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About Crane Neck Association

This is the site of the Crane Neck Neighborhood Association.

Flax Pond Revised Unit Management Plan

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FLAX POND

Revised Unit Management Plan (UMP)

and

Current Projects

Meeting  Convened by Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn

Childs Mansion Feb 14, 2018

Attendees

Name                                Affiliation

Kara Hahn (KH)                Suffolk County Legislator/Crane Neck Resident

Larry Swanson (LS)         Emeritus Professor, School of Marine and Atmospheric Studies, SBU

Michael Levine                Mayor, Village of OldField

Robert Marsh                  NYS DEC,  Director of Wetlands Management

Thomas Gadomski          NYS DEC

Kaitlin Grady                    NYS DEC Police

Mark Simmons                NYS DEC Police

Larry Zacarese                 Asst. Chief Stony Brook University Police Department (SBUPD)

Robert Lenahan              Chief, Stony Brook University Police Department

Michael Kelly                   Sgt, 6th Precint, Suffolk County Police Department

Christine D’Alessandro   Crane Neck Association, Past President

Marisela Staller               Crane Neck Association, Current President

Fredelle Robinson           Flax Pond Woods Association

Jessica McKay                  Intern, Office of Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn

Alyssa Turano                  Intern, Office of Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn

The meeting was convened in response to residents’ concerns about future access, environmental impact, and oversight/regulation for Flax Pond, a parcel of land owned by Stony Brook University and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (thus wholly state-owned). A draft of a Unit Management (UMP) was circulated several years ago, and at a public meeting held by the DEC many members of the public brought serious issues to light. The revised UMP was the focus of this meeting as residents require greater clarity of proposals and implementation.

LS stressed that this UMP is still a draft, not a final document.

KH asked residents to speak first. Significant complaints were about:

1. Access

a) Wetlands and Beach

In the future ALL people entering the wetlands and pond, including residents, must have a DEC Managed Land Access Permit; a PDF is available online at NYSDEC website. Hunters will require a hunting permit.

              Signs will be manufactured, placed and paid for by the DEC in the laboratory parking area, and will indicate restrictions, penalties and fines for illegal camping, shellfish taking, fires and trespass. Additional signs (with identical wording) will be manufactured, placed and paid for by the CNA along its private beach dunes to the east of Beach Path and west of the inlet. Village of Old Field officers are responsible for enforcing restrictions on CNA property. On DEC property, residents are urged to call DEC police if violations are observed [see separate sheet/CNA website for telephone numbers]. CNA signs will display these telephone numbers as well as place warning signs (symbols) about ticks and mosquitoes.

              University police have no jurisdiction on the beach (only on land and at the lab) but can enforce parking restrictions/violations near the lab. Suffolk County police can enforce the prohibition against fires and camping. Responsibilities and enforcement rights of the DEC police are commensurate with Suffolk  County police.

b) Pond and Dredging of the Inlet

Long-standing issues about the deterioration of the pond will probably not be remedied until dredging occurs. Currently the artificially constructed inlet (first opened in 1804) is only about 8 feet deep at high tide, and the upper part of the pond does not empty well due to the delta at the mouth of the inlet. Additionally, increasingly high tides threaten Crane Neck Road, the laboratory, and homes.

              Funding and proposals for future development of the laboratory have resulted in a grant from NYS Governor Andrew Cuomo for $3.5 million dollars to construct a shellfish hatchery at the marine science laboratory; this would include a 3,000 square foot extension at the northwest corner of the building. The governor has not yet designated Flax Pond as a sanctuary site, long proposed by advocates of Flax Pond. However, this construction project might help to secure funding for future dredging.

ML asked about dredging the inlet. KH and LS explained that there is a “Plan A” and a “Plan B.”

•        “Plan A”, the less expensive option, would be to dredge three small channels across the delta to faciliate upper-pond flushing. These would, however, fill up over time and are thus not the best remedy.

