Beachgoers Rail Against Napeague Lawsuit

A group of regular visitors to a stretch of beach in Napeague is trying to resist what they see as an effort to strip away the public’s right to access the 4,000-foot oceanfront haven.

Those fighting for continued access to the beach describe it as the last refuge for locals in the summer, where they can park trucks laden with families, surfboards, coolers and grills and enjoy a half-day off from work.

In 2009, a group of beachfront homeowners filed suit in State Supreme Court claiming they own the beach, and not the East Hampton Town Trustees, who have historically claimed ownership. Among the homeowners’ complaints were that beachgoers, who have been parking there in greater numbers over the years, lit bonfires, set off fireworks, left behind broken glass and endangered environmentally sensitive dunes with their vehicles.

In an affidavit, Kenneth Silverman, the president of the Dunes at Napeague Property Owners Association, said vehicle traffic on the beach has increased dramatically over the last 20 years, with as many as 150 to 200 parked there in recent summers, and as many as 300 to 600 passing near his house on summer days to 
access the beach.

It is one of the last ocean beaches where vehicles are allowed on the sand during the daytime hours in the summer. In fact, beachgoers say it is difficult to access otherwise, which makes it attractive to locals seeking an out-of-the-way spot when other beaches are crowded.

About 30 of the beachgoers have been meeting at Ashawagh Hall for the past few weeks under the banner of Citizens for Access Rights, looking to find ways to resist what they see as the privatization of a beloved public beach. According to one of their leaders, Tim Taylor, they represent a larger group of about 300 beachgoers who signed a petition last summer.

“Any settlement or any ruling that keeps the locals off that beach during the summer when everybody wants to enjoy it is really unacceptable to our group, and will not have the support and the backing of our group,” said Mr. Taylor, an East Hampton land surveyor whose family history stretches back 13 generations in East Hampton.

The group’s efforts became more urgent in mid-March, when the plaintiffs asked a judge to decide the case in a summary judgment and issue an injunction that would make the beach off-limits this summer.

At the center of the plaintiffs’ case is an 1882 deed that they say transferred ownership of the beach from the Trustees to a man named Arthur W. Benson. While the Trustees retained beach access rights on other pieces of land they sold, this agreement allowed them only to land fishing boats at the spot, the plaintiffs argue.

The plaintiffs have questioned why the town allows driving on the Napeague beach while it is more strictly regulated on nearly all other beaches and limited to the hours before 9 a.m. and after 6 p.m. during the summer. Mr. Silverman said he and his neighbors would never have raised the issue of ownership if the beach had been “treated the same as other Trustee or town-owned beaches.”

“This is not an issue of private property owners trying to privatize something,” he said. “The beaches were privatized 129 years ago when the Trustees sold them.”

Mr. Silverman said the Trustees sold the beach to Mr. Benson to raise money after losing a series of land-related lawsuits between 1850 and 1880. He said that, 20 or 30 years ago, the nearby beach at Napeague State Park was a haven for locals, but that changed after the state stopped accepting town vehicle permits there.

Citizens for Access Rights has been focused so far on getting the word out about the lawsuit, Mr. Taylor said. He said he and his fellow members want East Hampton Town to preserve public access to the beach by any means possible, including using condemnation powers to claim it in the name of the public in the event a judge rules in favor of the plaintiffs.

Citizens for Access Rights member Todd Brunn, who brings his two children to the Napeague beach, which is also known as Truck Beach, said the lawsuit came at a time when the town is facing large deficits and budget cuts, and is ill-equipped to defend itself.

“Unfortunately, it just boils down to the homeowners have the money to push for this and they got the town at a time when we don’t have a lot of money in the town to fight this lawsuit,” said Mr. Brunn, who lives in East Hampton and teaches at the Montauk School.

Members of the group say that even disallowing beach driving at the site would effectively block it off to locals, because driving is the only feasible way to get there.

Most people drive trucks onto the beach from Marine Boulevard. The nearest legal parking area is at the end of Napeague Lane, which Mr. Taylor said is about a quarter-mile from the beach. Homeowners, members said, have hired security guards to prevent beachgoers from accessing the beach by walking over the dunes.

Mr. Taylor said his group has met informally with town officials. He said members of his group are worried that if the town agrees to a settlement or fails to defend itself, it will set a precedent.

“We want the precedent set that the town is going to do whatever it needs to protect its beaches,” he said. “And that if you file a lawsuit to privatize the beach it’s going to be a waste of money because in the end the town will condemn the property and keep East Hampton beaches public.”