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Long Island Yacht Club, once led by Captain Kangaroo’s Bob Keeshan, closes in Babylon

The Long Island Yacht Club, seen here on Dec. 23, 2015, was a Babylon Village institution since 1958. It closed earlier this month due to falling membership and high upkeep costs, according to club officials. Credit: Daniel Goodrich

The Long Island Yacht Club — once led by Bob Keeshan, a Babylon Village resident who played television’s Captain Kangaroo — has closed.

The 57-year-old nonprofit — which offered swimming, boating and tennis at a Babylon Village estate with a Georgian mansion for a clubhouse — shut its doors Dec. 16 after running out of cash, club officers said.

“For the past two years, we’ve been aggressively pursuing new members, and all our attempts have not been successful,” said Steve Vid, an Amityville businessman who served as the club’s commodore. “We’ve done everything conceivable. The economy is not receptive to people spending this kind of discretionary money right now.”

The club, established on the grounds of a 7-acre Little East Neck Road estate in 1958, boasted tennis courts, restaurant fare, a swimming pool and slips for 74 vessels. Members came from across Long Island and paid about $10,000 a year.

In the 1960s, its 160 full members floated one of Long Island’s largest power boat fleets. But in recent years, fewer than half its slips were occupied, and after a handful of unexpected resignations this fall, only 14 full members remained.

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Personal rebuilding expenses after Hurricane Irene and superstorm Sandy led some members to resign, Vid said. Remaining members faced higher costs, and funds declined while operating expenses remained high.

“We ran out of money,” Vid said. “I’m sick about it. It’s out of my control.”

About eight employees are out of work, Vid said. Also lost will be dozens of summer jobs.

With yearly taxes and maintenance fees reaching into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, the club would need at least 40 full members to stay viable, he said.

While some members have discussed reopening the club, Vid said several developers interested in purchasing the property have approached club officers. The club is seeking legal and accounting advice before proceeding, and Vid said he expects answers to basic questions on unwinding club holdings in January.

Village Mayor Ralph Scordino described the club as a valued resource, despite occasional complaints from neighbors about noise and other quality-of-life issues over the years.

His administration supports continued operation at that location as a yacht club, Scordino said. He said prospective developers are likely “frothing at the mouth . . . [but] I would not be in favor of putting condominiums there.”

Lee Labiento, the club’s membership development chair and a professor of global health issues at Hofstra University, held out hope of a reorganization last week, even as she mourned the loss of a gathering place for area seniors and for her own family.

“It was another way we had summer life with our grandchildren,” she said, recalling summer swim teams and children’s enrichment classes she had taught since joining 12 years ago.

Bartender Gail Whittemore, 71, an employee since the late 1990s, said she had learned the club was closing only a few days before the doors shut. She cut in half the money she planned to spend on Christmas presents for her grandchildren and anticipated it would be hard or impossible to find another bartending job until after the holiday season.

“We had the fireplace going, and it was all decorated for Christmas,” she said. “I guess they didn’t have enough members to hold down the fort.”

'It just feels like there's like a pillow on your head' Long Island high school football players have begun wearing Guardian Caps in an attempt to reduce head injuries. NewsdayTV's Gregg Sarra reports.

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Return of Montauk Yacht Club

In July of 2022, Safe Harbor Marinas acquired Gurney’s Star Island Resort & Marina in Montauk, NY. After nine months of investment and preparation, the company announces the official return of the storied Montauk Yacht Club.

The reimagined landmark on a peninsula in the middle of Lake Montauk has begun welcoming guests to world-class waterfront hospitality that combines luxury, adventure, and connection to the water.

“The history of Montauk Yacht Club is as rich as the location is stunning. Our teammates in Montauk and throughout the country have been working to prepare for this moment. It is our great honor and joy to bring the Montauk Yacht Club back to Long Island, to her many patrons, and to our tens of thousands of boating families in the region,” said Baxter Underwood, CEO of Safe Harbor Marinas.

