WLNG Owner Warns Radio Station's Days May Be Numbered

What began as a night of celebration for local radio quickly turned emotional when WLNG co-owner Sandra Foschi warned the Sag Harbor Village Board that the beloved station may not survive another year.

The board gathered to honor longtime WLNG broadcaster Gary Sapiane and co-owner Bill Evans, both of whom are being inducted into the New York State Broadcasters Hall of Fame for their decades of service. The recognition celebrated WLNG’s deep local roots that has defined Sag Harbor radio since 1963. But the celebration took a turn when Foschi took the microphone and revealed that WLNG is facing a financial and technical crisis that could force it off the air.

“We were told each tower needed to be replaced, and each tower is a multimillion-dollar project,” Foschi said.

Foschi, who owns the station with her husband Bill Evans, said the couple has poured personal funds and years of effort into preserving WLNG’s legacy. 

“When we bought the station eight years ago, we knew it would be a challenge,” she said. 

She added that they spent more than $100,000 in legal fees working with Verizon on a proposed replacement tower before pulling that plan and filing their own application. But now, she said, the situation has reached a breaking point.

“It feels like you’re nailing the coffin on WLNG,” Foschi told the board. “The existing tower is unsafe and could fall at any moment. We are out of financial means.”

WLNG’s future now rests in part on the village’s building department, which is reviewing the couple’s tower application. 

Sag Harbor Mayor Thomas Gardella offered words of support, assuring Foschi that the community stands behind the station.

“If there is anything I can do, WLNG will not die,” Gardella said. “If it happens to come to this board that the tower needs to be replaced, you have my full support.”

For now, the couple continues to fight to keep WLNG, a station that has served as Sag Harbor’s voice for more than 60 years, alive on the airwaves.