Long Island Yacht Club struggling to reopen this spring
Longtime members of the Long Island Yacht Club, a Babylon Village icon that closed its doors in December after running out of cash, are scrambling to attract enough new members to reopen it this spring.
People who attended a club meeting in February said the club needs to attract 45 to 60 new members this month to raise sufficient operating funds.
Their initiation fees and club dues would provide a cash infusion of $213,750 to $285,000, based on documents posted on the club website. A portion of that would go toward paying back property taxes of $80,500 and toward annual operating expenses that reach into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
If the club can’t open, members will need to explore options “including, but not limited to, the sale of some or all of the property,” according to a letter signed by Commodore Steve Vid, membership chair Chris Ryan and the club’s board of governors.
Ryan said a committee of members formed to save the club is due to present its plan to the club board Monday night.
That plan calls for annual dues of $3,500 and initiation fees of $1,250. Marina-only members would pay $500 in annual dues as well as mooring fees.
The seven-acre site on the former grounds of a Little East Neck Road estate could be subdivided for houses, but a condominium proposal would have to go before village trustees, who have indicated they would oppose it.
“Our position is to keep it a yacht club,” Mayor Ralph Scordino said at a Feb. 23 village board meeting.
Unwinding the club’s assets would likely be complicated and expensive — “a law firm’s dream,” village attorney Joel Sikowitz said at that meeting.
The club, once led by Bob Keeshan, a village resident who played television’s Captain Kangaroo, was established in 1958. It boasts tennis courts, restaurant fare, a swimming pool and slips for 74 vessels.
In its heyday in the 1960s, 160 members floated one of Long Island’s largest power boat fleets. But in recent years, fewer than half its slips were occupied. After a handful of unexpected resignations last fall, about 15 full members remained, along with a number of partial members whose dues brought in less revenue to the club.
Rebuilding expenses after Tropical Storm Irene and superstorm Sandy led some members to resign, club officers have said. Remaining members faced higher costs, and funds declined while operating expenses remained high.
For the current members, who have fond memories of weekend cookouts, sailing on the Great South Bay, and swim lessons for the children, it is money well-spent.
“It’s full of memories for us,” said Vincent Mulieri, a member with his wife since 1998. “All four of our kids grew up there, and in a way my wife and I have grown up there.”
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SARRA SOUNDS OFF: Dunia's comeback, Wyandanch hoops, more Newsday's Gregg Sarra hosts a new show covering the latest in high school sports on Long Island.