First introduced in 1928, the storied destination has received extensive renovations to breathe new life into its extraordinary spaces. On its 35 acres, the property has 107 stylish guest rooms, 3 pools, 2 exquisite restaurants, indoor and outdoor bars, tennis & pickleball courts, a private beach, and more than 200 wet slips that can accommodate boats up to 300 feet in length. This irreplaceable location is the ultimate getaway to the islands and cultural icons that flourish at the eastern end of Long Island.

“We are eager to introduce luxury waterfront hospitality to the world at this incredible property.” said Regional Managing Director, Alton Chun. “It’s about world class cuisine and music next to private, sandy beaches on still and glistening waters; and limitless adventures just beyond.”

About Montauk Yacht Club

Montauk Yacht Club is an iconic luxury waterfront resort and marina. For more, please visit:  https://montaukyachtclub.com .

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Most Exclusive Clubs on L.I. North Shore

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A friend of mine is writing about the struggles of many Yacht Clubs today. What would be considered the most "exclusive" clubs on Long Island today? Similar to Larchmont YC or American YC? I would guess Seawanhaka, but I am only speculating. Any insight?????? Thanks!  

I agree, and from what I gather, that is the theme of what she is writing about. Actually across the board, club membership is declining. But the appeal of exclusive clubs has been declining for decades. I would guess Seawanhaka is the most exclusive. Maybe Shelter Island (not north shore) also.  

BobMcGov, You had me going for a moment until your link was for the same article I already read about Knickerbocker closing. Very funny! I bet I would flunk the DNA test and I don't even know 1 senator. It is believable that they might have re-opened while trying to get the Palm Beach and Miami crowd but Manhasset just ain't in Florida... Didn't Bernie Made-off belong to an exclusive club in West Palm that had to issue an 'assessment' to it's members after his empire crumbled? Soundbounder, I am not familiar with the club on Shelter Island but it sounds like it could be fairly snooty, although not technically the 'north shore'. I am familiar with Seawanhaka on Center Island though. A buddy of mine who went to SUNY Maritime by the Throggs Neck Bridge was briefly a launch operator there back in the late 80's. One of his favorite stories was when he went out to pick up a passenger from a boat who turned out to be Whoopie Goldberg. It was a blowy and bouncy night and there was some formal 'affair' going on at the club which she was headed too. Apparently her fancy hat blew off and my friend retrieved it for her and let her off at the dock. Her star had not risen quite fully by then. Interestingly, Whoopie Goldberger does not like flying and has her own full sized bus for traveling across country - no airports for Whoopie! I am not sure if it was a power or sail boat but my guess would be that it was a stink pot that she came in on. If not Seawanhaka what about NYYC (again, not the north shore of LI)?  

Knickerbocker wasn't very upscale, nor snooty. I stopped there once in a twenty foot wooden sloop and they treated me like a friend. I was at Shelter I. once on a bigger boat, they didn't seem very friendly. I'd rather see a list of the least exclusive clubs. I've no interest in snobs.  

Just musing on the topic.... The Yacht Club/Country Club may be a fading model because of evolutionary changes in US society, socialization patterns, and preferences for manifesting wealth. Americans have never been comfortable with the idea of aristocracy, even as elevate our own royalty from the ranks of merchant princes. We are an aspirational and materialist people but at the same time dislike talking about our incomes or having other people wave their riches under our noses -- even if their riches are our own dearest desire. So Blue-Blood social institutions like Yacht Clubs have always held a strange & ambivalent status in America. Nowadays, you can't smoke at the bar; your doctor says you shouldn't sit around drinking cocktails for six hours; a greater percentage of our money is spent on housing (bigger, fancier houses), utilities, automobiles, and health care. Time has been compressed for most people -- how many here really work a forty hour week? How many take entire weekends off? I don't. I can't. A fifty or sixty hour work week is the new normal, even for salaried or self-employed people. Less discretionary income, less social time. Lots of fraternal social organizations are hurting for membership: the Elks, Rotary Clubs, Masonic lodges, and yacht clubs. There are, I suspect, deeper reasons than just money and time: a general turning-away from group interaction and The Commons, and a loss of social mechanisms that attend group activity. Americans have never been especially great at collective enterprise; we're a go-our-own-way sort of people, have been since our founding. Yacht Clubs are collectivist or co-operative entities, and they suffer when people are no longer interested in working or playing together. Two new models have emerged, and I foresee most YCs being replaced by one or the other: The upscale retail waterfront with condos and rented slips (ala Marina Del Rey); and the sole proprietor, the extremely wealthy individual who buys the frontage, bulldozes the YC, builds a mansion, and parks his Wally out front. Spends two months a year there. It's his fifth such house. YCs belong to the middling wealthy and the aspirational bourgeoise. We tend today toward the hyper-rich and the not-rich, and the remaining somewhat-rich have turned away from group social pursuits. That leaves YCs in a bad place. As for the hyper-rich.... They build egregious mega yachts like Tatoosh and the Maltese Falcon and take their private yacht club with them, as it were. Then they can absolutely control who gets admitted and what events are scheduled, without resort to committees and YC politics.  

