Forest Avenue neighbors living on Long Island Sound are feuding over one homeowner’s plans to build a gangway over protected wetlands into the sound to connect with a pier and dock.
Owners of a five-bedroom home at 1001 Forest Ave. valued at $15 million first submitted the proposal to regulators in late 2023, and have since made several changes to the plan. Those opposed to the structure cite development issues that date back to the first wetlands permit issued in Rye in 1993.
The property was bought in May 2022 by 1001 Forest Avenue Rye LLC, which is controlled by John Werwaiss, whose family lives on the property.
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The wetlands serve as a protective barrier between the sound and the shore, but they create muddy conditions at low tide, making it difficult for residents of the 7,500 square-foot home on 2.58 acres to access the water for recreation.
Werwaiss and Leo Napior, the lawyer who represents him, did not respond to requests seeking their comments.
Their proposals have received several state and federal approvals over the years, but during the same time period, neighbors have voiced strong opposition to the proposal, which has yet to receive a green light from the Rye City Planning Commission.
The Rye Conservation Commission/Advisory Council, which comments on wetlands permits submitted to the Planning Commission, has twice judged the application “unacceptable” in advisories issued in January and June 2026.
“To state it plainly,” the advisory council wrote, “the applicant’s desire for more convenient access does not alter the Rye City code’s obligation to minimize disturbance within the wetland and buffer to the maximum extent practicable.”
In a June memo to the Planning Commission, Napior disagreed with the commission’s contention that existing permits and wetlands regulations barred the installation of the proposed accessway and dock. He wrote that a bluestone walkway and patio improvements the commission found objectionable had been made before his client bought the property, and his client would consider changing the pathway if the Planning Commission asked him to.
But Napior’s arguments did not sway the Planning Commission.
The Planning Commission instructed Napior to provide a more detailed response to issues raised by the Conservation Commission and neighbors, especially regarding restoration of the wetlands area.
Planning Commission Chairman Nick Everett called the issues being contested “extremely complicated,” especially in light of the long history of wetlands control questions about the property.
In January, the advisory council argued that the proposed pier, gangway, and dock are not allowed under Rye Wetland Permit No. 001, which was issued by the Planning Commission in 1993. The owners of the property made walkway and patio improvements without proper permits, they said.
In addition to objections from the commission, several neighbors have said they value the cove’s view not being dominated by large docks, and they want to keep it that way.
Neighbors Young Kim and Timothy Mueller, of 979 Forest Ave., contended in a January 2026 letter that the current owners had substantial unpermitted work done on the property in March 2024. They included photos they took of workers on the site.
“I suppose it would be great to have access to the water 24/7, but we live on a tidal cove and need to respect Mother Nature,” Kim said. “Frankly, low tide is my favorite time because the view with the rock formations that materialize are otherworldly. I’d hate for that view to be forever marred by a permanent pier, an aluminum gangway, and a seasonal dock extending 85 feet from shore.”
Lena and Dan Matthison, whose home at 999 Forest Ave. is next door to 1001 Forest Ave., wrote a four-and-a-half-page letter in February 2024 opposing an application for a longer accessway and larger dock than is currently under consideration.
The proposed project, they argued, “would significantly reduce the navigability of the cove for all neighbors, disrupt the routine activities of many different birds and mammals, permanently bespoil the natural beauty of the cove, and set an undesirable precedent.”
The owner significantly reduced how much his “residential water access structure” would extend into the sound when he applied to the Planning Commission in late 2025, but still has not been able to win approval to move forward.
No date has been set for another meeting for the Planning Commission to consider the matter.
