In early 1664, director general and council resolved to send a scouting party to the banks of the Navesink River, just south of Sandy Hook, in order to choose a proper place for a redoubt or blockhouse (een reduijt or houten wambuijs). Their action was a response to rumours that English settlers from Gravesend were about to purchase land there, even though it had already been bought a month earlier by representatives of the Dutch colonial government. Director general and council intended to place a small garrison at Navesink as well. Considering the developments in New Netherland later in 1664, it is unlikely that these plans ever came to fruition.