Town provides access to village’s Ho Hum Beach

Brookhaven Town Supervisor Dan Panico and Parks Commissioner Ed Morris recently released a schedule inviting residents to register online for free Ho Hum Beach ferry passes.

The passes include access to the Bellport Village-owned amenity for Aug. 25, 27, Sept. 1, and 8 with times between 10 a.m., and noon and 3 and 4 p.m. for pick up.

Additionally, a bus was provided to meet residents at Kreamer Street Middle School to transport them to the Bellport Marina.

The new service was and continues to be provided on a first come first serve for the first 25 people per ferry with a copy of their registration.

The Brookhaven Landfill Action and Remediation Group posted a statement to social media stating that it is “environmental justice” providing equal access to the beaches.

“Environmental justice means equal access to our beaches!” the post read. “Let’s be first to say when Town of Brookhaven does something good. Hopefully this will be expanded next year throughout the summer!”
However, according to village residents on the Bellport Village Resident Facebook page, about four people utilized the water taxi service, and all of them were Bellport Village residents.

However, according to village residents on the Bellport Village Resident Facebook page, about four people utilized the water taxi service, and all of them were Bellport Village residents.

“We proceeded in a very measured and limited fashion, but unfortunately those efforts were undercut by a Village Trustee, and others, going online and registering over and over again to take up most of the available seats,” Panico said. “We remain undeterred and that sabotage wasn’t caught until late yesterday, as we have been consumed with dealing with the devastation on our north shore.”

The village also issued a summons to the H2O Taxi Service for illegally docking at the marina without a permit.

Mayor Maureen Veitch wrote an open letter to the village residents claiming the "free Ho Hum Beach ferry passes" is misleading since he is not utilizing the ferry but rather contracted with a taxi service to bring people over.

“First and foremost, my job as mayor is to protect and serve the residents of this incorporated Village. I am addressing this situation through the proper channels that exist for leadership to legally- and with civility - represent village residents who pay Bellport taxes for amenities such as the ferry and our beach facilities,” she said of the supervisor taking access to Ho Hum Beach into his own hands.

“This misguided plan is simply not safe. At no point did the supervisor reach out to me and my office to let me know this was happening, despite the fact that I made multiple efforts to reach out to him, once we heard that he was planning something along these lines.”

Additionally, she said, the village routinely welcomes non-resident guests to Ho-Hum Beach in collaboration with various groups. Just last week, over 40 children, chaperones and parents from the Boys & Girls Club visited the beach, in addition to CEED, which regularly scheduled outings to Ho Hum.

Her concerns include beach safety with limited facilities and only one lifeguard chair; limited Facilities with minimal septic and water pumping facilities; and taxpayer dollars.

“How much of our Brookhaven tax dollars are being spent on this event? Who's paying for Jitneys and the H2O Water Taxi? These are questions that need to be answered,” she added.

She also said there are many accessible beaches in the area including Great Gun in Center Moriches, Smith Point, and Davis Park.

“This poorly planned event, which was never discussed with village leadership, is diverting our attention from solving the real problems that face our communities,” she said adding that village residents should leave the village to handle the situation. “We should be working together to address issues (including road safety, clean air and water, and damaged infrastructure) that our residents actually care about.”

Veitch questioned why the supervisor is “obsessed” with Bellport, noting that other beaches in Brookhaven are only open to residents of their village including the Village of Old Field in Stony Brook and Poquot Village.
“As I spoke about in my inaugural address, we are working to provide access for those, especially children, who may have never enjoyed the simple pleasure of making a sandcastle on the beach,” Panico said in response to Veitch. “There is a great deal of confusion on the access issue, many of the arguments I have heard in opposition to this limited program are frankly quite absurd. We look forward to working to clear up that issue this week.”

Panico said he remains passionate about the issue after speaking with Jason Neal, who coaches the Bellport Chess Club and is a United States Army veteran who grew up in the community.

