Ferry Laws Hearing Attracts Heat, Hordes

Hundreds showed up at Town Hall Friday for an emotionally charged, three-and-a-half-hour hearing on the future of ferries in East Hampton Town. It was one of the largest crowds to attend a public hearing in recent memory.

Many threw their support behind a proposed ban on car ferry terminals. But most were there in support of Capt. Paul Forsberg, who owns the only existing ferry in town, protesting proposed legislation that could take a serious bite out of his business.

By 10:30 a.m. not a single space remained in the Town Hall parking lot. Supporters of Mr. Forsberg and his Viking Fleet in Montauk carried signs reading "Save the Montauk Ferry" and passed out T-shirts with the same slogan as still more cars entered the lot.

Stream Of Cars

A few minutes into the hearing, with people spilling out of the Town Hall courtroom, into the hallway, and out the front door, the board decided to move the proceedings to the American Legion Hall in Amagansett to accommodate the overflowing crowd. The line of cars leaving Town Hall stretched without a break to the traffic light in Amagansett.

The proposed ferry laws were written this fall with help from Stop the Ferry, a Montauk-based group that two years ago was carry "Stop the Ferry" signs, handing out T-shirts, and collecting signatures to prevent a Montauk ferry link with the Connecticut casinos.

The new regulations would ban vehicle ferry terminals throughout the town (except at the state parkland at Napeague, where the town has no jurisdiction), limit the horsepower of passenger ferries in town waters, and create new parking requirements for passenger ferries and party boats.

Out One-Third

It is the last portion of the legislation that troubles Mr. Forsberg most. The code would call for one parking space for every three passengers on an excursion boat. A ferry would require one space for every four passengers multiplied by the number of trips it made per day.

Mr. Forsberg's Montauk-based Viking Ferry Lines offers passenger ferry service to Block Island and New London, Conn., whale watching cruises, fishing trips, and a gambling "Cruise to Nowhere." If Viking Ferry Lines is subjected to the new parking rules, Mr. Forsberg claims, his business will be cut back by a third.

"If these regulations go, Montauk will lose the whale watching boat," Mr. Forsberg said Friday. "The New London boat will go next."

An Overall Look

This summer the Town Planning Board looked at a 1996 site plan application for a retail store on Mr. Forsberg's property, which is on West Lake Drive. The board also had before it a 1994 application from the related Francarl Realty pertaining to a parking lot, and a seven-year-old site plan for Viking Dock repairs that had already been made under an emergency permit.

The board asked the chief building inspector, Fred Sellers, to look into the status of the various uses on the properties, to determine what was permitted or pre-existing and what wasn't.

If the uses conform to or pre-exist zoning law, as Mr. Forsberg says his ferry and excursion boats do, the application can proceed. If, on the other hand, the building inspector finds that he failed to obtain permission required for some uses, he will have to go through the applicaion process for those uses before proceeding with the original application.

To The Z.B.A.

Anything that is legally pre-existing or went through the proper permit process on the Forsberg properties would not be subject to the new zoning regulations, but any substantial changes in the future would be.

"No one is asking any questions about what I think of the Stop the Ferry proposal," Mr. Forsberg said. "Now they question my pre-existing status, which was already established in 1990."

He has asked the Town Board to withdraw the request to the building inspector and recognize his legally pre-existing status. "These regulations . . . are made to injure the Viking operation terribly."

The town and members of Stop the Ferry maintain this is not the case. Town Board members have offered their own opinions that the Viking operation is most likely pre-existing, but say the matter was raised by the Planning Board, passed on to the building inspector, and now must be decided or dismissed by the Town Zoning Board of Appeals.

Lawsuit Promised

The chairwoman of the Planning Board, Pat Mansir, issued a memo from the board last Thursday stating that it was unanimously in favor of a ban on vehicle ferries, but felt the proposed legislation was too restrictive.

At the hearing Friday, Ms. Mansir said, "I . . . in no way want legislation that will put a stranglehold on the much needed services Viking brings to Montauk."

"I'm a fighter, I had to be," Mr. Forsberg said Friday. "I'm going to take this to Federal Court if the town does not stop harassing me. This is not a threat, it's a promise," he said, then added to the roomful of people at the American Legion, "It bothers me to have to sue all of you out there who support me to prove that these people cannot do their job."

Blank Check

Richard Kahn, a member of Stop the Ferry and the first to speak Friday, caused an outcry among Mr. Forsberg's contingent when he announced that two people had yielded their allotted five minutes to him.

"Stop the Ferry has no problem with the existing ferry service to Block Island or New London," he said.

The group is opposed to any significant expansion of the business without the Planning Board making the proper determination that would be required for a special permit.

