A fond farewell

The members of the Community Preservation Fund Advisory Board paid tribute Monday morning to longtime chairman Gordon Gooding who leaves to take his seat on the Town Board.

As expected, Twoey Brayson was chosen to replace him.

There were words of praise for Mr. Gooding from his colleagues and others who have worked with him through the years to bring acquisitions to fruition. Mr. Gooding and others recalled memories through the years.

In accepting the advisory board’s nomination, Mr. Brayson said he came to the board in 2016 and thought he might be its chairman, but the job went to Mr. Gooding.

In that time, Mr. Brayson said Mr. Gooding has led the committee through acquisitions of 63 acres of properties that have become sites for passive recreation and enjoyment of the natural beauty of Shelter Island.

Those acquisitions have “improved the lives of Shelter Island residents,” Mr. Brayson said.

Member Joe Denny told Mr. Gooding it has been an honor to serve on the CPF during the chairman’s tenure. Mr. Gooding recalled working during the terms of four different supervisors in days when the Town had no email accounts for its volunteer committee members. There were few protected sites aside from Mashomack Preserve owned by The Nature Conservancy.

He recalled working with former supervisor Jim Dougherty, Michael Coles and Peter Vielbig. And he advised his CPF colleagues that although Ed Shillingburg had left the Advisory Board, they should consider him a member who continues to give assistance and advice.

Mr. Gooding spoke about his early days when the Island had parks but all were closed off to the public.

Those who favored keeping them closed worried they would be ruined by visitors from Brooklyn who would destroy the pristine nature of those parklands, Mr. Gooding said.

Among the early sites for acquisition Mr. Gooding had identified was land belonging to Esther Hunt. She had always wanted to see the land opened to the public and it took a long time to bring about a deal but now the Mildred Flower Hird Preserves — East and West are open to the public.

“This is everybody’s land,” Mr. Gooding said.

He presented an instrument to Mr. Brayson to deal with ticks while walking through sites and Mr. Brayson presented him with a walking stick representing early acquisitions during Mr. Gooding’s tenure and a proclamation on behalf of CPF members for his leadership.

There were discussions of many acquisitions with an emphasis on the Artists Lane Preserve purchased from the White family that preserved 20.1 acres of property overlooking West Neck Creek.

Working with the Shelter Island Historical Society, a June 2025 exhibit focusing on that preserve will be featured at the Historical Society and remain there through next summer, Executive Director Nanette Lawrenson said.

A followup story about that preserve and some of the other acquisitions will appear in the Dec.19 Reporter.