By Peter Boody A Nostrand Parkway homeowner's plan to put a 12,000-pound-capacity boatlift at the end of his dock at 33 East Brander Parkway drew heavy fire Friday night when the Town Board held a public hearing on the case. Neighbor John Simon fiercely opposed the application, presenting an impassioned lawyerly argument - not unlike a prosecutor's summation to the jury - that applicant Ken Wright has been running a commercial enterprise in the neighborhood. "The over-utilization reached a new dimension last year," said Mr. Simon, when "a large sailboat" tied up at Mr. Wright's dock and "two men and a woman and a dog" disembarked, showered and "went off unescorted." It was a "mini-sailing school on the property," he claimed. "This is not the first time," responded Mr. Wright, "that Mr. Simon has cast spurious accusations" his way. "Who's there is my business not his," Mr. Wright told the Town Board. The board made no decision on the case Friday, closing the hearing. "We have to talk about it and consider it," Town Supervisor Art Williams explained, telling Mr. Wright that the proliferation of boatlifts has been a concern for the town's Waterways Management Advisory Committee and the Town Board. "This board has said in the past it's a modification," he said of the addition of a boatlift to a dock that legally pre-exists current regulations, which limits docks to 100 feet. Mr. Wright's dock is 198 feet long. "We consider it an expansion of the use," the supervisor added. The town code strictly limits the expansion of pre-existing, non-conforming uses. The town clerk reported having received three letters from neighbors objecting to the proposal. John Needham, a member of the town's Waterways Management Advisory Committee -- which is working on new regulations for the Town Board that would limit boatlifts and refine current dock regulations -- also opposed the application. A boat hoisted out of the water on lifts "takes away from the beauty of our shoreline," Mr. Needham said. To have this "overwhelming feature" allowed along the Island's waterways would be "a sorry thing for Shelter Island." The WMAC has voted 4-2 to recommend that the Town Board deny the application, Councilman Peter Reich reported. Mr. Wright said his 23-foot Grady White "takes a lot of heavy water" riding at the dock in heavy weather and the lift was simply an option for "protecting an asset." He said the boatlift also would reduce the overall footprint of his dock because two outlying pilings would be removed for its installation. Mr. Wright's longtime neighbor Mr. Simon argued that Mr. Wright is not a resident at the property; he has rented it to tenants for all the 23 years Mr. Simon has had the house next door. There's been "a continuous cast of problems," he claimed. "Tenants throw parties and there's a continual stream of strange people using his three moorings" and tying up at his dock. "I don't know what's going on over there," Mr. Simon said. "He has created a marina." He said Mr. Wright seems to wonder "what can I do next? What can I expand? It just never stops." Mr. Simon argued that a boatlift with a 12,000-pound capacity goes far beyond anything necessary for a Grady White. He said that capacity would be necessary for a 40- to 42-foot boat and he submitted company literature to the board that indicated a 23-footer weighed in at 4,200 pounds. But that number didn't include engine or fuel, Councilman Reich pointed out. Mr. Wright told the board he'd had his boat weighed at the town scale that morning. It totaled 9,471 pounds, he said. Boat lifts are sold in capacity increments that make a 12,000-pound model the most practical for him. The next smaller model is for 10,000-pound boats and, as boats age, they gain weight - so for that reason and others the 12,000-pound lift was right for him, he asserted. But he told the board he'd accept a 10,000-pound lift if that's what the board wanted. He noted that three agencies have approved his plan -- the state DEC, the Army Corps of Engineers and the New York Department of State -- and that boatlifts reduce the exposure of the water to anti-fouling chemicals and reduce the shadow cast on the bottom. "This does not address the issues that have been brought before the board today," Mr. Simon countered. The issues Mr. Simon has raised, replied Mr. Wright, "have nothing to do with the town code." Mr. Williams answered, "The only issue in the code is that the dock is pre-existing, non-conforming on two levels," its length and its setback from side property lines.
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