•         “Plan B” would require reconstruction of the state-owned jetties, which are currently ineffective. Two permits are required, one from the Department of Public Works and the other from the Department of Health. Both application processes are stringent and require additional environmental data. The Suffolk County Legislature committee overseeing approval currently has 11 votes in favor but needs 112. KH is talking to Governor Cuomo. Funding for this project is not yet secure. Also, access to the state-owned pond is legal for motor boats, so signs will be posted to indicate a “no wake” zone (5 mph) to deter boats and especially jet skis. Currently, the erratic depths/shallows of the pond is a deterrent.

c) Roads

Crane Neck roads are privately owned and maintained at huge expense to residents. The university currently subsidizes some cost of repairs, but the prospect of increased road traffic is extremely worrisome. The CNA will be renegotiating its contract with SBU in the near future, and it is to be hoped more funds will be garnered as a result.

The DEC UMP proposes public access along Crane Neck Road to Shore Drive with parking at the marine science laboratory. To limit access, the DEC has proposed the construction of 6 parking spaces at the laboratory with only 2 parking spaces reserved specifically and only for hunters (maximum 2 people per car).  DEC-issued access permits will be required for display on the dashboard  (hunting permits are also required). Signs will indicate penalties and fines.

2. Hunting

Specifically noted was the obvious danger posed to walkers and kayaks, and the threatening behavior of hunters who loudly assert their right to carry firearms on state property. Also not to be underestimated is the disturbing noise of guns being fired.Note that this is waterfowl hunting, not deer hunting (which is currently prohibited). LS concurred, saying that SBU students also do not feel safe  when working on the pond or near the marine science laboratory.

This is an ongoing problem with no clear solution in sight because the  DEC and SBU have not yet reached an agreement. It is important to define “recreational uses” and whether this would include or exclude hunting. Future talks with NYS State Assemblyman Steve Englebright will be scheduled.

Current and Future Projects

An Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant path behind the Childs Mansion is almost complete. Entry will be from the marine science laboratory parking lot (limited).

Efforts must be made to coordinate the number and response to complaints. All parties involved (SBU police and staff, Village of Old Field officers, DEC police, Suffolk County police) must be vigilant in collecting and disseminating data about access

Reconstruction of the bridge across Flax Pond is also almost finished (a small barge will sink additional pilings at high tide). Plans are being discussed to extend the bridge over the berm to the beach, but these plans have implications for the beach property owned by the Crane Neck Association. Funding is also uncertain.

It was suggested that the woods along Crane Neck Road be cleared of invasive vines and broken limbs, and the fencing restored to its original state (at the moment, many rails are broken and unsightly).

Garbage and debris should also be collected.

2018 Annual Meeting: Saturday, May 5th at 9:30am.

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Dear Residents of Crane Neck,

The annual Crane Neck Association meeting will take place on Saturday, May 5th at 9:30am in the Emma S. Clark Memorial Library. Please make your way to the basement where a large room will be reserved for our meeting. We urge all the residents of Crane Neck to attend as we will be discussing important issues pertaining to our community, including the roads, election of new board members and budget.

We hope to see you there,

The Board of the Crane Neck Association.

neighborhood-meeting_orig

2017 Board Letter to the Residents of Crane Neck.

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October 2017

Dear Neighbor:

I hope you had a pleasant summer. I am writing on behalf of the Crane Neck Association (CNA) Board to update you on projects we have undertaken since the annual meeting.

First, we have installed a gate at Beach Path, paid for by volunteer residents, to restrict beach parking to members of the association in good standing. Residents have observed many cars turning around to exit Crane Neck Road upon realizing they could not park at the Beach Path lot. Consequently, the beach was quieter and cleaner this summer and less garbage built up in the parking area than in prior years.

The CNA beach picnic, sponsored by volunteers, was very successful and well attended. Residents ate, swam and caught up with neighbors.

The CNA paid to fully repave Shore Road in May. We hope to have sufficient funds to pave another road next year, after the collection of dues. In the interim, we plan to fill inseveral shallow trenches on the eroded sides of the roads with filter fabric and small rocks to allow the overflow of water to drain and prevent water from undermining the road, and we will repair potholes. We also will clean out drains that have filled with sand and debris, a costly but necessary procedure to keep the roads free from flooding.

After a few tree limbs fell on the road, and several residents expressed concerns about the threat of dead limbs falling on the road, we undertook a long overdue project to prune dead branches and trees that hovered over Crane Neck Road and were a danger to passing cars, bikers and pedestrians. We worked with the pruning crew for six days. While the cost of this project was not in the budget, with the upcoming winter, the board unanimously decided it was an important preventive measure to take. To prioritize what is most needed, such as this pruning project, we will cut back on trimming and mowing the sides of roads to 3 or 4 times per year.

