(July 08, 2010) Montauk’s Fort Pond House has been declared unsafe for public occupancy and shut down. The property, which is owned by East Hampton Town, has been a recent subject of contention after the town board put it up for sale, unleashing complaints from the public and civic groups.
A July 2 memo from Mike Johnson, the town’s chief fire marshal, to Supervisor Bill Wilkinson lists 25 conditions related to “maintenance, code compliance, and safety issues.”
They include a deteriorated roof and entrance steps, a handicapped-access ramp that does not meet specifications, a disconnected smoke detector, an inadequate fire extinguisher, and the lack of a carbon monoxide detector.
The memo also cites “exterior electric service overgrown by vegetation,” possible mold due to a formerly or currently leaking ceiling, a “spongy” floor, overgrown trails, and a picnic table “in deteriorated condition.”
In addition, according to the memo, there is an “active rodent infestation present in the covered porch area,” a detached building that is “not accessible for inspection” and “has a history of residential use, at least for seasonal occupancy,” and “aviary type structures [that] obstruct emergency vehicle access to the second structure.”
Citing campaign promises to sell town assets to help resolve a multimillion-dollar town deficit, the Republican majority of the board voted 3-2 on June 3 to put the approximately four-acre waterfront property on the block. That decision came despite objections from the Democratic minority members, Town Councilman Pete Hammerle and Councilwoman Julia Prince.
The town set an asking price of $2 million for the property, which it purchased in 2003 for $890,000.
The legality of selling the property has been questioned by lawyers representing the Concerned Citizens of Montauk and the Group for the East End, along with other groups.
In a letter to the town board, Richard Whalen, an attorney, said that the sale runs counter to the town’s Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan as well as the New York State public trust doctrine, which governs the “alienation of parkland.”
Mr. Wilkinson said at a board meeting on Tuesday that he sent inspectors to the property after a visit there by Beverly Bond, an East Hampton resident, who reported its condition to him. He thanked Ms. Bond, who was in attendance, for bringing the situation to his attention.
The Third House Nature Center, which has been operating the facility, used for educational and cultural activities, for the town, according to a license agreement, was notified in a July 1 letter that the license will be terminated 90 days after the date of the letter.
The letter, signed by John Jilnicki, a town attorney, and addressed to Ed Johann, the head of the nature center, says that “due to the unsuitability of the premises for purposes of public assembly, it is anticipated that the premises will remain closed.”
“It’s a shame that Bill didn’t put this level of scrutiny into whether he has the authority to sell the property,” Jeremy Samuelson, an environmental advocate with the Group for the East End, said of Mr. Wilkinson on Tuesday.
“Or into whether paintball should be allowed in a nature preserve, or whether a landscaped walkway should be built through the Double Dunes,” he said, referring to other issues of concern to his organization.
“If Bill were as diligent in his assessment of the septic system and the code violations at the Surf Lodge and the deck at Solé East and the largest dredging violations in the history of Long Island in the last 15 years,” Mr. Samuelson said, referring to three Montauk commercial establishments (the third, the Crabby Cowboy Cafe, is the subject of a separate story today), “then the environment of East Hampton Town would be in a lot better shape than the current majority has allowed things to deteriorate to.”
“I think what we’re witnessing here,” Mr. Samuelson said, “is the personalization of what should be a neutral political job.”