"Captain Forsberg is trying to hold this legislation hostage until the Town Board is ready to write him a blank check . . . the problem arises because of his desire to expand his operation without any restrictions."

Public Outcry

Mr. Kahn reminded people in the audience why the ferry issue became so heated in the first place.

In 1995 the Duryea family was reported to be in discussions with Cross Sound Ferry about bringing a ferry to their Fort Pond Bay property in Montauk. "The public outcry was immediate and clear," Mr. Kahn said. People looked at what had become of Orient Point on the North Fork and said, "'Do not let the same disaster descend on the South Fork.'"

Since then, the potential number of passengers generated by the Mashantucket Pequots' Foxwoods Casino and a brand new casino nearby, the Mohegan Sun, "has continued to accelerate," he said. Foxwoods has an average of 45,000 visitors a day and an annual revenue of $1.1 billion.

Ferry Pressure

A direct ferry link from Long Island to the new casino hasn't been developed yet, but the Pequots already have a high-speed ferry from Orient to New London, are building more, and are "looking to establish new ferry routes," according to Mr. Kahn. The New York Fast Ferry attempted to establish a run from downtown Manhattan to Sag Harbor and now has service from Manhattan to Greenport.

Stop the Ferry believes either situation or both would overtax the already burdened East Hampton road system, creating traffic nightmares and parking woes, and would be catastrophic for the South Fork's fragile environment and recreational resources. "This is a major threat to our way of life."

The decision the Town Board will have to make on some kind of ferry regulations is, said Mr. Kahn, "the most important facing any Town Board in the last 25 years."

Jet Propulsion

After Mr. Kahn spoke, the Town Board responded to audience members' cries that he had been given too much time and placed a strict five-minute limit, with no time sharing, on all other speakers. Some, like Bill Akin, the president of Concerned Citizens of Montauk, came back for a second turn at the podium to make their point.

Mr. Akin reported that the Pequots are building several high-speed ferries that could cross Long Island Sound in 30 minutes. According to a brochure put out by the Pequots, said Mr. Akin, the ferries have water-jet propulsion systems that discharge as much water as an Olympic-sized swimming pool would every 54 seconds as they speed over the water.

A Sea Jet Tri-Cat, like that the Pequots are building, is, he said, "the largest, fastest ferry in the United States." It can carry 300 people and go up to 47 knots.

"No one is studying the impact of the water jet propulsion system on flora and fauna or lobster pots for that matter," Mr. Akin said.

Cries Of Outrage

Mr. Akin and the parade of more than 40 speakers that followed were asked to sit down when their five minutes were up, but when Mr. Forsberg stood up to say his piece, he requested some additional time. "I've been building my business for 48 years," he said, adding that it would take him a lot more than five minutes to tell his story.

When Supervisor Cathy Lester denied his request, but told him he could return after everyone on the list had spoken, it was the closest thing to a riot that happened all day.

Members of the audience let out an audible cry of outrage. Mr. Forsberg's attorney, James T. Greenbaum of Montauk, stepped up to the podium to defend his client's right to free speech, but the captain of the Viking Fleet opted not to say anything until the end of the hearing.

Viking Defenders

Several speakers asked the Town Board to recognize the pre-existence of the Viking ferry and enter into negotiations with Mr. Forsberg over how to craft a law that keeps the big ferries out, but protects the one that's already there.

It was clear that the hearing had become a sort of trial on the merits of the Viking Fleet and on the right to operate a business as the owner saw fit to meet the demands of a changing society.

"Forsberg was responsible for putting Montauk on the map . . . I would like to see this part of history remain in Montauk untouched," said Fred E. Bird, who owns a party boat business in Montauk.

Linda Prado called the ferry service to New London "a lifeline to the outside world," and Lauralee Duffin of Montauk asked the Town Board to "give the Montauk Viking Fleet the opportunity to explain what they want."

First Traffic Jam

"I don't think Paul Forsberg could thank you enough for helping him to reduce the competition," Rob Rosen of Montauk told the board. Mr. Rosen said he had helped build some fast ferries and suggested the town learn a little bit more about them before adopting the legislation on the table.

With the new regulations, Mr. Rosen said, the town would be "putting a man's only livelihood in jeopardy." He said a business that stayed the same for 20 years wouldn't be in business anymore.

"Every time a problem arises it's the business community that has to pay," said Tom Brennan, the owner of the Blue Haven Motel. He contended that Viking hasn't reached its "ceiling" yet. The operation, he said, has plenty of parking and has never created a traffic problem. "The only time I ever saw Paul Forsberg cause a traffic jam was today."

Imminent Threat

As much praise as people had for Viking, there were also words of caution about what could happen to the town if ferry operations were allowed to go unchecked and regulations were not adopted.

