On the morning of March 14, the freight area that Fire Island Ferries and several restaurants routinely use was disrupted by construction trucks hired by the Town of Islip, as they came rumbling down Maple Avenue in Bay Shore – that area has been inaccessible to them ever since.
Freight captains and the forklift drivers who work with them have been told, “You don’t have access; we have a construction project going on.”
Now it’s May, and freight service demands are reaching their height.
“We’ve been using that area for decades for freight throughout the year from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.,” said Fire Island Ferries owner Brendan Mooney.
According to Mooney, the Town of Islip never informed Fire Island Ferries, Inc., or the restaurants about this project; and the ferry company has eight Fire Islands communities that depend of their service.
“As far west as Kismet and to the east, Point O’Woods,” Moony added. “Restaurants, contractors, retailers, bars, perishable groceries, this will affect all of it. That was the first we heard of this phase of the project in the area we were paying Islip to rent.”
On May 12, Fire Island Ferries has alerted customers about the issue on their website. (The company is currently negotiating a lease with Islip Town.)
“Phase 1 finished bulkhead work, we knew about that. They didn’t tell any of the restaurants including Whalers and The Lake House. No business was notified until we found out that morning. So, people couldn’t park, and we had to reroute freight and use the Saltaire terminal owned by the village of Saltaire, and had to pivot there. They allowed us to use that.” Mooney said. “We were under the assumption it would take a week tops, but now we’re still working with Saltaire, but it’s a parking lot for a ferry terminal. We have no choice but to leave after Memorial Day, and I’m unsure if we can continue the operation. Our freight operation is up to four or five boats. Now we’re doing this in a tiny parking lot. We’ll do the best we can do, but it will be hindered significantly… it’s beyond control, but people will still yell at us.”
Terry Marine Construction, located in Riverhead, was hired by the town for the project.
“This is not Terry Marine Constructions’ fault,” Mooney said, adding that rainy weather hasn’t helped. “They were hired to do a job. And are doing the job. I spoke to the project manager. They had no idea that we were never notified of this additional phase of the project that displaced the freight operation.”
According to Mooney, the latest communication as of this past weekend from Terry Marine Construction is that Fire Island Ferries can use the area in a couple of days.
“It’s not feasible,” Mooney said. “Not with the amount of delivery trucks. The whole road is still torn up there.”
Town of Islip Commissioner Tom Owens commented in an email.
“The completion of the improvement project at Maple Avenue Dock has been much anticipated. Construction for Phase I broke ground in November of 2013, and we are excited to share the benefits associated with Phase II. The project has faced several obstacles to this point, with the original project kickoff being delayed by Superstorm Sandy, and Phase II running up against the obstacles presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and the long-term ramifications for construction projects.
There are many things being accomplished with the long-awaited completion of this project, including infrastructure improvements such as the replacement of 250 linear feet of deteriorated bulkhead and underground utilities, flood mitigation measures including upgraded pumps and generator, environmental enhancements, and safety improvements including improved lighting, ADA sidewalks and repaving the entire parking lot. Combined, these improvements will make this a safer and more efficient dock for patrons and businesses alike.
A project of this magnitude is extremely challenging because of the extensive underground work and many of the variables associated with it. We take great pride in what we do and sincerely appreciate the community’s understanding and know any inconvenience and challenges will pay dividends in the future.
The Town of Islip recognizes Fire Island Ferries’ role in serving our Fire Island communities. For decades, we have enjoyed a very productive, positive relationship with them and look forward to that continuing into the future.”
Owens never answered FIN’s question asking why the town didn’t notify any of the services that use the lot of the current project in March. Nor who was working on the project, or if he could provide a helpful solution before Memorial Day.
Mooney still has his fingers crossed.
“One of the project managers from Terry Marine Construction said, weather permitting, they plan on having everything out of the way and everything fully paved and striped by the morning of May 23.
“The issue is we needed the space leading up to Memorial Day, we’re doing our best, but there may be significant delays in our freight receiving process.”
