasked with reviewing applications. Qualifying businesses would have their development rights purchased by Suffolk to stave off interest from developers.

"Nothing’s a slam dunk when you come before us," said Tom Kehoe, a committee member. "The owners are being asked some very hard questions and everyone’s taking it very seriously."

The committee, which first met in April, spent months analyzing and compiling reports on each property's economic significance, whether it's vulnerable to other commercial uses, and other factors to determine whether it qualifies for the financial subsidy Suffolk County is ready to give. The voluntary program is modeled after one established in the 1970s to preserve farmland. Under the program, the property owner still owns the area but, in exchange for a taxpayer-funded payment, restricts it only for working waterfront uses.

Currently, the waterfront industry employs about 68,000 people and makes up 5% of the region's economy, according to a 2023 Long Island Association report.

"We want to make sure our working waterfront stays and that aquaculture of this county grows strong," County Executive Edward P. Romaine said in his State of the County speech earlier this month.

Legis. Ann Welker (D-Southampton), a member of the waterfront committee, said there was initially some concern over including businesses like marinas in the program since they're not always the target of development. Her position changed after she saw examples on the East End where small, family-owned marinas in residential communities started to be converted to condominiums.

Several steps remain before any of the businesses receive the conservation easement. Officials estimate it could take between 12 and 18 months. For now, the Suffolk Legislature has approved resolutions to authorize an appraisal of each of the five properties to determine an amount.

If the five pending applications all lead to easements, it would preserve about 17 acres out of about 2,400 acres of commercial waterfront property that spans Suffolk County. A survey the county conducted last year of 164 working waterfront businesses found more than half have been approached about selling in the last five years.

Challenging industry

At Hampton Shipyard, named when the Scopinich family owned it in the 1950s, a new ownership group that acquired the property in 2024 has made preserving the waterfront tradition part of its mission. The maritime history at the site along Weesuck Creek in East Quogue dates to the 1880s.

For Aram Terchunian, the shipyard's co-owner, the economics of a marina can be challenging.

"There's a lot of pressure from a lot of different sources," he said. "There’s definitely development pressure, but there’s economic survivability pressure."

He said operating on expensive land means costly taxes and a limited labor pool that requires paying high wages.

Apart from seeking the conservation easement, the owners are planning to expand the property and are seeking approvals at the town level for a restaurant. The application for the easement excludes the portion of the property where the restaurant, parking spaces and leaching systems are proposed, according to the staff report. That plan has faced some community pushback.

Kehoe, the committee member representing Huntington Town and whose background is in commercial fishing and wholesale seafood, was an early proponent of the Working Waterfront Preservation Program and helped craft it based on a similar program in Maine. He said there was a growing sense of urgency around protecting businesses that support the commercial fishing industry, particularly when the iconic Gosman's Dock in Montauk was listed for sale and ultimately sold in 2024.

"Several of us who are very involved in the seafood business started talking, saying, ‘Geez, what's next?’ ” Kehoe said.

La Sala, which has operated as a marina in Copiague for more than 80 years, seeks to preserve 2.62 acres of the 3.7-acre property. Two existing residential houses would be excluded from the easement, so that portion of the property is free to redevelop.

On the North Fork, Greenport Yacht & Shipbuilding is seeking the easements. The company, which is being sold by longtime owner Stephen Clarke to Nick Voulgaris, was established in 1840 and is the only one capable of removing large vessels from the water, according to the staff report. The vessels would have to go to Rhode Island or Massachusetts otherwise for similar maintenance and repair services, the report said.

In recommending the easement, the committee pointed to its "unique ship-haul railway facility" and "its historic maritime significance."

The shipbuilding company received the highest score — 21 out of 25 — on a rating sheet the committee uses to initially evaluate an application.

Another North Fork business, Southold Marine Center, has operated for 65 years and is seeking an easement on its 3.24-acre property. In recommending an easement, the committee pointed to the property's "active waterfront uses, long-standing marina operation, service to commercial marine businesses" and its location on Jockey Creek.

Remsenburg Marina, which has about 130 dock spaces and buildings for boat storage, sits on property that could be repurposed for six single-family homes or about 25 condominiums, according to the committee. The landowners, Richard Bartel and Roy Bartel, have been approached in the past by developers, they told the committee earlier this year.

Maintaining an identity

The county's Department of Economic Development and Planning compiled a list of waterfront commercial properties and found the Town of Babylon had the highest number, with 355 out of 964 total.

Legis. RJ Renna (R-Lindenhurst), one of three lawmakers on the program committee, told Newsday when he saw how many waterfront areas could potentially benefit, he and Welker toured properties in Babylon Town to talk to owners about the program and solicit feedback.

When he met the owner of La Sala Boatyard, he saw how the area has transformed over the years, noting former waterfront businesses have been redeveloped into apartments and medical offices.

"A lot of these communities are boater communities and if we lose the historical component to it, you kind of lose the identity of a lot of these downtowns and communities," Renna said.

Overall, Welker said the program has been working as intended in its early stage.

"Excited about it and will be even more excited to see as things move forward with actual purchases," she said.