East Hampton Town Board Votes: Bow Hunting In January, The Retreat Will Buy Its Building

Shotgun hunters in East Hampton will keep most of their January hunting season to themselves.

On Thursday night, the East Hampton Town Board banned bow hunters from hunting deer on any town-owned parkland where shotgun hunting is taking place.

Earlier this year, the state added a second bow hunting season in January, in addition to its season from October 1 to December 31. The Town Board, however, decided to limit bow hunting in order to avoid the overlap with shotgun season. Bow hunting will be allowed in January only on land where there is no shotgun hunting. Where there is shotgun hunting, bow hunting will not be allowed.

The season will begin January 4.

The state had been considering extending firearm hunting to include weekends in January as well; currently, Hither Hills State Park and the other state-managed lands in Montauk are the only lands where weekend gun hunting is prohibited. Weekend gun hunting is allowed on all East Hampton Town managed land that permits it Monday through Friday.

The Retreat, an East Hampton agency that assists victims of domestic violence, rape and sexual assault, is in the process of buying a building, which it currently leases, from East Hampton Town for $530,000.

The Retreat has been leasing the building to use as a shelter since 1992 and was just given an anonymous donation, which will enable the organization to make the purchase.

Attorney Steve Latham, speaking for the organization, said the closing will be sometime at the end of January and the organization is pleased.

“Everyone is very excited,” he said. “It all started with a member in the community making the donation so The Retreat could buy the building.”

Mr. Latham would not reveal the name of the man who donated the money, nor the “six-figure” amount that he donated. He did say that the donation doesn’t cover the entire cost of the purchase, so The Retreat will have to finance it.

He added that the sale of the property was done by appraisal and is at fair market value. Already some contractors have expressed interest in donating their time and materials to updating the shelter and adding space for staff and clients, he said.

“This is one of the best feel-good stories I’ve heard,” Mr. Latham said. “The stars have all kind of aligned.”