Lots of fraternal social organizations are hurting for membership: the Elks, Rotary Clubs, Masonic lodges, and yacht clubs. There are, I suspect, deeper reasons than just money and time: a general turning-away from group interaction and The Commons, and a loss of social mechanisms that attend group activity. Americans have never been especially great at collective enterprise; we're a go-our-own-way sort of people, have been since our founding. Yacht Clubs are collectivist or co-operative entities, and they suffer when people are no longer interested in working or playing together. Click to expand...

SOUNDBOUNDER said: Very good post! I think you really touch on something in this particular paragraph. The one part I would disagree with is that during the first 2/3 of the 20th Century, civic and social clubs were widespread. Most Americans belonged to a PTA, Lions Club, Elks, or Country Club. Somewhere in the late 1960's through the early 1980's, the membership numbers started declining. There is a book that discusses the trend called BOWLING ALONE Click to expand...

I belong to one of the oldest yacht clubs on the north shore of Long Island. Founded in 1891. However our operating model is different from the ones mentioned - no bar, no restaurant, no pool, no tennis courts, workdays where everyone pitches in get things done, etc. What do have is a well equipped kitchen and commercial BBQ grills so members can prepare their own dinners, a wraparound porch over the water for dining, an active junior sailing program, and launch service and winter storage for boat owners. Ours dues are low - a bit higher than the municipal facilities, but well below the nearby clubs or commercial marinas. Because of all this our membership is increasing and we may soon need a waiting list. So there is a demand for yacht clubs, just not perhaps for the full-service expensive ones.  

There's always the New Youk Yacht Club which has extensions in places on the water.  

From west to east, there's the Manhasset Bay Club, then Sea Cliff YC in Hempstead Harbor, Sewanhaka in Oyster Bay, then Huntington YC, Centerport YC, Northport YC. There are others, but these are the nicest.  

I think online forums are replacing in-person clubs to a degree. For several years I flew airplanes as a member of a flying club. It was priceless being able to sit around the big table and talk about things flying. For instance, I asked every quesiton I could about icing, prior to a flight from MD to VT in a Piper 180. turns out we had a lot of icing on the return trip. Had I not had the opportunities that a club offers, I wouldn't even have known the first thing about icing. Online forums fulfill that to an extent. Still, it's difficult to split a cold one over the Internet. I could see myself joining one of the local clubs, given the $ to do so. Anyone know what the costs are? Regards, Brad  

I found the Triangle Yacht Club in Greenport to be the friendliest and most down to earth, definately not pretentious but good ,cheap, cold beer and only about $60./year membership. They are also right at the end of my slip so very convenient. Presently gearing up for Thanksgiving Get together! The Shelter Island Yacht Club is very nice but just the opposite in that it is vey "proper" and hoighty-toighty, but a nice place tobring a date out for dinner. ANd convienient too..right down the creek and across toDerring Harbor, Rick  

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Star Island Yacht Club Owner Buys Liar's Saloon, Offshore Sports Marina In Montauk

The Offshore Sports Marina in Montauk, home of Liar's Saloon, has been dormant this year but was purchased by Sam Gershowitz, who also owns nearby Star Island Yacht Club, earlier this month.

