EDITORIALS

Bayman Rescued, No Thanks to Town

It is too soon to determine whether the response of the East Hampton Town Marine Patrol last week to a late-night report of an overdue commercial fisherman was adequate. Certainly the family of Charlie Niggles of East Hampton, who was rescued by the Coast Guard after he spent hours on a disabled boat off Gardiner's Island, was outraged by the Marine Patrol's failure to mobilize.

The fact that the Marine Patrol's boats did not leave the dock despite being given what was reportedly specific information about the bayman's probable whereabouts cannot be ignored. About a half hour after midnight on June 25, Marine Patrol officers were among the first authorities to hear that Mr. Niggles had not returned home. Even after learning that the missing man was a commercial fisherman and being shown the location of his fishing trap on a chart, however, they failed to go looking for him. Instead, a Coast Guard search began at 2 a.m., eventually rescuing Mr. Niggles at 4 a.m. from where he had spent most of a cold night on the bow of his boat, which he had tied to the trap to secure it.

Had the Marine Patrol put out from Three Mile Harbor when it was told of Mr. Niggles's probable location, he could have been rescued within the hour. Instead, the Niggles family was reportedly told that the Marine Patrol would not head out until dawn. This point has been disputed by the authorities, and, luckily, Mr. Niggles was fine. He even made it to his son's high school graduation later that morning. But things might not have turned out so well.

Ed Michels, who runs the Town Division of Harbors and Docks and is the top Marine Patrol officer, explained that in Mr. Niggles's case the patrol's boats did not leave the dock because the Coast Guard was leading the search and had not sought the patrol's assistance. This is his department's policy, he said.

But the fact is that Mr. Niggles was only plucked from his windswept perch after Donald Mackay and other members of the Gardiner's Island staff were alerted and trained their vehicle's headlights on his fish trap. This helped a Suffolk Police helicopter to zero in on the site and direct the Coast Guard vessel to the stranded fisherman.

There have been claims made that the Marine Patrol may have acted irresponsibly and is now hiding behind protocol. Town officials need to investigate publicly whether anyone in particular is at fault and if procedural changes need to be made to ensure that this type of confusion does not happen again.

The death on Sunday of Stuart Lester, a commercial fisherman who fell overboard off Gardiner's Island in circumstances that were still being investigated, serves as a reminder that accidents can happen on the water and that tragedy can strike quickly.

The Mystery At Bulova

Reading about the deteriorating Bulova, or Fahy's, Watchcase factory in Sag Harbor, we are struck by a sense that the real story has yet to come to the surface. Like an iceberg, whose bulk lies beneath the sea, there seems to be much going on behind the scenes among its owners, village officials, and a local man with an option to buy it. Given the air of mystery, residents of Sag Harbor who would like to see the building rehabilitated should be wary: A subtle campaign to make a case for tearing it down may be under way.

The 1881 building is in the historic district, which makes changes difficult. Complicating matters, the removal of toxic materials at the site has been ongoing. The former chairman of Sag Harbor's Board of Historic Preservation and Architectural Review, Chris Leonard, has described the owners' goal as "demolition by neglect." In part for believing the historic building should be saved, Mr. Leonard is at risk of losing his post on the board. He already has been demoted from the chairman's seat, and we expect that the final ax will fall on him at the village's reorganization meeting on Tuesday.

We agree with Mr. Leonard that some people seem intent on letting the structure crumble. Trees have been allowed to take root on the roof. Boards over windows come loose and are left dangling for months. A small section of bricks cascaded to the ground earlier this year. Patrick Malloy, a Sag Harbor businessman, has the option to buy the property once the hazardous materials are gone, but he doesn't seem terribly eager to see it restored. Mr. Malloy also seems to be the go-to guy when village officials need to talk to someone about the factory. Recently, he or the owners themselves denied access to an engineer who specializes in old buildings and had been hired by the village at the architectural review board's request.

This came after two other engineers, one hired by the owners and the other by the village, came to opposing conclusions. Both said the two wings of the building were beyond saving. But the village's engineer went further, saying that the whole complex might have to be razed. Both Mr. Malloy's lawyer and Mayor Ed Deyermond have said that public safety is paramount. The engineer that the village hired recently recommended that scaffolding be put up to protect pedestrians and vehicles, and said that restoration of the building was possible.

Demolition of the Bulova factory, while not yet being spoken about publicly, is likely to set off a firestorm of protest. From a perimeter inspection, the most recent study concluded that it could be saved. A lack of regular maintenance, rather than structural flaws, accounts for its condition, the engineer said. This may have been just the kind of news that its owners, and perhaps some in village government, wanted to avoid.