S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
     S. 7529--A                                            A. 8476--A
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                       S E N A T E - A S S E M B L Y
 
                             November 17, 2021
                                ___________
 
 IN SENATE -- Introduced by Sen. PALUMBO -- read twice and ordered print-
   ed,  and  when  printed  to  be committed to the Committee on Rules --
   recommitted to the Committee on Local Government  in  accordance  with
   Senate  Rule  6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
   reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
 
 IN ASSEMBLY -- Introduced by M. of A. THIELE -- read once  and  referred
   to  the Committee on Local Governments -- recommitted to the Committee
   on Local Governments in accordance with Assembly Rule  3,  sec.  2  --
   committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
   recommitted to said committee
 
 AN ACT in relation to the trustees of the Freeholders and the Commonalty
   of the town of Southampton, county of Suffolk
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Legislative findings. The legislature enacted chapter 255
 of the laws of 1818 and chapter 283 of the laws of 1831, addressing  the
 respective  powers  of the trustees of the Freeholders and Commonalty of
 the town of Southampton, a body politic created by the Dongan Patent  of
 1686, and the trustees for the proprietors of the town of Southampton, a
 body  created  by  chapter  255 of the laws of 1818, with respect to the
 title to and use of the ocean beaches in the town, and further, to  make
 clear  the  continuing  ownership of the trustees of the Freeholders and
 Commonalty of the town of Southampton of the  underwater  lands  in  the
 town  and the taking of the products thereof, and their right to protect
 the public's right to use and enjoy the easement upon the ocean  beaches
 that  was  granted  to  them  by the Dongan Patent. The trustees for the
 proprietors of the town of Southampton sold the last of the ocean  beach
 lands  owned  by  them  and  disbanded the board of trustees in 1882 and
 thereafter ceased to exist. The legislature enacted chapter 257  of  the
 laws  of  1892 and chapter 872 of the laws of 1896 authorizing the Trus-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD13526-03-2
              

 S. 7529--A                          2                         A. 8476--A
 
 tees of the Freeholders and Commonalty of the town of Southampton, "from
 time to time, whenever in their judgment it shall become  necessary"  to
 determine  the  necessity and location of one or more inlets in the town
 of  Southampton from the Atlantic Ocean to Shinnecock Bay, or into Mecox
 Bay, or into Sag Pond, and to exercise the power of eminent domain  over
 ocean  beaches  in order to locate such inlet or inlets. For more than a
 century the courts of this state have  rendered  inconsistent  decisions
 with  respect to the powers of the said trustees over the ocean beaches.
 The legislature wishes to confirm  that  the  Proprietors'  Trustees  no
 longer  exist, address the powers of the trustees of the Freeholders and
 Commonalty of the town of Southampton in light of  contemporary  circum-
 stances,  and clarify the application of chapter 255 of the laws of 1818
 and chapter 283 of the laws of 1831.
   § 2. The legislature confirms that the Trustees for the Proprietors of
 the town of Southampton, created by chapter 255 of the laws of 1818, are
 extinguished as a body politic.
   § 3. Notwithstanding any provisions of chapter 255 of the laws of 1818
 and chapter 283 of the laws of 1831 to the contrary, the trustees of the
 Freeholders and Commonalty of the town of  Southampton  have  and  shall
 continue  to  have  the  authority  to enforce the public's easement and
 access upon the ocean beaches within the town of Southampton,  including
 all  rights  of  the public with respect to the said ocean beaches which
 were conferred upon them by the Dongan Patent of 1686.  The  legislature
 recognizes  that any authority over the ocean beaches that may have been
 conferred upon the trustees for the proprietors of the town of Southamp-
 ton revert to the trustees of the Freeholders and Commonalty of the town
 of Southampton.
   § 4. For the purposes of this act, "ocean beaches" shall be  the  area
 of  the  Atlantic Ocean beaches within the town of Southampton that lies
 between the crest of the primary dune and the high  water  mark  of  the
 Atlantic Ocean.
   §  5.  The  trustees  of the Freeholders and Commonalty of the town of
 Southampton shall continue to have and exercise all  of  the  rights  of
 ownership  over  the  waters of the town of Southampton and the products
 thereof that they had and exercised by virtue of  the  powers  conferred
 upon  them by the Dongan Patent, as well as the rights of ownership over
 the said waters and the productions thereof that they were authorized to
 have and exercise by chapter 255 of the laws of 1818 and chapter 283  of
 the laws of 1831.
   §  6. Nothing in this act shall be construed to take from the trustees
 of the Freeholders and Commonalty of the town of Southampton any of  the
 powers conferred upon them by chapter 283 of the laws of 1831, including
 the  power  to  make rules, orders and by-laws for the management of the
 property and franchises of the  town;  to  regulate  their  affairs;  to
 impose  penalties  on any person offending against such rules, orders or
 by-laws; and to appropriate and  apply  the  funds  arising  from  their
 activities as they deem most proper to promote the interest of the town.
   §  7. Nothing in this act shall be construed as affecting any power or
 authority of any incorporated village within  the  town  of  Southampton
 over  lands,  beaches,  and waters within such villages, pursuant to the
 village law, the general municipal law, the municipal home rule law,  or
 any other state law.
   § 8. This act shall take effect immediately.