Sam Gershowitz and his grandson Alex Gershowitz, who is the general manager of Star Island Yacht Club, at the offshore sports Marina in Montauk, which Gershowitz purchased earlier this month. MICHAEL WRIGHT

Sam Gershowitz, the metal recycling magnate and owner of Star Island Yacht Club, has purchased Offshore Sports Marina in Montauk — home of the locally famous, sometimes notorious, Liar’s Saloon.

Gershowitz confirmed the purchase this week and said he plans to remake the marina in the model of Star Island Yacht Club, which is just a yacht’s length across the harbor channel from the docks in front of Liar’s.

What will become of the bar perched above Offshore Sports Marina’s docks has yet to be decided, the new owner said.

Along with the waterfront saloon, the 2.3-acre property boasts about 40 boat slips, five cottages, a ships store, boat-hauling and maintenance facilities and a swath of open land for winter boat storage.

Gershowitz said that his crews have already started cleaning up the property and will be working quickly on renovations to the docks and buildings.

“We’re going to fix the slips up — the docks had been neglected, clean up the property, spruce things up and make it into a nice yacht club like we did with Star Island,” Gershowitz said. “I bought Star Island 35 years ago — it was a broken down marina when I bought it.”

The new marina will be named — like all of the many boats Gershowitz has owned over the years — after his wife. “It will be called Marlena’s Yacht Club,” he said on Tuesday.

He declined to say what the purchase price for the property was.

Others who have bought waterfront parcels on Lake Montauk in recent years have quickly sought to add residential development to them, but Gershowitz says that building condos or the like at the waterfront site is “not my cup of tea.”

“The marina business is a good, solid business,” he said. “More and more people are buying boats and looking for slips. This will be a wonderful marina.”

Gershowitz, who started Gershow Recycling in 1964 with a single dump truck and grew it into Long Island’s largest scrap metal recycling company by “mining” old cars out of landfills, said that he started coming to Montauk from his native East New York, Brooklyn neighborhood to go cod fishing on the Viking Fleet boats as soon as he got a driver’s license.

His 105-foot yellow-hulled sportfishing yacht sits in the end slip at Star Island Yacht Club now, affording a clear view of the once-lively scene at Offshore Sports Marina and Liar’s.

Gershowitz says he had known that the former owners, the Carillo family, had put the Liar’s property up for sale last year. But he’d been told when the bar closed last fall that a buyer had already snatched up the property. When he discovered that a previous deal had fallen through, he acted quickly.

“Everyone thought it was sold, including me,” he said. “We found out it was still for sale about two weeks ago. We bought it in two days.”

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LONG ISLAND YACHT CLUB

An Elegant and Versatile Venue

Create lasting memories with us.

The Long Island Yacht Club is a stunning venue with a rich history and scenic beauty, ideal for hosting special gatherings and events. Our property boasts breathtaking views of the Great South Bay and features a variety of indoor and outdoor spaces to accommodate your important occasion. In addition to the indoor and outdoor spaces, our beautiful campus includes a clubhouse, pool, tennis courts, entertainment patio, private beach, marina, and formal and informal dining and bar areas.

Seamless Service

The Long Island Yacht Club hosts wedding ceremonies, receptions, engagement parties, showers, and rehearsal dinners. The venue's staff offers all-inclusive packages to simplify preparing for your event. These include event planning, catering, bartending, setup, cleanup, suites,and outside vendors. Our rental inventory includes chairs, tables, linens, tents, chair covers, centerpieces, decor, a dance floor, and a photo booth. Parking, valeting, and wheelchair-accessible services are available to add convenience and comfort for couples and their guests. Our peak seasons stretch from April through May and September through October.

Menus Tailored to Your  Event

The culinary team of Long Island Yacht Club offers catering and bartending services for your festivities. Our catering options include stations, plated meals, family-style platters, buffets, hors d'oeuvres, and desserts. Tasting sessions are available before your event to guide selection and ensure satisfaction. Bartending is available through cash, open, or limited bar, with a wide range of beverages. Our bartenders are experienced professionals who know how to prepare various drinks with flair and can make creative drinks to suit any occasion.  

Corporate Events

Family Celebrations

As a boutique caterer, we pride ourselves on our flexibility and commitment to providing the best possible menu for your specific experience. work alongside our catering director & chef team to create the perfect culinary experience to match your budget and unique vision..

