Southold police crossed LI Sound, seized property with crowbars, Fishers Island Ferry District alleges

The Fishers Island Ferry District is alleging in a lawsuit that Southold Town police illegally seized one of its properties on the tiny island after crossing Long Island Sound by boat and using crowbars to break the locks.

The lawsuit, filed May 29 in Suffolk State Supreme Court, alleged the department took over the property at 357 Whistler Ave. earlier this year for use as police barracks. The town is responsible for policing Fishers Island, which is a part of the Town of Southold but borders southeastern Connecticut.

On Jan. 1,  Southold police officers “crossed Long Island Sound on a police boat, exited the watercraft at The Fishers Island Ferry District Dock and ... forcibly cut all locks to the Dwelling with crowbars," Keith Corbett, an attorney for the ferry district, said in the complaint. Police "ejected all property and people" from the property, Corbett wrote.

Corbett said in the filing such a forceful and "draconian" seizure has “not been seen in this Country, if at all, in at least 200 years.”

In a phone interview Thursday, Corbett said the district cannot "allow a town to usurp its rights and entitlements."

Southold Supervisor Al Krupski said in a phone interview Thursday that the town “polices Fisher Island and takes public safety very seriously.”

“We’re continually willing to work with the Fishers Island Ferry District,” said Krupski, who declined to comment further.

The ferry district was created by state legislation in 1947. Fishers Island is accessible only by ferry from New London, Connecticut, or by small plane. A round-trip ferry takes about 2.5 hours,  according to the ferry district’s website. The island has a population of about 424 people, according to U.S. Census data, but the population can swell in the summer.

Southold officers began patrolling the island in 2023 after New York State troopers vacated their barracks over what they described as unsafe conditions. The state troopers had cited deteriorating conditions, including an outdated electrical system, and said they had "no choice" but to exit, Newsday previously reported.

The Southold Town Board informed the ferry district in a November 2024 letter it planned to seize the Whistler Avenue property for use as a police barracks. The district told the town it planned to keep the property while helping officials search for a new site.

The Southold Town Board passed a resolution on Dec. 17 that revoked the Ferry District’s right to use the property, according to the suit. But the ferry district approved a resolution rejecting Southold's plan. Electors have to approve the transfer of any property, according to the lawsuit.

The ferry district had “spent hundreds of thousands of dollars renovating and improving” the residence to be used for its own staff. The district has not been able to access the property since Jan. 1, according to the lawsuit.

The district is seeking $2 million, plus interest, and a court order requiring the town to vacate the property.

The two sides are due back in court on June 26.

By Joseph Ostapiuk

joseph.ostapiuk@newsday.com@OstapiukJ