The East Moriches Coast Guard Station has officially, as of this summer, transitioned to a part of the Shinnecock station.

According to PA2 Sydney Phoenix, of the U.S. Coast Guard, the reasoning behind the measure was due to the FY24 Force Realignment Initiative, which highlights the Coast Guard’s growing demands despite facing a “significant” workforce shortage.

According to the Coast Guard, their service is short nearly 10 percent of the entire enlisted workforce and cannot continue to operate as they have historically with fewer people.  

To mitigate the issue, the Vice Commandant Adm. Steven Poulin has provided specific temporary operational guidance to adapt their operations while “prioritizing lifesaving missions, national security and protection of the marine transportation system.” 

Starting this past summer, the Coast Guard temporarily transitioned the seasonal East Moriches station into a forward-operating location for continued use. A forward-operating location is a pier/facility the Coast Guard can use to extend range or base operations.

Additionally, all staffing is now solely concentrated at the parent Shinnecock station. However, according to the Coast Guard, no assets were removed or transferred as the resources utilized by the East Moriches station are assigned to their parent station.

“As is the case year-round, the seasonal station’s area of responsibility will be fully covered by its parent station,” a press release read.

However, service from the Coast Guard, according to commissioner of the Mastic Beach Fire Department Bill Biondi, will now take about an hour.

“An hour is too long for a boater in distress,” he said, noting that due to those concerns several local fire departments including Mastic Beach, Mastic, Center Moriches, East Moriches, Eastport, Westhampton Beach, Bellport, Brookhaven, Hagerman and South Country Ambulance have teamed up to provide additional water rescue response.

“We are ready for it at this point,” Biondi said of the departments preparing for the station to close.

Ex-chief Bill Renzetti of the Center Moriches Fire Department, agreed, stating they knew of the closing for several years and have been receiving the proper training to expand their services.

“We have pooled all our resources and can respond as one with a much quicker response time, within 7 to 10 minutes,” he said, noting it is much better than up to an hour.

Utilizing taxpayer dollars, Biondi said, the departments have been able to acquire professional equipment, including an ocean vessel and jet skit to provide enhanced services.

Currently, the local departments are still in need of night-vision googles to navigate the ocean waters at night to avoid sand bars.

“We do get a lot of calls at night; in the bay, it’s not so bad, but in the Atlantic ocean that’s totally differentyou can’t see anything at night,” he said, noting that costly night-vision googles are top of their list.

The local departments are hoping to receive state and/or federal funding to help cover additional costs.

However, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Long Island press secretary Gordon Tepper, “Hochul has consistently supported volunteer firefighters and first responders across New York State.”

This includes Hochul’s funding to support volunteer firefighters as well as the state’s first training stipend program for volunteer firefighters. This year, a total of $25 million was allocated for grants available to volunteer fire departments for construction, renovation, or purchase of facilities and equipment service projects, and over $10 million was issued to volunteer firefighters through stipends for various training courses.

Additionally, Renzetti said he hopes those interested in volunteering for their local fire department will notice it is not just about fighting fires.

“We are always looking for new members,” he said. “Maybe, this will be a good way to get someone interested in boating. We don’t just fight fires.”

He also noted that anyone who might have an emergency on the water should dial 911 from their cell phone, rather than their radio, being that the cell automatically locates them and tells emergency services their GPS coordinates.