New Suffolk Waterfront Deal Completed

With the help of funds from private, public and national donations, the New Suffolk Waterfront Fund has assumed ownership of 3.4 acres of land on the Peconic Bay National Estuary. The parcel, which offers a sweeping view of Cutchogue Harbor and Robins Island, will become a place for recreational and cultural activities as well as waterfront access.

The acquisition, announced today by Fund representatives and members of the , represents the completion of a three-year agreement. As part of that agreement, the Land Trust purchased the property from the Raynor family in 2005, with the intention of holding it for the Waterfront Fund until a December deadline.

"The New Suffolk waterfront has the potential to become again the heart of the community," said Barbara Schnitzler, Chair of the Waterfront Fund.  "We hope that the community and others will stand strong with us as we launch our second phase of fundraising to appropriately improve this property over the next few years."

Once home to a busy port, a flourishing shellfish industry, and site trials for the U.S. Navy's first submarine, the New Suffolk waterfront has been a vibrant part of the hamlet's landscape for more than 200 years.  When the property was in jeopardy of what residents feared was over-development, a group of concerned citizens established the Fund, to purchase the property and preserve it for the benefit of the community and future generations. In 2007, the Peconic Land Trust acquired the parcel and gave the newly formed Fund three years to raise money for the property's purchase.

Since then, the Fund has received gifts from over 500 individual donors as well as various philanthropic and environmental organizations to meet the December 2010 deadline.

 "We are very pleased that we have been able to assist the community in realizing a dream to protect this waterfront, long a source of community pride and interest, and to make it available to them while they undertook a fundraising initiative to acquire it," said Land Trust Vice President Tim Caufield. "We wish the New Suffolk Waterfront Fund all the best as they take on the next phase of life for this important, historic property."

Fund members and Land Trust officials will place a conservation easement on the property that would require a substantial portion of the land be set aside as open space. Currently, the Fund is looking for investment partners to help them design and create a sustainable public space that preserves the area's historic heritage and scenic beauty, while providing educational, recreational and commercial opportunities.