“Mr. Neal and I spoke about this issue while playing chess at our Juneteenth Celebration, with Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich, about how he and others in his community might not even feel comfortable heading over because they feel unwanted,” he said. “That’s not the Bellport Village I know and the unfortunate actions by some are in no way indicative of the good people who reside there.”

The town and village, he added, have always worked well together. The town also provides lifeguards at Ho Hum.

“We invited no cameras, or press and sought no fanfare,” he said of providing access to the beach. “This limited program was simply about working to help other human beings enjoy this Island who have a right to do so.”

THE FIGHT FOR ACCESS TO HO HUM BEACH

During Panico’s early January swearing he originally announced plans to improve North Bellport residents’ access to the ferry and Ho-Hum Beach on Fire Island, a current Bellport Village-owned amenity with exclusive access.

“What I find absurd is that the children of the North Bellport do not have an easy means to which they can get to the barrier island,” he said, referencing Ho-Hum Beach. “I can’t imagine being a child […] walking down to the Village of Bellport and not being able to get on the ferry.”

“They are one of the most segregated communities on Long Island,” he added, also noting that he hopes to work with the village in partnership to find a way for North Bellport residents to obtain access to the beach. “By no means will I allow this to go on.”

At that time, he suggested the possibility of the town contracting their own ferry service to the beach.

“This is important to me. [North Bellport] might not look like me or some of you in regards to skin tone—but we must be better as a community,” he added.

According to recent census data, residents are 23.2 percent Black and 39.8 percent Hispanic, with a median household income of just over $89,000 and a 16.1 percent poverty rate. Bellport is 95.13 percent white with a 1.65 percent Black population and a medium household income of $126,250.

In September of 2018, at the request of the village, the Brookhaven Town Board authorized an annexation to the Village of Bellport. 

“The approval of the annexation was made subject to one specific condition: the continued use and benefit of the property known as Ho Hum Beach for the residents of the Town of Brookhaven,” Panico said noting there is only one direct method of those who do not own private boats to obtain access to the beach and that is the ferry owned and operated by the village.  “Yet, the Village of Bellport has denied access to the ferry to any person who is not a resident or invitee of a resident of the Village. This has the clear effect of denying all other Town residents’ reasonable access to the Beach in direct contravention of the Town’s 2018 resolution.”

Ho-Hum Beach, located on Fire Island, is a village-owned beach with access by both private boat and village ferry. The beach is solely open to village residents and their guests, as well as summer home renters with a village-issued pass at a cost of about over $500 per year. The pass allows access to several village amenities, including the tennis courts and golf course.

Ferry rates are $11 for weekdays, $14 for weekends for residents; $5 on weekdays and $6 on weekends for youth residents; and $17 on weekdays and $20 for guests, or $13 on weekdays; and $17 on weekends for youth guests. There are also special prices for seniors. Guests must be accompanied by their host resident to the ferry.

According to former mayor Ray Fell, who served the village for 10 years before retiring in 2023, this is not the first time the idea to open up Ho-Hum Beach to more than just residents has come up.

“I think that village residents pay the taxes for the beach,” he said. “It’s a village-owned beach and we take care of it.”

The beach, he said, was purchased by Bellport Village in 1963 for $25,000. At that time, the village assumed responsibility for the maintenance and created it as a village amenity paid by tax dollars.

“Every time it has come up, the community always says they don’t want it, during our public meetings. Unless Bellport residents have changed their minds,” he said. He doesn’t think it’s something the village will consider.

While the Greater Bellport Coalition co-chair Joann Neal said they felt it would be a great benefit to the area, she was taking the gesture by the Brookhaven Town supervisor as more of a promise to work with the residents.

“Personally, I think it was a good gesture on the new Brookhaven supervisor,” she said. “I think it shows promise—I hope he will be cooperative about other things, too.”

Neal has been living in North Bellport for 52 years and raised eight children in the area. When they would visit the beach, they would go to Blue Point’s Corey Beach on the bay or to Bay Shore.
“It would be nice to have that access,” she said of the much closer beach located just about two miles south.