Property Owners, State Work Together to Create Public Waterway Access

Boaters hoping to access the Peconic Bay in Southold will soon be able to launch.

On Tuesday, the New York State Department of Environmental Protection headed to the Hashamomuch waterway access site on Old Main Road in Southold to announce its first-ever and only waterway access site to the Peconic Bay.

The 3.2 acre, waterfront parcel -- where the now-shuttered Old Barge restaurant is located -- will provide a public boat ramp, a wash-down station, and a canoe and kayak launch.

The purchase of the parcel was funded with a a Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration grant from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as a donation from the owners of the parcel, the Reiter family, who sold the property to the state at below the fair market value of $2 million.

"Without their donation, this acquisition could not have come about," DEC Commissioner Joe Martens said. 

"The sale to the state aligns well with our parents' core values," said Carol Denson, manager of the property for the Reiter family. "The creation of a site on the Peconic Bay which makes our precious natural resources accessible to the public captures the longstanding marine culture of this community."

She added that the family was inspired to sell the parcel after seeing the DEC's American Disabilities Act (ADA) accessible --which the new boat ramp will also be -- boat ramp in Mattituck.

In recognition of Great Outdoors Month, on Monday, DEC Regional Director Peter Scully announced over $950,000 in recreation improvement projects funded by Governor Andrew Cuomo’s New York Works II program and the Environmental Protection Fund to expand and improve access for recreational activities on public lands in Suffolk County.

Approximately $200,000 of those funds will be used to design the Southold boat ramp site; another $750,000 will be used for repairs on a Peconic River dam in Riverhead -- for a canoe launch on Edwards Avenue.

Creating waterfront recreational activities, Scully said, is key to tourism and job promotion on the North Fork and other areas.

Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell noted the "irony" of town's having the rich resource of the Peconic Bay, but limited community access. "This is a great benefit to Southold," he said of the new waterway access.

Suffolk County Legislator Al Krupski thanked the Reiter family for their generosity.

Southold Trustee James King also thanked the Reiters. "This is a real asset to the community."

Denson said her parents "treasured, respected and nurtured the marine environment of this community. We further believe this action by the state will sustain the importance of this community's marine heritage."

The property, purchased in 1938 by the Reiter family, was an old World War II ammunition barge initially used as a fishing station. Later, the Old Barge was a popular seafood restaurant for decades.