January 26, 2022

On January 26, 2022, DSB obtained an Order from the Appellate Division, Second Department, upholding —  after over a decade of litigation —  the ability of a Town on the east end of Long Island to regulate certain types of fishing in Town waters.  The suit, brought by a non-profit organization, argued that non-residents cannot be excluded from fishing in navigable waters because they are subject to state and federal, not local, jurisdiction.  However, due to a historical exceptions going back to the colonial era, Towns on Long Island have retained greater control over their waters than municipalities in other parts of the State.  The Court also confirmed that the Town has the ability to incorporate the rules and regulations of its Trustees (a vestige of the Town’s colonial-era government that has continued as a quasi-governmental land trust) as part of its Town Code.