With the winter close at hand, we have a budget for snow plowing since neither the Town nor the Village provide this service to us, and the Association must do so from the dues it collects from its members. The CNA also pays for insurance and other costs associated with maintaining the property owned by the CNA.

Please do not contact your personal landscaper or vendor to work on the road or the sides of the road without prior approval from a Crane Neck board member. If you do so, you will be responsible for payment for the work.

The dues you pay to the CNA are for the mutual benefit of our residents. All residents owe it to their neighbors to live up to this obligation.  Note that several families have not paid this year. Those who do not pay are subject to the 10% interest charge, which will be added to next year’s bill.  To those families who have failed to pay their dues, including any assessments necessary to maintain our property, please contribute your share.

Finally, the association board is composed of unpaid volunteers who live in the community. We have representatives from Holly Lane, Crane Neck Road, Woodcock Lane and Child’s Lane. We currently are down to five members and two will be stepping down in April at the end of their three-year term. If you are interested in joining the board, please let us know. We encourage all families to volunteer for the board, and we would particularly welcome members from Mount Gray Road, Shore Road or Laurel Lane as we have none on the board at present.

If you have ideas, questions or concerns, please email one or more members of the board at the address provided on the Crane Neck website.

We wish you all a very Happy Holiday Season.

Sincerely for the Crane Neck Association Board,

Marisela H Staller

Why Dredge at Flax Pond?

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Dear Crane Neck Residents,

Back in April of 2017, R. Lawrence Swanson, Director of Waste Reduction and Management Institute and Associate Dean at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University gave a presentation regarding the dredging at Flax Pond. Below is the given presentation for your reference. You can also download the PDF of the presentation below.

FlaxPondDredgingPresentationMAR333

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Crane Neck Association Beach Party

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Share a Beautiful Beach Day with Neighbors!

The Board of the Crane Neck Association

Welcomes our fellow residents to join us for a

Meet and Greet!

Saturday, July 15, 2017

4:00pm

at Crane Neck Beach… of course!

This year we’ve decided to have a Pot Luck Party

Please bring your own food and drink

Along with a side dish or dessert to share

Don’t forget your beach chairs and umbrellas!

We are excited to see you!

Please let us know you’ll be there:

craneneckbeachparty@gmail.com

As always, no funds for this party are taken from CNA.

Any and ALL expenses are donated.

Crane Neck Beach Gate Operational

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Dear CNA Resident,

The beach gate installation has been completed. Over the next few days, board members will try to deliver the access cards in person to all members. If we are unable to hand deliver, you can come and collect them during the next board meeting at Childs Mansion on June 17 between 9am to 10am.

If you have questions, feel free to contact any of the board members who are cc’ed on this email.

Currently the gate is open to allow all members to get their access cards. The gate will be turned on after June 17, 2017.
CNA Board

 

Crane Neck Beach Gate Installation

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Dear Members of the Crane Neck Association,

The installation of the Crane Neck Beach gate is proceeding according to schedule. Please bear with us, as the beach will be inaccessible to cars for the duration of the installation. Once the beach gate is installed and its operation tested, every household in good standing will get their own beach gate access cards.

Sincerely,
Crane Neck Board Members
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Crane Neck Association Annual Meeting

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Crane Neck Association

Notice of Annual Membership Meeting

Dear Fellow Crane Neck Resident,

The spring/summer season is a very busy time of year in Crane Neck as nature begins to explode and we all are coming out of hibernation to enjoy varied outdoor activities and all that the Crane Neck community has to offer.

It is also the time of the Annual Membership Meeting of the Crane Neck Association, and this year’s meeting is scheduled for Saturday Morning, April 29th at 9 AM at the Keeper’s Cottage at the Old Field Lighthouse. All members of the Crane Neck Association are invited to attend to review the activities of the association for the past year and to provide input into the association’s plans for the coming year and beyond. This meeting is a good opportunity for members to reconnect with their neighbors after the past months of winter inactivity.

