Perhaps best to call the NYS Department of State and seek an answer from
staff from the Coastal Resources Division. 518-474-4000

-----Original Message-----
From: A LISTSERV list for discussions pertaining to New York State history.
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Scott Monje
Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2003 4:33 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Maritime Boundaries - Long Island Sound

Hello,

Here is a question for enthusiasts of legal nuance. Can anyone help me find
the state boundaries in Long Island Sound? I understand that the islands of
the sound belong to New York (having been granted to the duke of York in
1664). Does that mean that the water and submerged land of the sound also
belong to New York, or are there distinctions as there are in the New
York-New Jersey boundaries in New York Bay? A 1985 Supreme Court decision
that I came across declared the Long Island Sound "internal waters" and thus
within the jurisdiction of the adjacent states, but it didn't go into any
details regarding the New York-Connecticut boundary as it was concerned with
establishing the U.S. boundary at the east end of the sound. It set the U.S.
border from the North Fork of Long Island to Watch Hill Point, Rhode Island
(or, more precisely, three miles seaward from that line). Can we assume that
the New York-Rhode Island state boundary is at the midpoint of that line?

Many thanks for any guidance you can give,
Scott Monje