Brookhaven Town adds five years to lease proposal to attract bidders for Fire Island ferry service
Davis Park Ferry co-owner Stephanie Sherman said Brookhaven Town's proposed monthly leases would not help her company because it makes no income during the winter months, when ferry service to Fire Island isn't offered. Credit: Marisol Diaz-Gordon
The owners of a Patchogue ferry company that takes thousands of passengers to Fire Island each summer said the company could not afford to pay rent under a proposed short-term lease that would take effect if the firm loses its access to Brookhaven Town marinas.
The town is offering a series of monthly "hold over" leases that would allow the Davis Park Ferry company to temporarily continue using the town’s Patchogue and Davis Park marinas if the town awards a long-term marina lease to a different operator. The town board voted 6-0 on Jan. 14 to approve the monthly leases.
The town plans to award a new 10-year lease next month to use the marinas.
Town officials said the monthly leases would cover the time when a new ferry operator, if there is one, would have to seek a Suffolk County license to run ferries across the Great South Bay. The new operator also would need county approval of fares.
Davis Park Ferry co-owner Stephanie Sherman said the monthly leases would not help her company because it makes no income during the winter months, when ferry service isn’t offered.
She said in an interview that the company, which was founded in 1947 by the parents of her late husband, Charles Sherman, would not be able to afford the $3,774 monthly rent contained in the proposed lease. The company does not plan to resume service until the spring, before the summer season begins on Memorial Day weekend, she said.
"I don’t have $3,700 a month to give them," Sherman said. "We don’t have any income. All of our boats are shut down."
Davis Park Ferry’s 10-year lease to use the Patchogue and Davis Park marinas expired Dec. 31. Brookhaven officials chose not to exercise the first of five one-year options to continue the lease.
The town initially sought bids for a five-year lease with five one-year options. Officials have since reconsidered the plan and are seeking bids for a 10-year lease with five annual options.
Councilman Neil Foley said the change occurred because some potential bidders said a five-year deal would not be long enough to consider purchasing ferries. It is not known how many companies are interested in submitting bids.
Town officials plan to open bids Thursday. The earliest the winning bid will be selected would be Feb. 11, said Brookhaven deputy chief of staff Kevin Molloy.
Sherman said her company plans to submit a bid for the 10-year lease.
Brookhaven officials have said it’s standard for the town to have an open bidding process when leases expire.
"It’s very important to the taxpayers that we periodically put this out for bid," Brookhaven Supervisor Edward P. Romaine said during a Jan. 14 town board meeting, referring to the marina lease.
Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.
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