Week in Review

On the Waterfront

Author

Beth Young
September 07, 2025

Week In Review: On the Waterfront

Seeking Community Support for Mattituck Inlet Dredging

The dunes at Bailie Beach are all that is holding back Mattituck Inlet from breaching through the beach.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has delayed navigational dredging of the Mattituck Inlet originally slated for this fall to the fall of 2026, but Mattituck Park District representatives, concerned about the dire state of the beach to the east of the inlet, are rallying the community behind a more expansive dredging project.

Seaplanes in New Suffolk? Not So Fast…

We were a little unsettled last Tuesday to see a seaplane land on the beach across from The Beacon’s humble office on First Street in New Suffolk, behind Robins Island’s mainland headquarters here. At the time, we figured perhaps the seaplane was associated somehow with the island’s owner, Louis Moore Bacon of Moore Capital Management, who has a permit for a seaplane dock on the island.

But this wasn’t a one-time occurrence, and the seaplane that landed is not a billionaire’s toy. It belongs to a Florida-based company, Tropic Ocean Airways, which had just begun a public relations campaign touting a new service connecting New York City and the North Fork, despite the fact that Southold Town Code prohibits seaplanes from landing within the town.

A Tropic Ocean Airways seaplane on “Submarine Beach” in New Suffolk on July 6. |. Joe Polashock photo

Across the County

Suffolk Approves Working Waterfront Preservation Program

Greenport, one of the few deepwater ports on Long Island, as seen from the harbor.

The Suffolk County Legislature voted unanimously Tuesday morning to approve new legislation that would allow the county to purchase easements to protect sites that had historically been used for fishing docks, marinas, fish packing and aquaculture.

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At the Docks

Fireboat Fire Fighter to Briefly Return to Greenport

A photo of the Fire Fighter believed to have been taken on Sept. 10, 2001. |. America’s Fireboat — Fire Fighter Facebook group photo

In Hampton Bays, Riverhead and throughout the country on Thursday afternoon, July 17, residents gathered to rally in remembrance of Civil Rights legend John Lewis on the fifth anniversary of his death, remembering his guidance to “Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.

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In Our Hearts

With Hope for a Cure, Walk to End Alzheimer’s Returns to Greenport

At the inaugural 2023 North Fork Walk to End Alzheimer’s at Peconic Landing.

As new treatments and early detection tests for Alzheimer’s Disease are beginning to come onto the market, there’s never been a more hopeful time for the seven million people living in the U.S. with this disease and other forms of dementia, or for the nearly 12 million people caring for them.

Climate Local Now

ReWilding is Happening on the East End

Butterfly Weed at the Changehampton meadow that is beginning to grow around East Hampton Town Hall.

by Mary Morgan

I recently had the pleasure of hearing Doug Tallamy speak at Poquatuck Hall in Orient, thanks to North Fork Audubon. What a turn out!  It was a full house, and for good reason: Tallamy is captivating. His talk was a mix of inspiration and urgency, a reminder that the natural world we love on the East End is not guaranteed to persist without our help. Doug had several books for sale and I picked up Nature’s Best Hope: How You Can Save the World in Your Own Yard, a children’s edition I plan to send to my niece and nephew at Christmas. (And read first.)

UPCOMING EVENTS

A Salute to Land and Sea

Friday, Sept. 12

Surfrider Movie Night

The Surfrider Foundation Eastern Long Island Chapter invites the community to its 23rd Annual Surf Movie Night at the Southampton Arts Center, featuring live music and a series of short films inspired by the ocean

Saturday, Sept. 13

North Fork Garden & Meadow Tour

Rewild Long Island and the Southold/Peconic Civic Association are showcasing some of their friends and neighbors' sustainable meadows.

Sept. 13 & 14

Sag Harbor HarborFest

A weekend filled with sea shanteys, whaleboat races, historical tours, art exhibits and an arts & crafts fair in Marine Park

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ON THE AIR

Behind the Headlines

At this week’s Behind the Headlines on 88.3 WLIW-FM, Beacon editor Beth Young joins a panel discussing the 24th Anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, working waterfront preservation challeges facing the offshore wind industry and a local church’s initiative to provide affordable housing.

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The Beacon is able to provide all of our content online free of charge thanks to support from our readers. Be a vital part of keeping our community informed!

Words…

“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” — Dr. Seuss

See you next Sunday,

Beth

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