The CNA Board over the past year has continued to focus on its responsibilities in accordance with the bylaws of the association. The CNA has continued to maintain the roads of the community, maintain the Crane Neck Beach and promote the sense of neighborhood in the Crane Neck community. This is accomplished by a group of volunteer Board Members, and I am grateful for the service to the community they have provided during the past year. Two board members have fulfilled their commitments this year and will be leaving the board as of this annual meeting. Deepti Gupta has been indispensable in carrying out her duties as secretary of the Board and her position will be difficult to replace. As called for in the by laws of the association, I will also be “retiring” from the board and I again thank the board members for all the support they have provided.

The past year has been especially active for the association and the annual meeting is an opportunity for the board to discuss its initiatives with membership.

Among those important initiatives are:

1) Maintaining the roads of the community, keeping them safe from snow ice and debris. One of the major initiatives of the board has been the establishment of a proactive program to resurface the roads of the community, a program that necessitated the implementation of a special assessment to membership in the past year. The status of the annual membership dues and the possibility of an additional assessment will be discussed at the meeting..

2) Investigating a solution to the continued unauthorized use of the Crane Neck Beach, a situation that threatened the safety of membership who used the beach as well as the environment being overwhelmed by trash and debris from uninvited guests. The solution to this issue has previously been forwarded and will be discussed at the meeting.

3) Considering a proposal to revise the calculation of dues to be based partially upon assessed valuation of property rather than the flat rate procedure. This proposal has been previously forwarded by Treasurer James Mammen and is available on the association’s website and will be discussed at the meeting.

4) The annual beach cleanup, coordinated by Marisela Staller and Lise Sasson, is undertaken every year to get the beach ready for spring and summer enjoyment. A date and time for this years cleanup will be announced soon.

The board will welcome inclusion of additional agenda topics as time permits. In that regard, please forward to me any relevant topics for inclusion in the agenda.

Lastly, as mentioned above, two board members (Deepti and myself) are required to step down as board members per the bylaws of the association. In addition, a number of vacancies exist due to family relocations etc. and that creates the need for additional volunteer board members. I would request that you consider volunteering for these important positions. I assure you that participation will only take up a minimal amount of your personal time. If you can volunteer, I request that you provide your name to any of the current board members whose email addresses are provided at the bottom of this letter.

I hope to see you at the meeting on the 29th . Thanks to the Old Field Village Board, we have been able to secure the Cottage for our meeting, but I must advise that space there is limited so please be aware of this when making plans to attend.

Thank you again for your continued support of the community of Crane Neck and I look forward to seeing you on the 29th.

Very Truly Yours,

Thomas Dowd  – President

Deepti Gupta – Secretary

James Mammen – Treasurer 

Joseph Mitchell – Roads Commissioner

Marisela Staller – Beach Co Chairperson

Emil Moshkovich – Co Secretary and Webmaster

Lise Sasson – Beach Co Chairperson

Proposal to Use Assessed Values to Determine Dues

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Proposal to Use Assessed Values to Determine Dues

The Board of Crane Neck Association

March 18, 2017

Section 1: Introduction

Since 2014, we have had a system of uniform dues in which all members pay the same annual dues and special assessments. Prior to 2014, annual dues were based on assessed values. Unfortunately there were problems with our records which motivated the move to the simpler system of uniform dues in 2014.

While the uniform dues system has the benefit of being extremely simple, it has the problem of being somewhat unfair since all property owners must pay the same amount despite the wide variation in property values. It is particularly unfair to owners of Cabanas and empty lots. For a different reason, it is also unfair to residents on Mt Grey since they do not use CNA roads for home access. This problem of unfairness would not be serious if dues were sufficiently small. But our dues are already $650 and we had a $1000 special assessment in 2016 which has been paid by only 60% of the members. In the interest of greater fairness, which we hope will induce greater participation, we propose to go back to dues based on assessed values. Unlike in the past, our new system has the feature that each member can easily verify that the dues are correct.

Section 2: Proposal

We propose making 70% of the dues proportional to assessed value and leaving the remaining 30% uniform. This will apply to both annual dues and special assessments. We also propose charging Mt Grey members only the uniform portion ($195=$650*0.3) since they do not use any of the roads maintained by CNA for access to their properties.

