Michael, Thanks for raising the issue again. I had hoped to make progress, but sadly Sean Walters won re-election and continues his absurd (and silly) stance.
The good news is, from what I understand, Supervisor Walters and Councilwoman Giglio are getting along well lately and Councilwoman Giglio can be an asset to our "plight". I have spoken to her many times about EPCAL and bird watching, she understands that people really enjoy it and she drives through there very often. The last communications I had were essentially "going in the runway is trespassing, we have no official policy, it's the only way to prevent drag racing etc etc". Obviously, that is all BS. There are many ideas I raised that received no response. They apparently issued a one day access to ELIAS for their CBC and would "consider" granting special access on an extremely limited basis. At this point, I think the best course of action is to get one (or several) organizations to go in on a joint letter, electronically signed by everyone from this list who is willing, and submit it to the Board at a public hearing. We should ask for access, for clarification on the rules, for the reasons these rules exist, etc. I know Group for the East End is supportive of public access, as is ELIAS and I bet many more organizations. It's easy for the Supervisor to ignore a handful of people here and there. But a concerted effort would be difficult to brush aside - especially if combined with Newsday / News 12 articles and stories. They hate any bad press about their beloved EPCAL. > On Aug 9, 2016, at 12:08 PM, Michael Schrimpf <michael.schri...@gmail.com> > wrote: > > Has anyone heard anything recently from the Town of Riverhead about access to > the abandoned runway at EPCAL? > > I regularly see drag-races on the runway, while I have been good about not > going past the end. Birders apparently continue to be stopped when they > wander out onto the runway - my friend and I were only a hundred meters or so > past the end when we were approached by an officer this morning. > > We were courteous to the officer, obeyed his instructions to leave, and > didn't ask any questions, though his tone was rather condescending from the > very start. He also threatened us with jail-time for trespassing, just as has > happened to others in the past. Based on how briefly we were out there before > he showed up, we think there must be some sort of automatic monitoring system > that alerts authorities, so they must see everyone that uses it for anything. > > I would really like to see some documentation from the Town about is and is > not allowed. If there is a double-standard when it comes to looking the other > way on the part of law enforcement, I feel that is something that must be > addressed. > > If, on the other hand, there is a legitimate process for getting permits to > do some things (like flying model planes and drag-racing), I would like to > have the ability to apply for access to go birding. At the very least, I feel > that the "no trespassing" signs should look a bit more modern than big > concrete blocks that look like they've been there since Northrup-Grumman > operated the place. It should also be made clear whether birders can cross > the southwest end of that runway to access the paths that go up towards > Veterans Memorial Park (at the moment, you need to walk past the barriers to > get there - and I have never before been stopped for doing that). > > I will probably send a letter to the Town, much like Luke Ormand did a while > back, but I am wondering what others in the community have heard before I > take any action. I worry that without more regular "feedback" from birders, > our concerns about use of the area might be easy to ignore. > > Michael Schrimpf > Suffolk County > -- > NYSbirds-L List Info: > Welcome and Basics > Rules and Information > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > Archives: > The Mail Archive > Surfbirds > BirdingOnThe.Net > Please submit your observations to eBird! > -- -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
