But the homeowners, represented by Stephen R. Angel and James M. Catterson, argue that maintaining historic rights to the fish is merely an attempt to enhance – and out of control – the vehicles. go. Many of them say there’s nothing to stop anyone from parking on the beach, hooking up a fishing rod in the sand, and claiming to be a fisherman.
Mr. Rodgers, who has represented many local fishermen for many years, and is sometimes paid for scallops, said his customers have become marginalized and almost invisible. “They are fighting for their lives for their existence as ocean fishermen,” he said. “If they lay down now, it’s over.”
But the Napeague host cautions that a history lesson is left. Especially after Ken Silverman, one of the residents leading the attack against the trucks, started digging up some local storage. In 2005, Mr. Silverman began reviewing trustee files and handwritten papers from the 1800s at the Suffolk County Clerk’s office in Riverhead.
He discovered that in the 1880s, when the town trustees were in debt and on the brink of bankruptcy, they sold 1,000 acres of land in Napeague to Arthur W. Benson, an estate developer. property and is a fisherman with a passion for sports. As a condition of the sale, the trustees retained a deposit – which is famously still debated in court today – to keep the boat docked and cast nets and bring in the fish. and go from the beach.
Mr Silverman says what he has unearthed proves that the town commissioners do not own the beach, and depending on how one interprets the beach, do not have the authority to allow people to drive on it. .
Based on their findings, the landlords sued the town and its trustees in 2009, citing an 1880s sale, known as the Benson Deed, as proof that the deed for with their assets including beach ownership. In 2016, after losing that first lawsuit, 110 homeowners rushed to track them down. Five years and one appeal later, the court reversed its decision and ruled on their side. Judgment 2021: Landlords who own the beach and use the transport are not allowed to book in advance.
