Around the Island

From our files: This week in Shelter Island history

REPORTER FILE PHOTO | Pieter Ruig at his home on Ram Island Road in 2002, when he was appointed to the town’€™s ZBA.

10 YEARS AGO
New member looks ahead to serving on zoning panel

Pieter Ruig was tapped in October 2002 to take a seat on Shelter Island’s Zoning Board of Appeals, a post he continues to hold today. At the time of his appointment, Mr. Ruig told the Reporter that, while he had never served on a ZBA, he had plenty of experience appearing before the board as an applicant. Among his applications was one for Mr. Ruig and his wife, Ellen Lear, to establish a horse farm at the top of Ram Island Road, a locale known as John Tut’s Hill. The couple won the day with an agreement to protect 29 acres of the property from residential development.
POSTSCRIPT: That property is on the market today with a $7.95 million price tag. Mr. Ruig has declined comment on the reason, except to say, “We just decided to sell.”

25 YEARS AGO
Townspeople make demands at LILCO hearing

During a more than three-hour public hearing on a plan by the now defunct Long Island Lighting Company to run a cable across Shelter Island connecting North and South forks, residents got the Town Board to agree to seek an independent study of the proposal. When it was completed later, the study found that residents wouldn’t benefit from more reliable service as a result of the 69,0000-volt cable because it was only meant to serve the two forks.
POSTSCRIPT: Today, South Ferry is expecting to engage in talks with Long Island Power Authority, LILCO’s successor, about being able to dredge in the area where the cable goes underground and enters the bay bottom west of the ferry service’s two slips. Cliff Clark told the Reporter this month he and his father had a verbal okay from LILCO that the cable would not intefere with dredging but LIPA now says dredging could damage it.

40 YEARS AGO
Jernick denies broken promise

Supervisor Thomas Jernick denied a charge by the Shelter Island Senior Citizens Association that he was avoiding a meeting with the group to discuss issues of importance to the Island’s older residents. He maintained that it was SISCA officials, not him, who had postponed such a meeting. SISCA President Edward Killam charged that the town was failing to fight for Suffolk County tax relief for low income seniors; failing to use a portion of recreation funds for senior needs; and not fighting for reduced ferry fares for seniors.
POSTSCRIPT: On the senior front, the news these days has been about the long effort to make the the kitchen at the Senior Activity Center compliant with county health regulations. The renovated kitchen is expected to reopen this fall after a two-year closure.

50 YEARS AGO
Food sale at aid library

The Shelter Island Hospital Club was raising money at a food sale to benefit the building fund for the Shelter Island Library. At the time, the fund exceeded $23,500. Library construction began in 1964 and the building was dedicate in August 1965. It’s total cost was $70,000. There was no explanation in our story as to why a “hospital club” was raising more for a library.
POSTSCRIPT: Community dedication to the library has been evident in recent years as more than $800,000 was raised for renovations and expansions to the building.