By Kathryn G. Menu

It appears likely Cape Advisors will earn final approval from the Sag Harbor Village Planning Board next month to construct a restaurant this winter at Baron’s Cove Inn on West Water Street. The restaurant is part of the firm’s plans to transform the inn into a family-friendly, resort destination.

During a contentious August meeting, some neighbors protested the restaurant design, which includes a first floor bar area next to an expansive lobby — an aspect of the plan that had neighbors reeling with memories of Rocco’s, an unwelcome nightclub fixture on West Water Street for many years.

The not-for-profit Save Sag Harbor was also present at the meeting, with attorney Susan Meade arguing if approved, she believed the village would be legalizing a second primary use, rather than an accessory restaurant to a resort motel. An accessory restaurant is legal under the Sag Harbor Village code for the parcels that hold both Baron’s Cove Inn and the neighboring Sag Harbor Inn.

The neighbors called on the planning board to send the plans back to Sag Harbor Building Inspector Tim Platt to review whether or not the proposed restaurant was truly an accessory use to the resort-motel.

Last Friday, Platt agreed it was.

In an October 19 memo to the planning board, Platt noted the restaurant fell within the size limitations for an accessory restaurant use under the village code, was proposing 87 seats — including the eight proposed for the bar space — which also meets code and is providing 80 parking spaces where 63 are required.

Platt goes on to argue that bars are commonly associated with restaurants in Sag Harbor and that under the code unless alcohol sales became the primary sales out of the restaurant it would be considered ancillary.

Platt also pointed to a list of restrictions Cape Advisors has agreed to put on the property — restrictions that will run with the land no matter who it is sold to in the future — as evidence of the company’s commitment to serving alcohol only around the times the restaurant is actually in service.

Under the restrictions, Cape Advisors has agreed to have last call for any alcohol in the outdoor dining area on a proposed patio no later than 10 p.m., all outdoor background music will end at 9 p.m. nightly, last call at the restaurant’s bar will be no later than midnight and the hours of the restaurant bar will be tied to the hours of the dining room. However, he added, room service will still be permitted to sell alcohol.

Cape Advisors has also agreed to prohibit bottle service of liquor and will not allow cover charges or entry fees, which are common calling cards of nightclubs.

The pool will also be restricted to hotel guests and their guests and will be closed at 9 p.m. as will the outdoor concession area.

The planning board also questioned the use of the concession area at last month’s meeting. During their October session, on Tuesday night, Cape Advisors partner David Kronman said the stand would hold bathrooms, towel service and would sell water and ice cream to hotel guests. Alcohol, he said, will not be sold out of the concession stand.

In order to alleviate some parking concerns expressed by neighbors last month, Kronman said the firm has also explored valet car service, which he estimated could add about 10 spaces to the 80 space lot. A hotel manager will have the power to implement valet service on busy summer nights, said Kronman.

Given what he called the “unprecedented restrictions” Cape Advisors have agreed to place on the land, Kronman asked the board to move forward in approving the application.

On Tuesday night, not one resident spoke out against the project.

Walking through site plan issues the planning board must assess when reviewing a project — traffic, parking, screening, consistency with development in the area, outdoor lighting and drainage, during issue after issue, Sag Harbor Village environmental planning consultant Rich Warren noted based on revised plans submitted last month the application not only met code, but in terms of things like drainage was also improving the parcel.

In a straw poll, the board was unanimous that if Tim Platt signs off on the final set of plans and no red flags are raised in the board’s own review over the course of the next month it will approve Cape Advisors application at its November 27 meeting.

Sag Harbor Village attorney Denise Schoen was instructed to draft a draft approval for that session.

The specter of Rocco’s, the former nightclub where the now defunct West Water Street condominium project sits, remains a strong force in Sag Harbor. This was evidenced as a proposed restaurant with a bar next door at a reimagined Baron’s Cove Inn drove scores of neighbors to the Sag Harbor Village Planning Board meeting on Tuesday night.

At the meeting, Cape Advisors partner Curtis Bashaw announced his firm has contracted to purchase the Baron’s Cove Inn from KBR Associates, which has owned the property since 2009.

Cape Advisors, the company restoring and renovating the former Bulova Watchcase Factory property into luxury condominiums and townhouses, has been managing the development of Baron’s Cove through the Cape Resorts branch of the company.

Tuesday night was the first admission by the company that it intended to purchase Baron’s Cove Inn, which was approved last year for the exterior renovation of its existing rooms. For the last year-and-a-half, KBR Associates through Cape Advisors has pursued approval to build a restaurant on the Baron’s Cove Inn site.

