Kristen Doulos, the head of Southampton Town's Parks and Recreation Department, stopped short of fully apologizing during Tuesday's Noyac Civic Council meeting for the clearing of trees, flowers, and shrubs at Long Beach in Noyac. The clearing had angered residents to the point where more than 400 people signed a Change.org petition demanding that the plants be replaced.
Ms. Doulos acknowledged to the civic council, however, that "it's prudent for us, in the future, to come in and assess that" before further clearing takes place.
"I'd be happy to work with our environmental analyst in the town prior to doing these projects to make sure we take a look and assess before sending in our maintenance staff," she said. "We told them to go in and clean the lot, and that's what they did."
The removal of a mulberry tree, native beach plums and roses, and other plants in late March was one outcome of the town maintenance workers coming to "scrape" the parking lot at Long Beach to prevent vegetation from encroaching on the parking spots there. Not only did the plants serve as habitats for many native animals, environmental advocates say, but they also anchored the beach against erosion.
Long Beach "is being systematically destroyed," reads the April 1 petition, which was started by Jill Musnicki and Helen Roussel, both of Sag Harbor. "Over the years, we have stood by and watched Long Beach decay — one tree or shrub at a time. Last week was the final straw."
Ms. Doulos described the brush as "years' worth of accumulation" at the parking lot. She said she stands by the intention to "make the lot safe and perform maintenance, however I do understand the concerns of the community as well."
She proposed working with Cornell Cooperative Extension to replant Long Beach with native trees and shrubs in the fall from plants being propagated at Tiana Beach in Hampton Bays. She said that would be a more favorable planting time than the summer.
"I've already coordinated with them to do a project in the fall at Long Beach to plant many of these native bushes back into the area, and also hold maybe an educational day for the public, where we can teach about aquaculture and native gardening and do a beach cleanup. I'd be happy to work with community members on that."
People also raised concerns about parking permits and enforcement, dogs and trucks on the beaches, water quality, and out-of-control invasive weeds at Trout Pond. Some of the discussion took on a heated tone, particularly with reference to parking. Ms. Musnicki proposed an after-hours parking permit system so that people outside Southampton Town could park at the beaches after 5 p.m., but Ms. Doulos said it would not be feasible.
While Blair Seagram suggested that a weed harvester be brought in for Trout Pond, similar to the one being used at Georgica Pond in Wainscott, Ms. Doulos and Southampton Town Councilman Tommy John Schiavoni said it would be cost-prohibitive and physically not possible in Trout Pond.
After Maziar Behrooz brought up what he believed was declining water quality at Long Beach during the warmer months, Diane Hewett recommended signing up for the Surfrider Foundation's weekly reports on bacterial growth in local waters, and Ms. Doulos suggested tapping the community preservation fund for water quality restoration projects.