The Yacht Club provides a tailored catering service for events of all types and sizes. Whether you're looking for a brunch buffet, a cocktail party, or an intimate dinner in the club's dining room, we've got you covered. Our experienced chefs can tailor the menu to your exact specifications and provide delicious food choices for any occasion. Contact us today to discuss your catering needs and make your event a success!

Brunch by the Bay

Simple and Elegant

A Waterfront Wedding

My husband and I recently hosted our wedding celebration at the Long Island Yacht Club, and we are so happy with our experience with the venue, the food, and the service!  We are not club members (we live in California), but by a stroke of good fortune, we stopped by after last Labor Day and met the events coordinator.  We learned that non-members could host events there during the off-season (and boy, is a January wedding off-season!).  We loved the recently repainted and remodeled gathering space with two fireplaces, a separate bar area, and large round dining tables and couches.  There are many windows, so the space is bright and well-lit (which is better than many banquet spaces in the area).  We felt like we were hosting our family in our home - the staff did a fantastic job creating a comfortable, welcoming environment.  The chefs prepared a great buffet (we had many options), amazing appetizers, and dessert.  With the help of a local florist, we added some small decor, we brought our sheet cake, and that was all the coordinating we had to do.  They can display a slideshow and play a Spotify playlist, so we showed pics from our wedding in California.  All in all, we're so happy we could host precisely the kind of classy party we wanted.

- Diane L., Escondido, CA

City Island's Premier Yacht & Social Club

Long Island Sound’s Premier Yachting and Beach Club

Members & visitors enjoy easy access to NYC, the Long Island Sound, and the Atlantic Ocean from our well-protected City Island location.  Our waterfront property has a large lawn area with picnic benches, a private beach, a fishing pier, and launch operations to get you to and from your boat.  Our restaurant offers fine dining with an amazing waterfront view of the New York City skyline.

For more than 100 years, the Morris Yacht and Beach Club (MYBC) has been an institution on City Island, and our clubhouse a welcome landmark for sailors returning from a day, weekend, or extended cruise. Many have celebrated birthdays, weddings and other important events at our club, and some members have seen their children and grandchildren grow up and thrive here. Even members who don’t live on City Island call our community their second home.

When we lost the clubhouse in a fire on March 9th, 2012, many City Islanders feared that the Morris was gone, and that the property so loved by members and non-members alike would be sold. Our members united and voted to build a new clubhouse from the ground up.

Within days of the fire, Commodores from the Harlem YC, Stuyvesant YC and City Island YC called to offer meeting space and any other accommodations that we needed. The Commander of the island’s American Legion post as well as the Lido Restaurant also offered their facilities to us. At his invitation, a delegation from our Board of Directors met with Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion, who gave enthusiastic support and offered his office’s assistance.

As we continue to celebrate our new clubhouse, we will never forget the outpouring of warm feelings, generosity, and support that our fellow City Islanders have shown us. We at the Morris Yacht & Beach Club are proud and honored to be a part of the City Island community.

Commodore  – Mike Barrett

Vice Commodore  – Kevin Flaherty

Rear Commodore  – vacant

Treasurer  – James Proios

Assistant Treasurer  – Cathy McCandless

Corresponding Secretary  – Cathy Henry

Financial Secretary  – June Henry

Recording Secretary  – Pat Napolitano

House Secretary  – Lorenzo Secola

Environment, Health & Safety  – Greg Clancy

Fleet Captain  – Greg Manjorin

Board Members

Chairman of the Board  – Al Hagan

Auditing  – Mike Rauh

Beach & Lifeguards –  Greg Penny Jr

Grounds  – Kevin Flynn

House – Steve Owens

Maintenance  – Ed Spallina

Membership  – Corley Schaller

Mooring & Ways – Adam Calbo, Joe Kramer

Contact Information

Morris Yacht and Beach Club P.O. Box 10 City Island, NY 10464

Business Office: 718-885-9814

Dining & Catering: 718 885-1596 or 718 516-6282

VHF: Channel 72

Webmaster: Steve Owens