Letter to the Editor: Mecox Sailing Will Be Open to All

Mitch Kreigman’s letter “,” is misleading, and distorts the issues.  

Please allow me to set the record straight.

The Mecox Sailing Association (MSA) is not a “private club.” Instead, the MSA is a not-for-profit organization whose goal is to revive community sailing and to teach children how to sail on Mecox Bay. As such, the MSA would make the costs of being an associate and taking sailing lessons as affordable as possible. We envision that any town resident or lease holder could be am MSA associate. Therefore, contrary to Mr. Kreigman’s assertion, the MSA will indeed be “open to all.”

The MSA plans on having “house boats” available for use by any of its associates. This will promote sailing for those in our community that are not fortunate enough to own a home on or near the water, own a boat, or afford expensive mooring fees, or private yacht club dues.

The calls for the clearing of only 1,600 square feet of nuisance vegetation in Mecox Bay Park. This is an area less in size than half a regulation basketball court. Consequently, over 99 percent, of the approximately 10-acre park, will remain “open to all and free.”

Current access to the bay would not be blocked or restricted in any manner as all MSA activities will happen out on the bay or on land in front of the existing boat shack which is to the eastern side of the terminus where Bay Lane meets the water’s edge. 

The New York State DEC, the Town Conservation Board, the town’s chief environmentalist, the independent watchdog organization , and our own consultant, Suffolk Environmental, have all weighed in by approving the MSA’s plan, and characterizing the proposed activities as having little or no negative environmental impact on Mecox Bay or Mecox Bay Park.

The only “special privileges” that I or any MSA associate will enjoy, will be the knowledge that our children will be able to gain the same thrills and character building experiences associated with sailing on Mecox Bay that the generations before them enjoyed.

Mr. Kreigman refers to our effort to revive community sailing and teaching children how to sail on Mecox Bay as “emotional and nostalgic.” What he and the rest of the Mecox Bay Civic Association (MBCA) fail to realize, is that sailing and learning how to sail in a maritime community such as ours is an important part of our heritage. Consequently, our townspeople’s relationship with the local beaches and waterfront is not some “nostalgic” summer fling, but, instead, is a life-long love affair that we will continue fighting for.

Mr. Kreigman states that the MSA proposal “left many questions unanswered.” However, he fails to mention that the town supervisor scheduled a work session for Sept. 9 with members of the MSA, MBCA, and the Town Council, to address any such questions, and to try to reach some common ground. Instead of attending this meeting, Mr. Kreigman’s MBCA slapped the town, the town’s Conservation Board, and our fledgling not-for-profit organization with a lawsuit on Sept. 7.

Finally, to Mr. Kreigman and the rest of the MBCA: The Mecox Sailing Association would be a wonderful thing for you, your children, and your grandchildren. One of the great attractions to this area, besides the public access to our beaches, bays, and waterways, are the townspeople. Moreover, the spirit and sense of community that still exists here. The operation of a sailing association at Mecox Bay Park is intended to be a community building experience. So, I ask you all too please stop the lawsuit you have brought against your town and your neighbors, and join us. If you do, I promise that you will be welcome with open arms.

If anyone would like to help the MSA in our fight to revive community sailing and teach children how to sail on Mecox Bay, donations can be made to the:

Mecox Sailing Association
PO Box 732
Bridgehampton, NY. 11932

Don’t Give Up The Ship!

Sincerely,

Jeff Mansfield

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