A drenching early-morning rain and stiff wind didn't deter more than 60 New Suffolk residents from descending on the site to participate in a ceremony and then roll up their sleeves to begin a major cleanup.

But besides the physical work of cleaning up the site and the mental work of planning how to develop it for future public use, there's a very real challenge ahead -- raising the $2.4 million needed for the New Suffolk Waterfront Association to buy the land from the PLT. Since the effort was conceived and begun last year, the association already has received pledges of $650,000, one quarter of what's needed to pay for the purchase by the end of the year.

"Do we have the money? The answer is yes, but it's still in our pockets," resident Joe McKay said. He expressed confidence that enough residents will join the "pioneer pledgers" to enable the community association to purchase the property.

"I walked into something that was already happening," association president Diana Schwatka said. When she moved to New Suffolk in 2002, she heard about efforts to beat back developments, including a 24-unit condominium and a marina. When a succession of owners offered proposals that weren't in keeping with the character of the neighborhood, Ms. Schwatka suggested that if residents bought the land, they wouldn't have to keep rallying to defeat these plans.

"It had developed into a potential lose-lose situation in need of a win-win solution," Mr. McKay said.

Thanks to a partnership with the PLT, the land was secured with money from a revolving fund that must be repaid.

PLT president John Halsey recalled reassuring residents 20 years ago that they shouldn't be discouraged because "these things have a way of working out."

"How grateful we are to be part of this project and this community," PLT vice president Tim Caufield said Saturday.

"The property is protected now; we know what can never happen here," Ms. Schwatka said. "We solved the big problem. The big danger is gone."

Cutchogue resident Barbara Butterworth remembers her mother, Marjorie Butterworth, carrying a sign protesting the condominium plan in 1983. Now Barbara Butterworth, who spent summers in New Suffolk as a child, is a leader of the effort to raise the funds to buy the site from the PLT.

"It's a place you always dream of coming back to and living," she said of the small waterfront community.

Association members are considering several possibilities for the future use of the site, Ms. Schwatka said. All embrace ongoing public access, she said. Under consideration are a small marina, perhaps a rebuilt general store and post office, both of which were destroyed by fire several years ago. A new post office was opened about a block from the waterfront, but the general store was never rebuilt. Other possibilities include a community center and a snack bar, Ms. Schwatka said. She also hopes the site will be used for water safety courses and lessons about the ecology of Peconic Bay.

Anyone interested in contributing to the fund can reach Ms. Schwatka at dschwatka@aol.com.

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