Suffolk reverses decision to close year-round county campgrounds from January to March next year
Camping at Cathedral Pines County Park on February 3, 2023. Credit: Tom Lambui
Initially, the situation looked dire for year-round campers when a posting on the Suffolk County Parks Department's website announced that the county's year-round campgrounds would be closed Jan. 1, 2025 through March 31, 2025 for "reservation system updates and upgrades to campground facilities."
So when the county did an about-face Friday and rescinded that decision, it was welcome news.
"I'm just so grateful," said camper Merideth Piotrowski. "Everyone is so relieved."
Before they found out the news, campers like Piotrowski, who "decided to live the RV life" full-time earlier this year, which involves moving among campgrounds throughout the county, didn't know where they would go.
Piotrowski even started a petition a few days ago on change.org seeking to prevent the closure of year-round campgrounds Cathedral Pines in Middle Island and Indian Island in Riverhead. It had 258 signatures Friday.
With two grown sons out of the house and on their own, Piotrowski, 47, who co-owns a party rental and party planning business, said the lifestyle "fits our needs ... we’re very rarely home."
She and her significant other, Oscar Sturm, live in an RV they renovated. When they have time off, she said they may go to Smith Point in Shirley. "We barbecue. We sit around the camp fire. We’ll go to the park. We’ll go to the beach. My kids come."
As she wrote in a statement on the petition: "As new members of the full-time camping community, we chose to invest in this lifestyle after our children moved out to form their own families ... However, the planned closure of Suffolk County Park's campsites from January 1st to April 1st threatens this lifestyle and leaves many full-time RV'ers in a precarious situation, with little to no alternatives for parking our homes."
Piotrowski said in an interview that the county's suggested alternative, Battle Row Campground in Old Bethpage in Nassau County, wasn't convenient for Suffolk residents like her, who wanted to be near family and work, and would mean a longer commute.
What she didn't know then was that the county recently reversed its decision to close its two year-round parks for the winter, according to Michael Martino, a spokesman for Suffolk Executive Edward P. Romaine.
Asked about the park closures, Martino said Friday: "It's not happening. We're not doing it." County officials decided "we're just going to stagger the work that needed to get done."
Martino said there are other parks where camping is permitted, but the camping season ends for them in November.
“Suffolk County is home to some of the most beautiful parks you will find in New York State," Martino said. "The popularity necessitates a tremendous amount of maintenance and upgrades to ensure the camping experience is close to perfect as any camper could expect."
Asked what prompted the decision to keep the year-round parks open, Martino said officials "just looked at the projects and [started] strategizing. ...This has nothing to do with the petition."
Brian Jekel, 62, who has been living the RV lifestyle with his wife for about a year after he retired "and sold everything," was thrilled.
"I think that’s great," said Jekel, a retired optician who once owned four stores. He now lives in a 40-foot motor home with his wife, Robin, that has "everything you have in your house."
"Now I don’t have to look all over the place. That’s great news," he said. "There’s going to be a lot of happy people."
