Promising to build upon “tradition,” three new owners take over the former John Whyte properties on the bay front in the Pines.
After two days of frantic speculation set off by a report in Next magazine, a press release from the New York City public relations firm Edelman confirms that Eric von Kuersteiner and his life and business partner Tony Roncalli have sold their properties in Fire Island Pines. Realtor Jon Wilner of Island Properties confirmed the sale by phone to the News on January 20.
The icy remoteness of winter in Water Island became a fire hazard January 6 as a wind-swept fire blazed through one home and damaged another, with no one to stop it. A Suffolk County Police Department helicopter first spotted the blaze on West Walk shortly after 12:40 a.m. Mike Horton of the Ocean Bay Park Fire Department commanded the scene until Fire Island Pines Fire Department chief Joe Geiman arrived from the mainland. “The difficulty of getting to a fire on Fire Island in the winter is very challenging,” Geiman said. “Add the fact the bay was frozen over and extra time needed to drive to the East End and then back made it even more challenging.”
A wind-swept fire destroyed a Water Island home and damaged this one early on Jan. 6.
As if the taxes aren’t high enough on Fire Island, Fair Harbor’s nearly 450 homeowners received a little sticker shock as an early Christmas present this past holiday season when the hamlet’s fire district tax bill arrived last month: the amount due was between an average of $600 to $700 more than expected. And this is a community that was already expecting an about 20-percent bigger bill, as the fire commissioners recently floated a bond to pay for a much-anticipated firehouse renovation.
The Suffolk County Water Authority (SCWA) would like to remind residents of the importance of verifying Authority employees requesting to enter your home. Authority employees are required to carry photo IDs at all times and IDs are available for viewing upon request.
“In response to a recent news report warning residents of burglars who posed as utility workers in Nassau County, we would like to assure customers that we are keeping their safety in mind. We are proactively reaching out to our residents to let them know we are in the area,” explained SCWA Chairman Michael LoGrande. “This notification and scheduling effort comes in addition to already strict ID procedures.”
When in doubt, call the SCWA to verify that there are workers scheduled to arrive at your residence at (631) 698-9500. For more information, please call or visit www.scwa.com.
The Suffolk County Water Authority is an independent public-benefit corporation operating by virtue of the Public Authorities Law of the State of New York. Serving almost 1.3 million of Suffolk’s County’s residents, it operates without taxing power on a not-for-profit basis.
