Cartwright Island (also known as Cartwright Shoal) exists as a long, narrow, segmented sandbar, separated from the south end of historic

Gardiner's Island Gardiner's Island is a small island in the Town of East Hampton, New York, in Eastern Suffolk County. It is located in Gardiner's Bay between the two peninsulas at the east end of Long Island. It is long, wide and has of coastline. The isl ...

, off the coast of

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18th ...

. An analysis of satellite and aerial photos shows that over time, the segmented sandbar islands continuously move location, sink and reform, shaped and overwashed by tides and storms. The location and shape of any sandbar island on the shoal may differ from that shown on navigational charts. For this reason, the shoal presents a navigational hazard. Ownership of Cartwright Island and the shoal is disputed. The Goelet family, the current owners of Gardiner's Island, have claimed ownership of Cartwright since the death of the last surviving Gardiner (

Robert David Lion Gardiner Robert David Lion Gardiner (February 25, 1911 – August 23, 2004), was the last heir to Gardiner's Island to have the surname "Gardiner". (His sister's daughter, Alexandra Creel Goelet was co-owner, until his death, and is now sole owner.) He w ...

) in 2004. However, in his lifetime, Mr. Gardiner never made such claim, and to the contrary, stated that the shoal was public property. In 2018 Roderic Richardson challenged the Goelet's assertion of ownership after their security guards confronted Richardson, and members of his family, on Cartwright Island. The Goelets assert their original 17th Century deed grants them everywhere ''"an Ox can wade without getting its belly wet."'' Mr. Richardson said there was no mention of any ox in the royal grants, nor of Cartwright Island or the shoal. He also pointed out that a shoal is, by definition, intertidal or underwater land, and so open to public access by New York law and the

Public Trust Doctrine The public trust doctrine is the principle that the sovereign holds in trust for public use some Natural resource, resources such as shoreline between the high and low tide lines, regardless of private property ownership. Origins The Roman law, ...

. The Goelets accused Richardson of trespass. Judge Steven Tekulsky dismissed the case in April 2020, noting that the charging documents failed to establish that anyone owned Cartwright Shoal, and failed to show that anyone had any authority to prevent Mr. Richardson from walking on the sandbar. In September 1971

Otis G. Pike Otis Grey Pike (August 31, 1921 – January 20, 2014) was an American lawyer and politician who served nine terms as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from New York from 1961 to 1979. Early life Pike was born in ...

put forward a bill that the US Federal government expropriate Gardiners Island, Cartwright Island,

Gardiners Point Island Gardiners Point Island is an island in Block Island Sound, New York, that was the former location of the Gardiners Island Lighthouse as well as Fort Tyler. Once a peninsula of Gardiners Island – permanently detached in 1888 by a storm &nda ...

, Hicks Island, and 1000 acres of the nearby shore of Long Island, and turn them into a national monument. In September 1973 David P. Rumbough disappeared during a boating accident off Cartwright Island. His friend Jonathan Kieth survived the crash of his 27 foot speedboat. Rumbough was the son of actress

Dina Merrill Dina Merrill (born Nedenia Marjorie Hutton; December 29, 1923 – May 22, 2017) was an American actress, heiress, socialite, businesswoman, and philanthropist. Early life Merrill was born in New York City on December 29, 1923, but for man ...

References

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