DPA NEWSLETTER SPRING 2016

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1 DPA NEWSLETTER SPRING 2016 WELCOME Welcome to the 2016 season! The DPA, together with our other community organizations BITS and CRAB, has worked hard this winter to enhance the stability of our beach and the quality of our life here. After a stormy winter, our beach has built up again but we are still suffering the effects of Superstorm Sandy, and the FIMI project is unlikely to reach our community until 2017.Through our Erosion Control District and working with BITS, we placed two new layers of sand fencing across the length of our beach, most recently this past April. Thanks to Bob Spencer and Bobby Palermo for spearheading this effort. PLEASE insure that family, guests and four-legged friends stay off our hard-earned dunes. With CRAB, we are working diligently to beautify our community, most notably in our main public areas. We ve upgraded the public trash cans, installed new outdoor ashtrays and are continuing Linda Spencer s beautification efforts in this gateway to our community with new plantings provided by the Town. Volunteers welcome! Most exciting, we and CRAB are planning an extensive dune stabilization and landscaping project in the Town parkland between Trustees and East Walks, with plantings to be donated by the folks who landscape the beautiful Smith Point Memorial. Thanks to Mike and Nikki Dougherty, Ray Pynn and the many other DPA and CRAB directors who are working on this project. Please take our suggestions in the spirit in which they are intended to make our community even more enjoyable and beautiful for all.

2 MARINA/DUMPING We are working with the Town and Marina operator Ken Stein to keep the entrance to our community clean and attractive. They have jointly accomplished a capital improvement project at the Marina and Ken Stein s people voluntarily clean up the Trustees Walk area each week. Thanks to Ken. However, some of our property owners and contractors persist in degrading our community with illegal dumping at the Marina. The image below shows what it looked like at the Marina on a recent weekend in April. We are planning to clear this area with the cost likely to be borne by the community on behalf of the selfish few. The Town intends to identify and fine violators who dump at the Marina. If you are having a construction project, you are responsible for the removal of construction debris. You or your contractor can order a dumpster from Tony s Barge: If you are doing a large clean-up, a dumpster may be necessary as well. Our garbage contract (for which we all pay taxes) also requires Tony s Barge to remove household appliances and the like if you call in advance. PLEASE do not put your discards on public walks; it makes our community look trashy, as you can see from this recent picture (see below). Would you want this dumped by a neighbor in front of your home? Please leave your discards on your own property and make arrangements with Tony s Barge for pickup. If you think others might want your treasures (but no one wants an old mattress or broken appliance), save them for the SWAP & SHOP (see below), or at least remove them after a decent interval.

3 SWAP & SHOP The Swap & Shop will be held on Saturday, May 21 st (rain date Sunday, May 22d) from 10 am to 12 noon in Ocean Ridge and 3 pm to 5 pm in Davis Park, when you can offer your unwanted items to neighbors and maybe find a treasure or two yourself. See attached flyer for more information. Please note, this is not an invitation to dump your junk and disappear. Please remove your unclaimed items by 6 pm. CASINO CAFÉ/CASBAR The Casino Café will be offering its traditional clambake on Tuesdays throughout the season. The newly renovated Casino Bar will have a soft opening (community only) on Sunday, May 1st starting at 12 noon, and will be hosting its annual Kentucky Derby Party on Saturday, May 7th opening at noon. Call ( ) or check their website for more information: SPECIAL FERRIES The DPA is sponsoring special ferries on Friday, April 29 th leaving Patchogue at 8:30 pm, and on Mondays in May (May 2, 9, 16, 23) leaving Patchogue at 7:30 am and Davis Park at 8 am. $15 one way; $7 with ticket; $8.50 with card. Enjoy Sunday night at the beach and get to work (almost) on time on Monday! Or stay over and meet your work crew here for a full day. We ve had a request to run our special Friday night ferries in the Fall a little later, say 9 pm, so that more people could be sure to make them. Let us have your thoughts. CRAB GERANIUM SALE CRAB is holding its first annual geranium sale on Saturday, May 14 th from 10 am to 1 pm at the post office pergola. Beautiful red and pink geraniums in 6 inch pots for $10, cash or check, while supplies last. See attached flyer for more information. PETS DOGS: Dogs must be on leashes at all times. It s the law. Brookhaven Town Code 23-3 H, I. If allowed to roam free, clean-up is a problem and others can be intimidated. Please also remember that we walk barefoot and our kids play in the sand, so do your business out of populated areas and clean up. Kicking sand on a pile is not neighborly.

4 CATS: We have a feral cat issue from abandoned pets. Please secure your cat and encourage your renters to leave pets at home. PEST CONTROL TICKS: The Damminix project is underway once again with 148 houses participating. If you didn t participate, please consider self-treating. Thanks to Steve Palermo for running the project. MOSQUITOS: Suffolk County Vector Control will again be larviciding this Spring and fogging on Tuesdays during the season. Thanks to DPA/DPFD members for providing transport throughout the community. With mosquito-borne illnesses in the news, it is especially important that we all monitor any standing water in our community. Mosquitos will breed in a thimbleful of water so please be vigilant. RACCOONS: While the elimination of raccoons is subject to regulation in NY, if you have a serious problem you can call Chris Spies, a licensed wildlife removal specialist, at DEER & WILDLIFE: It is illegal to feed deer or other wildlife in NY. 6 NYCRR 189.3(b). According to the NY DEC: The penalty for illegally feeding deer or moose is a violation punishable by a fine of up to $250 and 15 days in jail for each day of the offense. Habituated deer can lose the ability to forage for themselves and can pose a threat to humans. Davis Park/Ocean Ridge has the highest concentration of deer in any community on Fire Island. The final (400 page) Park Service Deer Management Plan/EIS for Fire Island is available at An Executive Summary and FAQ fact sheet are available on our website:

5 BRUSH CHIPPING We are requesting estimates and discussing logistics to accomplish another brush chipping project this Spring. Details to come. Meanwhile, please do not dump your brush in the new park area, at the Marina, on the dunes or in the wilderness, where it creates a fire hazard. Again, Tony s Barge will remove bagged brush. If you have a large amount, let them know in advance ( ). We will not be able to handle larger dead trees but you can order a dumpster from Tony s Barge for that. FIRE SAFETY Fire safety is of critical importance to our community. Make sure your smoke detectors are working. Have handy (and know how to use) fire extinguishers. Check chimneys and chimney caps. Have hoses hooked up and ready to go. And please make sure everyone is extremely careful with cigarette disposal. If you haven t had your home checked for electrical issues (especially after Sandy), have your electrician perform a residential electrical inspection or contact the following company which is doing an electrical inspection project in Point O Woods: Palace Lighting Electrical Contractor PO Box 579 Bellport, N Y SPRING MEETING/MEMBERSHIP/OTHER NEWS DPA Spring Meeting Saturday, June 4 th at 11:00 am at the Church. Details to follow. The Davis Park Fire Department will hold its traditional open house from 2 pm to 4 pm on the day of the meeting. If you haven t done so already, please send your 2016 dues check for $60 payable to DPA Inc., 746 Montauk Hwy, Bayport, NY Include your contact info and beach address. The DPA membership form is available on our website: DONATION_FORM-2016PDF.pdf Other news: The Verizon cell-site atop the Casino is up and running providing improved service for Verizon wireless devices. FINS Juried Art Exhibition -- application deadline June 10, Ocean Beach Woodhull School Oral History Project -- May 7, See attached flyers.