Gerry Island from Barnegat. Photo by Bill Purdin
What will become of Gerry Island now that Ted Moore and Peter Noyes have it in their development sights? The seawall repair has become the development of a rustic island just off the coast from Little Harbor and highly visible from Fort Sewall. Apparently there is a desire to build a permanent roadway to the island, which brought out 60 people to a recently held Conservation Commission hearing on the topic. The Commission scheduled — you guessed it — a continuance until June 9, PLUS a May 17 visitation to the island.
Faced with criticism from the crowd, Peter Noyes, according to the Lynn Item, said “Will common sense ever prevail?” The crowd groaned in ironic agony, perhaps remembering Noyes’ recent advertisements apologizing for dumping sewage into the waters around his infamous floating Rockmere Restaurant, as part of the court settlement.
From a temporary ramp and a seawall repair, now Noyes wants to buy the island and turn it into a yacht yard of some kind, with a crane to lift boats in and out of the water. People in opposition point out the shoals around the island is one of the areas largest lobster breed grounds.
The Conservation Commission seemed sympathetic to the conservationists and suspicious of the developers. But, as Chair Haug was reported as saying, “All we can deal with is what’s on the application.”
