16 atlantic walk
Tristan Schukraft, whose net worth is in the hundreds of millions and owns hotels in Puerto Rico and Puerto Vallarta, seven restaurants, and five bars including Puerto Rico’s Circo nightclub and The Abbey in West Hollywood, has applied to demolish 16 Atlantic Walk and replace it with a towering structure 44 feet above sea level. His stated reason for the proposed new building is to provide staff housing. 16 Atlantic is in the center of Fire Island Pines with a completely residential area. Our position is as follows:
1. Here in the Pines we have been granted very rare permission to have private property inside a beautiful and fragile National Park. In return we need to act responsibly to maintain and sustain this special place, whose unspoiled beauty has attracted us all.
2. We all want Tristan to be successful here and for his employees to have good housing. This is his first experience operating inside a National Park, and we believe his needs for staff housing can be met within the regulations that protect us. His current application does not meet those standards.
3. This is the first application in over 10 years that the Fire Island National Seashore (FINS) felt it was important enough to express their objection by sending a personal representative to to the Zoning Board of Appeals. The Park Service believes the precedent this application sets is dangerous for the Island’s survival. All of us, the property owners, our FIPPOA leadership, our commercial partners and our summer visitors need to honor the Park Service objections.
4. While Brookhaven’s Zoning Board can grant an application over the Seashore’s objection, the property would still be subject to federal condemnation, which the National Park has threatened.
5. The FIPPOA Board was misinformed that Tristan could build a two-story structure at 16 Atlantic Walk “as-of-right.” In fact, any “grandfathered” permissions go away with the demolition of 16 Atlantic Walk. Any new structure has to conform to existing regulations.The FIPPOA Board’s response to our opposition has been that while they can see how the immediate neighbors might be upset, they were "considering the entire community." The New York State Appellate Court ruled in 2010 that in zoning matters, FINS is a legal party to the community.
6. The founding principal of the Fire Island National Seashore is that over time, all properties were to conform to the federal regulations. While pre-park structures and uses could continue as long as they were not modified, perpetual non-conformity is not permitted.
7. FIPPOA and Zoning Boards know there is significant community opposition to this application. Their proposed compromise solution did not address the issue and was immediately rejected as unworkable by Zoning Board Chairman Howard Bergson, who responded, “How are we going to enforce that?”
8. The size and purpose of the 16 Atlantic Walk proposed structure put it in violation of the federal regulations. Giving this application permission to go forward in its present form creates more problems than it solves.
9. We believe this current application is a first try. His staff housing does not have to be located on this residential property. A solution can be achieved without violating existing regulations.
10. Tristan has said he wants to attract a more high-end clientele instead of just seeking greater and greater numbers of customers. We support this. More people adds more strain on our already inadequate infrastructure.
11. Thus far, Tristan has been unreachable, apparently hiding behind his attorney, Eric Russo. This also concerns us.
12. The Pines does not have the necessary infrastructure to service our current population. Adding more people (requiring even more infrastructure) to solve this problem may be like trying to dig ourselves out of a hole.
13. Doubling the size of a staff dormitory in a residential area with an experimental sewage system could be devastating to the surrounding area if the system malfunctions. There is apparently no practical way to pump the proposed system in this location when it’s full.
14. Limiting our density would also be good for property values which are traditionally driven by desirability and scarcity.
15. We need to think of the federal regulations as protection for us and our property values, kind of like living in a New York City historic district. The color of your front door may be restricted but they can’t build a multi-story apartment building across the street.
16. Back in the early 60s before the Fire Island National Seashore was created, a significant number of Pines property owners supported Robert Moses’ replacement of Fire Island Boulevard with a 4-lane highway because it would allow them to drive directly to their summer homes. Sometimes it’s good to “zoom out to the wider vision” and make smart long-range decisions.
17. This application as currently submitted violates the federal regulations protecting us along with this beautiful and fragile island.
We can do better than what has been proposed. We will fight against this misconceived project, and work with Tristan to find a suitable alternative.