Hi Jeff,,
Legal to hunt rabbits and squirrels on L.I. with an air rifle on privately owned property, I do it almost every day of the season . However,,,,, as for the Rocky Point Cooperative area,,,,,, the DEC will not permit you to hunt there with an air rifle,,, it's shotgun or bow only. Matter of fact,,,, if you attempt to hunt on any DEC Cooperative hunting land where you must first check in at the Ridge check station then don't even bother,,,, they won't permit you to hunt with an air rifle on those lands. I recently had this discussion with my friend who is the DEC lieutenant in charge of the Suffolk zone. He told me that even though it's legal to hunt small game with an air rifle the DEC has adopted the policy that they will not permit air rifles to be used on those properties, so it's shotgun only for small game.
The key is to find available privately owned land,,,, then you are free to hunt with your "BB" guns :) ......
Jeff