Keep the Pathfinder Site a Summer Camp — Not Just a Green Space
Keep the Pathfinder Site a Summer Camp — Not Just a Green Space
The Issue
To the East Hampton Town Board:
We, the undersigned, ask the Town to commit that the Pathfinder site at 134 Second House Road in Montauk will continue to operate as a summer camp, building on the Pathfinder Camp's legacy, as the Town moves forward with its Community Preservation Fund acquisition of this land.
Montauk is changing fast. Every year, there are fewer places left that are genuinely built for families rather than for parties, weekend crowds, or high-end development. The Pathfinder site is one of the last of them. For generations, it has been the place where kids from Montauk, Long Island, and the greater New York region have spent their summers together — swimming, playing, and becoming friends across town and income lines that otherwise rarely mix in Montauk today. Families have seen siblings and cousins, and eventually their own children, come back summer after summer. The counselors on the pool deck are often the same kids who learned to swim there themselves a few summers earlier. That legacy is worth preserving, and that's why we are asking the Town to think carefully about what happens next.
Acquiring this land is the easy part. Maintaining it is the hard part. We support the Town's acquisition and understand that the site will be preserved as green space rather than developed. That's not enough on its own. Without a dedicated source of stewardship and revenue tied to this site, "preserved" can easily become a pretty word for neglected.
An operating camp brings people to this land every day and gives a reason to mow, weed, monitor, and care for it, as well as a revenue stream to help pay for that care. Remove the camp, and you remove the guarantee that this site won't just be left to grow wild and unattended.
As a bonus, the camp makes hundreds of kids and their families happy every summer, which in turn makes them care more about this place and this community. Families who meet at camp become part of Montauk's year-round life — neighbors, volunteers, the people you run into at the same shops and beaches every season. Those families will show up, advocate, and hold the Town accountable for how this land is cared for, just as we're doing right now. Losing an active camp wouldn't just end a program that families remember fondly. It would cut off a community that is invested enough to ensure this land is maintained as an asset, not left unattended as a liability.
We're asking for two commitments from the Town:
Keep it a camp. The Pathfinder site should remain an active summer camp — not mothballed as passive green space with no one responsible for its upkeep.
Keep it transparent. As the Town plans this site's future, it should do so openly, with real opportunities for the community — especially the families who have used this site for generations — to be informed and involved in the decisions being made.
Sign this petition to tell the East Hampton Town Board: keep the site a camp, and keep the process open to the community that loves it!
311
The Issue
To the East Hampton Town Board:
We, the undersigned, ask the Town to commit that the Pathfinder site at 134 Second House Road in Montauk will continue to operate as a summer camp, building on the Pathfinder Camp's legacy, as the Town moves forward with its Community Preservation Fund acquisition of this land.
Montauk is changing fast. Every year, there are fewer places left that are genuinely built for families rather than for parties, weekend crowds, or high-end development. The Pathfinder site is one of the last of them. For generations, it has been the place where kids from Montauk, Long Island, and the greater New York region have spent their summers together — swimming, playing, and becoming friends across town and income lines that otherwise rarely mix in Montauk today. Families have seen siblings and cousins, and eventually their own children, come back summer after summer. The counselors on the pool deck are often the same kids who learned to swim there themselves a few summers earlier. That legacy is worth preserving, and that's why we are asking the Town to think carefully about what happens next.
Acquiring this land is the easy part. Maintaining it is the hard part. We support the Town's acquisition and understand that the site will be preserved as green space rather than developed. That's not enough on its own. Without a dedicated source of stewardship and revenue tied to this site, "preserved" can easily become a pretty word for neglected.
An operating camp brings people to this land every day and gives a reason to mow, weed, monitor, and care for it, as well as a revenue stream to help pay for that care. Remove the camp, and you remove the guarantee that this site won't just be left to grow wild and unattended.
As a bonus, the camp makes hundreds of kids and their families happy every summer, which in turn makes them care more about this place and this community. Families who meet at camp become part of Montauk's year-round life — neighbors, volunteers, the people you run into at the same shops and beaches every season. Those families will show up, advocate, and hold the Town accountable for how this land is cared for, just as we're doing right now. Losing an active camp wouldn't just end a program that families remember fondly. It would cut off a community that is invested enough to ensure this land is maintained as an asset, not left unattended as a liability.
We're asking for two commitments from the Town:
Keep it a camp. The Pathfinder site should remain an active summer camp — not mothballed as passive green space with no one responsible for its upkeep.
Keep it transparent. As the Town plans this site's future, it should do so openly, with real opportunities for the community — especially the families who have used this site for generations — to be informed and involved in the decisions being made.
Sign this petition to tell the East Hampton Town Board: keep the site a camp, and keep the process open to the community that loves it!
The Decision Makers
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Petition created on August 25, 2026