Fire Island's Ho-Hum Beach now open to all Brookhaven residents, town says
Brookhaven is allowing all town residents to visit Ho-Hum Beach on Fire Island — where for years only Bellport Village residents were allowed — in a bid to reverse a policy town officials said discriminates against minorities who live in neighboring communities.
The town on Sunday morning launched a free water taxi service — surprising village officials and upending decades of Bellport's exclusive use of the Fire Island beach. The first town taxi departed Sunday from the same Bellport marina where the village runs ferries for its residents. But the move outraged Bellport Mayor Maureen Veitch, who said she was not consulted about Brookhaven's decision.
Tensions between town and village officials have been high since January, when Brookhaven Supervisor Dan Panico urged Bellport officials to open Ho-Hum Beach to all town residents. The village's rules were "absurd," he said, because they block residents of minority communities such as North Bellport from enjoying the beach.
Talks to expand beach access faltered, prompting the launch of the 25-seat water taxi, Panico said Tuesday at a news conference at town hall in Farmingville.
"At some point, it was the middle of August," Panico said. "The time for talk was over."
About a dozen town residents stood behind him holding signs with slogans such as "Free the Beach" and "Ho Hum for Everyone."
Ho-Hum is reachable only by a village-operated ferry. Only village residents or summer renters can ride the ferry to Ho-Hum Beach.
Veitch, in a letter to village residents she shared with Newsday, called the town's plan "misguided." She said the beach lacks sewer capacity and has only one lifeguard chair.
She also said it was unsafe for Brookhaven to launch water taxis from a sea wall at the village marina, saying the wall "is really not safe for any boat."
"I’m just puzzled about this as a solution," Veitch told Newsday. "I’m not quite sure what the motivations are."
Veitch said she was not sure what legal recourse the village had to stop the town boat trips.
Opening the beach to non-village residents can narrow at least some of the racial and economic divides in what Panico in January described as "one of the most de facto segregated communities on Long Island."
On Tuesday, Panico said the town had "annexed" Ho-Hum in 2018. The agreement allowed the village to retain control over the beach while opening it to all town residents, Panico said.
"The town is not looking to invade the village," Panico said. "It’s reprehensible conduct because, what are you afraid of?"
The Village of Bellport is affluent and mostly white, whereas the hamlet of North Bellport is home to a much larger Black and Hispanic population, according to U.S. census data.
Bellport's population of 1,844 is 97.5% white, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino and 1.6% Black, according to the U. S. Census' 2022 American Community Survey. The median household income in the village is $131,719.
North Bellport's 10,530 residents are 64.1% white, 39.8% Hispanic or Latino and 28.9% Black, the American Community Survey said. The median household income in 2022 was $89,026.
Georgette Grier-Key, president of the Brookhaven NAACP, welcomed the water taxis.
Grier-Key, who lives in Bellport but outside the village, said she drives "two or three towns away" to visit other beaches, even though she lives less than a mile from the Bellport marina.
"It was always a question in the back of my head why we don't have access," Grier-Key said in an interview. "I'm disappointed in [the village's] response. I'm disappointed in their exclusivity."
The town water taxi can carry 25 passengers per trip as part of a pilot program to gauge interest in the service, Panico said. The town will pay $2,600 a day to provide four daily trips to and from the beach.
But Veitch said Brookhaven should direct its residents to other town beaches or to Smith Point County Park in Shirley.
Ho-Hum may not be able to handle additional visitors, citing issues with the septic tanks, she said.
"If we overuse the septic, we’re not going to have the opportunity to put in a new septic [tank] there," she said. "The facilities are just not ideal."
Brookhaven is allowing all town residents to visit Ho-Hum Beach on Fire Island — where for years only Bellport Village residents were allowed — in a bid to reverse a policy town officials said discriminates against minorities who live in neighboring communities.
The town on Sunday morning launched a free water taxi service — surprising village officials and upending decades of Bellport's exclusive use of the Fire Island beach. The first town taxi departed Sunday from the same Bellport marina where the village runs ferries for its residents. But the move outraged Bellport Mayor Maureen Veitch, who said she was not consulted about Brookhaven's decision.
Tensions between town and village officials have been high since January, when Brookhaven Supervisor Dan Panico urged Bellport officials to open Ho-Hum Beach to all town residents. The village's rules were "absurd," he said, because they block residents of minority communities such as North Bellport from enjoying the beach.
Talks to expand beach access faltered, prompting the launch of the 25-seat water taxi, Panico said Tuesday at a news conference at town hall in Farmingville.
Ho-Hum for Everyone
- Brookhaven Town has scheduled two more days of round-trip service to and from Ho-Hum Beach, a Village of Bellport beach on Fire Island.
- For additional information and to reserve seats, go to brookhavenny.gov.
- The ferries will run Sept. 1 and Sept. 8.
"At some point, it was the middle of August," Panico said. "The time for talk was over."
About a dozen town residents stood behind him holding signs with slogans such as "Free the Beach" and "Ho Hum for Everyone."
Ho-Hum is reachable only by a village-operated ferry. Only village residents or summer renters can ride the ferry to Ho-Hum Beach.
Veitch, in a letter to village residents she shared with Newsday, called the town's plan "misguided." She said the beach lacks sewer capacity and has only one lifeguard chair.
She also said it was unsafe for Brookhaven to launch water taxis from a sea wall at the village marina, saying the wall "is really not safe for any boat."
"I’m just puzzled about this as a solution," Veitch told Newsday. "I’m not quite sure what the motivations are."
Veitch said she was not sure what legal recourse the village had to stop the town boat trips.
Opening the beach to non-village residents can narrow at least some of the racial and economic divides in what Panico in January described as "one of the most de facto segregated communities on Long Island."
On Tuesday, Panico said the town had "annexed" Ho-Hum in 2018. The agreement allowed the village to retain control over the beach while opening it to all town residents, Panico said.
"The town is not looking to invade the village," Panico said. "It’s reprehensible conduct because, what are you afraid of?"
The Village of Bellport is affluent and mostly white, whereas the hamlet of North Bellport is home to a much larger Black and Hispanic population, according to U.S. census data.
Bellport's population of 1,844 is 97.5% white, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino and 1.6% Black, according to the U. S. Census' 2022 American Community Survey. The median household income in the village is $131,719.
North Bellport's 10,530 residents are 64.1% white, 39.8% Hispanic or Latino and 28.9% Black, the American Community Survey said. The median household income in 2022 was $89,026.
Georgette Grier-Key, president of the Brookhaven NAACP, welcomed the water taxis.
Grier-Key, who lives in Bellport but outside the village, said she drives "two or three towns away" to visit other beaches, even though she lives less than a mile from the Bellport marina.
"It was always a question in the back of my head why we don't have access," Grier-Key said in an interview. "I'm disappointed in [the village's] response. I'm disappointed in their exclusivity."
The town water taxi can carry 25 passengers per trip as part of a pilot program to gauge interest in the service, Panico said. The town will pay $2,600 a day to provide four daily trips to and from the beach.
But Veitch said Brookhaven should direct its residents to other town beaches or to Smith Point County Park in Shirley.
Ho-Hum may not be able to handle additional visitors, citing issues with the septic tanks, she said.
"If we overuse the septic, we’re not going to have the opportunity to put in a new septic [tank] there," she said. "The facilities are just not ideal."
Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.
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