Seaplanes in New Suffolk? Not So Fast…

We were a little unsettled last Tuesday to see a seaplane land on the beach across from The Beacon’s humble office on First Street in New Suffolk, behind Robins Island’s mainland headquarters here. At the time, we figured perhaps the seaplane was associated somehow with the island’s owner, Louis Moore Bacon of Moore Capital Management, who has a permit for a seaplane dock on the island.

But this wasn’t a one-time occurrence, and the seaplane that landed is not a billionaire’s toy. It belongs to a Florida-based company, Tropic Ocean Airways, which had just begun a public relations campaign touting a new service connecting New York City and the North Fork, despite the fact that Southold Town Code prohibits seaplanes from landing within the town.

Pictured Above: A Tropic Ocean Airways seaplane on “Submarine Beach” in New Suffolk on July 6. |. Joe Polashock photo

Our neighbor, Joe Polashock, who also serves as President of the New Suffolk Civic Association, said he saw the company’s Cessna Grand Caravan seaplanes at least three times over the past several months — on what’s been dubbed “Submarine Beach,” the site of the first U.S. Navy submarine base; taking off from Cutchogue Harbor and tied to the end of the mainland bulkhead used by employees of Robins Island.

“That thing is a turboprop. It can reverse throttle to back it up, and when they were pulling into the cove on the north side of the bulkhead, you could hear that thing reverse throttle. They make a bit of a racket when they’re down close and really working,” Mr. Polashock told us on Wednesday morning. “I never thought about the legality of it — I thought it was Louis Bacon and I didn’t want to ruffle feathers.”

Southold Town beefed up its seaplane prohibitions in October of 2022 in anticipation of these types of services, when the Town Board unanimously agreed to add these lines to the town code: “No person, firm or corporation shall land or cause to be landed, take off or cause to take off, taxi, or emplane or deplane any seaplane on or from Town beaches and waterways, trustee waters and beaches, Town waters, Town docks, and/or floats.”

“Tropic Air is an operator from Florida that has been quite disrespectful to not only the Southold Town Board in this situation and to many residents on the North Fork for a few years now,” said Town Aircraft Noise Steering Committee Chair Teresa McCaskie on Wednesday morning. “Our committee predicted that such an event could happen and, with the support of our Southold Town legal team and the Town Board, carefully crafted language to protect our shorelines from this type of intrusive noise and air polluting industry. The eastern end of Long Island is beautiful and very unique, and our effort as a committee is to try to keep it that way.” 

Southold Town also does not permit helicopters to land within its boundaries, with the exception of medical, military and agricultural aircraft.

East Hampton and Riverhead Towns also prohibit seaplanes from landing in its waters.

“I received a complaint last week that a seaplane had pulled up on the beach in New Suffolk, and I checked with our Town Attorney. The town code is pretty clear on prohibition,” said Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski of the seaplane landings. “Thanks to Town Attorney Paul DeChance’s efforts, the company has been put on notice that this activity violates Town Code. They are prohibited from landing in town waters.”

Mr. Krupski, a former Suffolk County Legislator, added that the Suffolk County Legislature in 2022 also adopted a water taxi law creating a licensing system for aircraft that are transporting passengers for hire on waterways, which Tropic Ocean Airways does not have.

“We had a problem in the Great South Bay, and we wanted to clarify that water taxis and water limos would also need a county license,” he said. “It’s quite involved. This was to discourage this kind of nonsense from going on.”

Mr. Krupski added that “Cutchogue Harbor is such a busy spot, with kids sailing at the [Old Cove] yacht club and a lot of boating traffic. To allow that kind of use is dangerous.”

He added that the town had granted a permit for a private seaplane dock on Robins Island to enable access by the owner of the island.

“He certainly is not a problem at all,” he said of Mr. Bacon, a noted philanthropist and conservationist.

A publicity still on Tropic Ocean Airways’ website, taken at Submarine Beach in New Suffolk.

A Presswire.com news release issued by Tropic Ocean Airways in late August had touted the company’s ability to “land in the heart of the action: With water landings available in New Suffolk, Southold, Greenport, Shelter Island, and more, Tropic’s amphibious aircraft bring you directly to the North Fork—bypassing the traffic on 25A and eliminating the need to fly into traditional airports far from the vineyards. For homeowners in the area, landings at Mattituck Airport may also be arranged on a case-by-case basis.”

The company’s website says the service will be offered from Sept. 6 through Oct. 31, 2025.

When asked for comment on the situation Tuesday, Tropic Ocean Airways Director of Sales & Partnerships Patricia Summerfield said that “Tropic Ocean does not operate these curated experiences in Southold Town waters. We conduct operations in and around Shelter Island, right across from Greenport and Southold, bringing guests as close as possible to the North Fork while maintaining the seaplane experience.”

The company’s website was still touting its “three curated experiences” on the North Fork on Wednesday morning:

“Visit a working pound trap to select fish straight from Peconic Bay. Continue by boat to a shorefront restaurant where chefs prepare your hand-selected catch for an unforgettable dining experience,” says the website. “Visit a boutique oyster farm for a guided tasting and hands-on exploration. Guests may choose a standard tour, an enhanced tasting, or even place an order to-go and pick up oysters by seaplane. Opt to stay overnight at our partner, The Pridwin, the iconic all-American Shelter Island resort that has welcomed generations of guests for nearly 100 years.”

Shelter Island does not prohibit seaplanes from landing in its waters.

The website said the seaplane company is partnering with local businesses, including Minnow at the Galley Ho, which recently added an “Arrive By Plane” tab to the navigation menu on its website.

Minnow leases the former Galley Ho restaurant from the New Suffolk Waterfront Fund, a non-profit which began 20 years ago as a community organization galvanized to prevent the property from development.

Minnow at the Galley Ho owner Andrea Tese could not immediately be reached for comment.

“We were told by Minnow’s owner that she was recently informed that seaplanes are not permitted to land on the north side of Peconic Bay. She assured us that this will not happen again,” said Waterfront board member Susan Braatz in an email Wednesday morning. “For the record, the Waterfront was not involved in any way. Nor were we consulted. The two times that a seaplane was seen dropping passengers in New Suffolk, the planes were pulled up on the Robins Island side of the beach. They were never on the Waterfront’s property.”

Town Supervisor Krupski asked residents who see seaplanes landing in Southold waters to “call the police. I spoke to the Chief, police officers and the Marine Bureau, who know they should take action immediately.”

After hearing Tuesday that the Town Attorney’s office had notified the company to stop, Mr. Polashock, the neighbor who witnessed the seaplane landings, was relieved.

“Obviously, they didn’t do any homework as far as asking the town,” he said. “They stepped on toes, big time. I hope the town stays on top of this.”

Editor’s Note: Tropic Ocean Airways’ Search Engine Optimization consultants, Exults, informed us Thursday, Sept. 4 that the text in the press release regarding its North Fork trips had been changed to read “land right in the heart of the action: With water landings on Shelter Island Sound, Tropic’s amphibious aircraft let you skip the 25A traffic and avoid distant airports, bringing you closer to the vineyards than ever before.” Minnow at the Galley Ho’s website also no longer contained the “Arrive By Plane” menu tab as of Thursday.

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