Editorials

Editorial: Greenport Village flying a little too fast

Shaka Flyboarding owner and operator Brian Carrick explains the details of his new company to the Greenport Planning Board last week. (Credit: Paul Squire)
Shaka Flyboarding owner and operator Brian Carrick explains the details of his new company to the Greenport Planning Board last week. (Credit: Paul Squire)

When we first heard a flyboarding business was being proposed in Greenport, we cringed.

Having just spent months covering a debate about whether to allow the activity in Riverhead, we prepared for another painstaking process to unfold in the village. Then the business, which will operate off Preston’s dock, was quickly approved

We’ll be the first to admit that flyboarding looks mighty fun. And research shows the activity — which involves propelling someone into the air through a hydrogen-powered jetpack attached to their feet — has led to few injuries and no deaths.

But it seems that allowing such a use in the heart of Greenport Village should have happened only after a more significant community discussion. Based on the comments that have appeared on our website this week, it seems some members of the public agree.

“Yikes! To put this in the busiest harbor on the North Fork would be like jaywalking on the expressway in Queens,” one reader wrote.

“Adding this type of amusement to the community is not only abrasive it is also fundamentally the opposite of what Greenport is all about,” remarked another.

Instead of approving the application under the condition that the marina manager review the business, the village Planning Board should have tabled the plan until that condition was met.

Such a delay would have allowed for a greater public discourse on a topic that certainly warrants it.