pleasure beach

Without a bridge, community awaits its fate

By Annie M. Amato

July 23, 2000 - New York Times

GEORGE KOSTA got his wish of living in a serene island setting about 21 years ago when he bought a three-bedroom cottage on the 145-acre, sandy peninsula known as Pleasure Beach Island.

''It's just beautiful here,'' said Mr. Kosta, 65, of Fairfield, relaxing at at the popular shorefront community, which has been around since the 1920's, on the Stratford side of the peninsula. ''There's nothing like being right by the water, far away from everything.''

But the seclusion he and fellow cottage owners have comes with a price.

Four years ago, on Father's Day, an 88-year-old wooden bridge on the Bridgeport side that provided the only vehicle access to Pleasure Beach Island burned down and there are no immediate plans to rebuild or replace it.

With the closing of the fire-damaged bridge, a mile and a half walk over sand and jetties from Long Beach to the 45 cottages is one of only two approaches left to the enclave.

The other is by boat.

''Nothing's easy. I had to have some electric work done on the cottage in April and had to set up a special time with United Illuminating just to get a guy out by boat to do the repairs,'' said Bill Pacelli, 56, of Trumbull, a cottage owner since 1996. Mr. Pacelli is at his cottage nearly every weekend from March through November. ''I made sure the repairman had everything he needed because if you forget something onshore, you're out of luck.''

But getting there is half their battle. The cottage owners are also locked in a struggle with the town of Stratford, which evicted them from their waterfront properties three years ago. While they own their cottages, the town owns the land they sit on. Town officials have never officially said what they would do with the land if the cottage owners are forced to leave, although using it as open space or a natural preserve have been mentioned in the past. The matter is still in litigation.

''It's been such a disappointment,'' said Paul Oliva, president of the Long Beach West Association. Mr. Oliva bought his cottage in the mid-1980's because, he said, it was a great place to get away from the pressures of his job as chief of police in Mt. Pleasant, N.Y. He has since retired and spends most summer weekends at the cottage.

''We don't know where we stand,'' he said. ''At this point, we're just hoping that, whatever happens, that the town treats us equitably and fairly.''

 

After the land leases, which had cost each renter $1,483 a year, expired on June 30, 1997, the Stratford Town Council voted not to renew them, based primarily on safety concerns because of the closing of the bridge, which, the town contends, could hamper response by police or fire personnel in an emergency. Then, only days later, in the early morning hours of July 4, a sheriff arrived by boat to serve the cottage owners with eviction notices.

''The closing of the bridge sealed their fate,'' said Patricia A. Kronenberg, a town councilwoman. She was on the committee that recommended that the leases not be renewed. ''It's always been a matter of safety.''

''Fortuntately, it's been quiet out there since all this started,'' said Ron Nattrass, the Stratford fire chief. But, he added, if there were a major fire to fight, there is always a boat on call and the department would call in the Coast Guard, as well as the Milford and Bridgeport fire departments.

When the cottage owners' leases expired and they were evicted, Mr. Oliva said their lawyer recommended that they stop paying property taxes. ''It was the position of the association that if you owned a home in Stratford, that you should pay the taxes on your cottage,'' Mr. Oliva said, ''or else a lien would be placed on your property.'' Mr Oliva said he, and others who aren't Stratford residents, have opted not to pay them.

Mark Barnhart, Stratford town manager, said the town hopes to have a hearing before a judge concerning the evictions this fall.

''There have been periodic discussions between the town attorney and the attorney for the cottage owners who have been trying to work out negotiations for a smooth transition,'' Mr. Barnhart said referring to moving the owners' cottages and other possessions.
Mr. Barnhart said the land is currently zoned for open space and will be used for open space and recreation. ''There are no plans for any development,'' he added.

Ken Bernhard, an attorney for the majority of the cottage owners, described the talks between the owners and town as ''fruitful.''

''We have been discussing how best to resolve this matter,'' said Mr. Bernhard of the law firm of Cohen and Wolf in Bridgeport, adding that $3 million offered by the cottage owners to purchase the land from the town is still under consideration.

''We have also asked for island status,'' said David Mezias, 47, a cottage owner since 1992. He said the cottage owners have also offered to buy the town a multi-million liability insurance policy.

''Every single item the town brought up to us why we should not be here, we have come up with a remedy,'' he said. ''But the town has never responded back to us.''

However, Mrs. Kronenberg said the town still plans to evict the owners. ''Nothing's changed there,'' she said.

If the eviction holds, the owners would have to remove the cottages from the land, a stipulation in their leases. An assessment done in 1991 found the average assessed value of the cottages was about $20,000, but because of their location they could be worth more. Most owners said it would be impossible to move the buildings and most likely would have to abandon them, leaving the town to pay for their demolition.

State Senator George (Doc) Gunther said he has proposed a causeway to replace the bridge and that plan has been ''on the table'' for a couple of years. The causeway, which would cost about $10 million to build, would run from an area of Bridgeport that is close to Watson Boulevard in Stratford to Pleasure Beach Island. There has not been a public hearing on the proposal.

Mr. Gunther said there had been estimates for repairing the bridge, which ran about $4 million to $5 million. He said there was another plan to replace the wooden bridge at the same location that would cost up to $50 million.

In the past, the town has said it would be too costly to replace the bridge.

''If they throw us out, who will protect the sanctuary?'' asked Mr. Mezias referring to the Stewart McKinney Wildlife Refuge located adjacent to the cottages. ''There are a lot of endangered species there,'' he said. These include the piping plover, a bird that is protected on the island.

He said the cottages also provide a buffer of sorts, keeping trespassers off the town-owned property.
Mr. Mezias said Stratford residents should ''wake up and leave us alone.''

''All we want to do is give the town the money,'' he added in reference to buying the land. ''The cottages have been here over 75 years with never a problem.''
Mr. Mezias said he's lucky to have two boats that get him to the island. He said he's never taken the overland trek there. But for some of the other cottage owners, especially the elderly, the trip to Long Beach West is a difficult, if not impossible one, said Mr. Oliva, 73, who estimated that 75 percent of the island's population is over 60.

And once they get to the island, many of the older residents are concerned about any health issues that may arise, due to the time it would take them to get medical attention, he said.

''It's a shame this had to happen because the place has so much to offer,'' Mr. Oliva said.

 

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