DAN'S PAPERS, July 23, 2010 Page 19 www.danshamptons.com
PROTEST FILED AGAINST SHINNECOCK RECOGNITION ognized as an American Indian tribe by the Federal Government’s Bureau of Indian Affairs. The Shinnecocks had applied to become a Federally recognized tribe in 1978, were given preliminary approval last December and then final approval in June pending a 30day period when the Bureau would entertain
protests. That period was scheduled to end July 16. Should Chief Administrative Judge Steven K. Linscheid accept this protest, it could delay recognition for a year or more. “The Coalition for Gaming Jobs” appears to have been created in order to file this objection. Both the Pequot tribe and the Mohegan (continued on page 40)
Susan Galardi
By Dan Rattiner An organization calling itself “The Coalition for Gaming Jobs” filed a 500-page legal brief in a federal office in the State of Connecticut last Thursday protesting the recognition of the Shinnecock Indian Tribe. This was just 72 hours before the Shinnecock Indian Nation would have been officially rec-
Beach Time
How I Watched Sunset, Almost Lost my Tahoe, and More By Dan Rattiner The powers that be in the Hamptons have to juggle a whole lot of different activities down at the beach. Some of them are compatible and can go on at the same time. Others are incompatible and have to be kept apart, either physically, or by time of day. You can’t have bonfires held on the same strip of beach as a volleyball game. Sunbathers and fishermen clash. Even
Dan Rattiner’s second memoir, IN THE HAMPTONS TOO: Further Encounters with Farmers, Fishermen, Artists, Billionaires and Celebrities, is now available in hardcover wherever books are sold. The first memoir, IN THE HAMPTONS, published by Random House, is now available in paperback. Readings from IN THE HAMPTONS TOO by the author will take place on Friday, July 23, 5 p.m. at Bookhampton in East Hampton; Saturday, July 24, 11 a.m. at the end of Louse Point Road in Springs; Sunday, July 25, 11 a.m. at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center; and Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Strawberry Fields Fairgrounds, Mattituck.
swimmers and surfers have to be kept apart. And there are selfish people, particularly effective when they have a lot of money, who go to great lengths to keep people off the beach in front of their houses. Fortunately, the beaches are not just for one man’s use. They are for everybody. And in New York, it’s against the law to prevent their being there along that sixty-mile stretch. However, like I said, it’s a great juggling act for the towns out here. It’s the sort of thing that might give a public official such a headache he might want to take a break and catch some rays himself down there. The story that follows involves my own personal experience going into this melee. It took place on Monday, July 12, beginning at 6 p.m. and the place was Sagg Main Beach in Sagaponack. This is a vast sprawl of a beach a mile long broken into two parts by a body of water—Sagg Pond—whose southern edge sometimes spills over the narrow sand barrier that separates it from the ocean, making it impassable from one side to the other. At 6 p.m. this gorgeous day was shaping up for a magnificent sunset—a rare thing to see
by the ocean in the summertime when the sun sets over the land in the west. But you can see it at Sagg Main Beach. This beach solves that problem with Sagg Pond. Position yourself on the eastern side of the pond and the sun sets over its western shore. You’re between the pond and the ocean. It’s a wonderful experience. So, as I said, it was 6 o’clock, a time when most of the sunbathers are gone, and it is allowed that fishermen in their four-wheel drive trucks can head out through the dunes on sand roads. There is one on the east side of the pond where the beach pavilion is, and there is one on the west side of the pond which you access through the dunes at the dead end road of Surfside Drive off Ocean Road. As I entered the east side parking lot in my four-wheel drive on the east side, I immediately realized that I had made a mistake. On Monday night there are crowds of people out on the beach to watch the sunset at 7:30 p.m. while dancing and banging on drums. Well, no matter, I thought, this was an hour and a half before curtain time. There were (continued on page 22)
BROWN HARRIS STEVENS
Peter M. Turino President 631-903-6115 pturino@bhshamptons.com www.bhshamptons.com
ESTABLISHED 1873
Real Estate Service and Excellence for 25 Years
1323936