"We need rules and regulations to protect this place," said Rav Friedel of Montauk. "These people can sell out to people who don't care anything about us."

Larry Smith also supported the legislation, saying, "The threat is real, it's great, and it's imminent."

Loretta DeRose, who owns Montauk's Snug Harbor motel, said the harbor had lost "several marina customers because they can't handle the traffic anymore. Increasing traffic to Montauk is going to be a detriment to every single business in Montauk," she said.

By Car Or Boat

Robert DeLuca, the executive director of the Group for the South Fork, threw in his vote in for the legislation as well. He pointed to the recently completed transportation study as proof that serious rules were needed if East Hampton was to deal with the traffic demands of the future.

Only a handful of people turned out for a public hearing on the transportation study, which recommended a prohibition on new ferries.

Marshall Helfand spoke against such strict prohibitions then and again on Friday, suggesting that the best thing the town could have done for traffic was build a Route 27 bypass. That chance was lost and now the town is dealing with the consequences, he said, adding that a ban on ferries would be another mistake.

General Complaints

Mr. Forsberg's attorney, Mr. Greenbaum, urged other business owners to recognize that the issue wasn't just about his client. "Similar regulations are being considered for delis," he said.

The message the board is sending, he said, is that "if you don't fit into a certain category of people this town is going to discriminate against you."

Charlie Grimes, who owns a gravel business in Wainscott, and Pat Grignon, whose family owns the now-defunct Woodrow's Cottages in Montauk, agreed. When the town decided to make "his use a use" in the code, Mr. Grimes was asked to fill out an application and come to a public hearing. He did and found a group of Wainscott residents there to protest a business he had already been running for year.

Land Of No

Ms. Grignon's family lost the ability to operate their motel on South Endicott Place in Montauk, and blame the town for putting them out of business and forcing them almost to the point of bankruptcy. "I am here to witness for you," she said to Mr. Forsberg. "I urge the business people of Montauk to wake up and see what is happening to them."

"The Land of No," is what Stuart Vorpahl of Amagansett called East Hampton Towns.

After dozens of people aired their opinions about the Viking ferries and the town's proposed laws, Mr. Forsberg finally took the microphone in front of the room. By then, only half the crowd was left, but most already knew the story he would tell.

Viking Saga

"It's a long story," he said. "My whole future depends on this." He related how he and his father and brother had built the original dock by hand before there was electricity or a road to Montauk Harbor in 1952. "We cut the timbers with a two-man saw," he said. In 1955, he said, his father began running a ferry to Block Island and fishing trips in between.

Gradually the business grew. The Viking Star was built in 1970. In 1977 the Forsbergs introduced the 140-foot Viking Starfish, the world's largest party fishing boat, with 2,640 horsepower coming out of two Mercedes-Benz engines.

In '82, Viking began running a route to New London, but soon ran into trouble with Cross Sound Ferry, for stepping into its turf. After a $70,000 lawsuit, Viking won the lawsuit. "Little Viking beat down big Cross Sound," Captain Forsberg said.

In turn, he found Cross Sound in his home turf in 1992, when the big ferry line and the Montauk Chamber proposed a ferry to the old Promised Land fish factory at Napeague State Park.

New Passenger Ferry

In opposition he designed a 25-car ferry and presented his plans to the Chamber. "I thought that was the right thing to do at the time," he said.

The ferry was being built in Florida by the end of '93, but in '94, he said, he decided to make it a passenger ferry instead. That ferry, a 400-passenger boat with anti-seasickness and anti-rolling technology, will replace the Viking Starliner on the Montauk to Block Island route. The Starliner can seat 350, but often carries less. It is one of the oldest boats in the fleet and needs replacing, said Captain Forsberg.

The new boat can go four knots faster and take 15 to 20 minutes off the trip to Block Island. Mr. Forsberg told the Town Board he does not plan to have more runs per day, but only wants to have a safer, more comfortable boat that can meet peak demands.

Next, Negotiation

After Mr. Forsberg spoke, Mr. Kahn again took the podium and suggested leaving most of the legislation as is, but taking out the parking requirements for excursion boats for now. Others too, had urged the town to sit down, not only with Mr. Forsberg, but with owners of other marinas and party boat operations to work out a fair parking plan for Montauk Harbor.

Though the hearing had been contentious at times it ended on a conciliatory tone, with Mr. Forsberg and the Town Board beginning what could be a series of calmer discussions. Faced with so much support for Mr. Forsberg and so many concerns about the impact of the legislation, town officials appeared ready to head back to the drawing board with the ferry laws and to continue talking with Mr. Forsberg.

"There's room for negotiation, absolutely," Supervisor Lester said Monday. The record will be kept open for written comments until Friday, Nov. 7.