The choice of 30% as the uniform portion was made to control the disparity in dues between the members with the highest and lowest dues. This choice was made based on an analysis of the distribution of dues of all members.

Unlike in the past, we will include information in the invoice so that members can easily verify that their dues are being computed correctly. Invoices will state the median dues (say $650), the median assessed value (say 8650) and the uniform percentage (30%). Members can find the assessed values of their properties on the tax bill from the Town of Brookhaven or the Village of Old Field and easily verify their dues using the following formula:

Dues = (0.3 x $650) + (0.7 x $650 x Assessed Value / 8650).

Here are various arguments in support of this proposal:

  1. It is required by CNA Bylaws: Article IV, Section 1 on Annual Dues states that: “… a family owning real property on Crane Neck shall pay annual dues to the Association based on the aggregate assessed valuation of all parcels of real property on Crane Neck owned by such family as shown on the latest Assessment Roll of the Village of Old Field”.
  2. It is fairer in terms of impact on property values: To the extent that a good road system adds to the property value, it would be more reasonable to assume that the increase is proportional to the property value rather than a fixed amount. The truth is probably somewhere in between and closer to being proportional. As an extreme example, consider the effect of better roads on properties worth $50,000 (a cabana, perhaps), $500,000 (an empty lot, perhaps) and $5 million. It seems much more reasonable to expect the market value to increase by 1% (that is, $500, $5000 and $50,000 respectively) rather than by an equal amount for all of them.
  3. It is fairer in terms of impact on roads: There is probably a correlation between higher property values and greater use of roads by heavier vehicles for landscaping, fuel and maintenance. Admittedly, this is a somewhat weak argument.
  4. It is probably fairer in terms of usage: Properties further down Crane Neck Road tend to have higher values and need to use more of the road system for house access. Obviously, this argument is even weaker than the previous one.
  5. There have been several discussions at CNA meetings regarding the possibility of charging extra fees for new construction since construction vehicles degrade the roads a lot more due to carrying heavy loads. Unfortunately, CNA may not have the authority to charge such fees and more importantly we do not have the resources (such as a building inspector and associated staff) to determine and collect a fair fee for each project. It turns out that new construction results in a much higher assessed value than an existing home of the same size. Thus this proposal would have the feature of collecting more dues from members with new construction.
  6. A fairer system will hopefully lead to greater participation by members of CNA.
  7. There will be less time spent at meetings discussing issues of unfairness, extra fees for construction, etc., allowing us to focus on the important issues.

And here are potential drawbacks:

  1. Each year, some work will be required to collect updated data for assessed values. The Treasurer collected these data online from the Assessment Roll Map webpage maintained by the Town of Brookhaven and cross checked these with the data obtained on request from the Assessor for the Town of Brookhaven.
  2. There is the possibility of errors in assessed values. Each member could easily detect these errors by comparing with the tax bill from the Town of Brookhaven or the Village of Old Field. Once detected, they can be rectified easily since the information is publicly available.
  3. If members with more expensive properties do not pay, the impact will be greater than that in our current system of uniform dues.

Section 3: Assessed Value and Property Taxes in New York State

Assessed value can be thought of as a substitute for property value. The assessed value of a property is determined by the Town of Brookhaven and it is approximately 1% of the estimated market value. For properties in CNA, the median assessed value in 2016 was 8650. Property taxes levied by The Town of Brookhaven, The Three Village School District and The Village of Old Field are based on the assessed value.

Here is a brief summary of how property tax is computed on our tax bill.

  1. The Town of Brookhaven determines an assessed value on each property. The assessed value is supposed to be a certain percentage of the market value as estimated by the town. The market value is called “Full Value” in our tax bill.
  2. New York State establishes a ratio called RAR (Residential Assessment Ratio) which, when divided by the Assessed Value, equals the market value. The RAR is called “Uniform %” in our tax bill and is next to the Assessed Value.
  3. The Assessed Value is adjusted for exemptions and multiplied by the “Tax Rate per $100” to determine the actual property taxes.

In summary,

Property Tax = Taxable Assessment x Tax Rate

Taxable Assessment = Assessed Value – Exemptions

More information is available at the following website:

https://www.tax.ny.gov/pit/property/learn/index.htm