The restaurant is proposed to allow for 87 seats and will be on the second floor of a two-story building Cape Advisors would like to build where the current motel office sits today. The ground floor is proposed to have a lobby and bar, as well as a small retail space for sundries.

Any outdoor seating — proposed to be 18 seats in season and eight bar seats — have been counted in the total 87 seats the restaurant would be allowed under the village code.

The project conforms completely with the village zoning code and does not need any variances.

On Tuesday night, with the knowledge that residents around Baron’s Cove Inn had organized and were concerned about the impact this project could have on them, Bashaw offered a number of covenants to ensure the bar and outdoor pool spaces do not spiral into the second coming of Rocco’s. As someone who grew up in a small town, he noted he appreciates the need to protect community character and that his company is interested in growing roots in Sag Harbor, not developing it and walking away.

“We want to make sure this really integrates into the spirit of a place and dovetails nicely into the kind of place this already is,” said Bashaw to the roughly 60 people packed into the Sag Harbor Village Municipal Building meeting room.

In Cape May, N.J., Cape Advisors has developed five hotels, noted Bashaw, two of which are historic buildings. All of their properties are developed as “family-friendly,” said Bashaw.

“It’s lemonade, bicycles and lots of flags,” he said. “We believe in the authenticity of our projects and the authenticity of our guest’s experience.”

Bashaw added the last thing he would want to do is resurrect the experience neighbors’ had with Rocco’s.

“It’s just not what we are about,” he said.

Bashaw noted the pool area will be fenced off from the restaurant, and the company has agreed to limit the times alcohol is served on the property beyond the limitations set by the State Liquor Authority, which allows bars to serve alcohol until 4 a.m.

Bashaw said after hearing neighbors’ concerns he has even agreed to put some of the concessions in a deed that will run with the land, whether it is sold or not.

Bashaw said the pool will be restricted to hotel guests only. On the patio, any acoustic music will end at 9 p.m. and outdoors last call will be 10 p.m. All alcohol service, said Bashaw, will end at midnight.

The restaurant will also not have cover charges or bottle service to avoid any club-like atmosphere.

While neighbors requested the bar be located upstairs, Bashaw said they did not want to take away from the aesthetic they believe the bar space gives to the lobby.

In terms of poolside dining, he added his firm doesn’t want to tell guests they cannot have a sandwich by the pool, and the company would also be loath to restrict outdoor games, as has been requested by neighbors.

Angela Scott, a Spring Street resident representing a number of neighbors, said she appreciated the restrictions, but said they did not go far enough.

She questioned the size and location of the bar as the restaurant is meant to be accessory to the hotel use. Scott said the bar should be moved upstairs near the restaurant, as most bars associated with restaurants are not on a separate floor.

“The open floor plan allows overflow into the lobby,” she said. “We see the potential for a large area for bar service.”

Scott said she appreciated the restriction on cover charges, but in terms of outdoor games she said “pool polo and things going on like that could elevate the level of noise” especially if alcohol is being served.

Scott also asked Cape Advisors to not place signage advertising the restaurant on the property and said seating around the pool should be clarified.

Amplified music from a sound system or juke box and what acoustic instruments are allowed were another concern Scott expressed, noting enforcement of these noise related issues are difficult and the fines too low.

Agreeing that Cape Advisors was “trying hard to meet our needs,” Scott said neighbors were concerned there was not enough parking and would like mass gatherings limited on the property.

According to planning board chairman Neil Slevin, the board will revisit the matter and discuss issues like parking at its September 25 meeting.

“I think they are all valid concerns,” agreed board member Gregory Ferraris. “I think we have discussed most of them over the last 18 months.”

Ferraris added everything Cape Advisors is requesting is allowed under the village code.

By Karl Grossman

More than a century ago, my father’s father came from Hungary to America and worked at the watchcase factory built by Joseph Fahys in Sag Harbor. Engraving was a major art among Hungarian Jews and Fahys and his agents would seek out Hungarian Jewish engravers when they arrived at Ellis Island and take them by boat to Sag Harbor.

It was in Sag Harbor where my grandfather met my grandmother. She lived with a sister who married into the Spitz family, several of whose members also worked at the watchcase factory.

We have a photo in our house of my grandfather and grandmother in Sag Harbor after they met — he sporting a straw skimmer hat and she in Victorian Era dress, gazing at each other appearing very much in love.             On one side of the photo is an engraving by him, probably done in his off-hours at the watchcase factory. Etched in metal with flourish: “Stephanie Spiegel, Sag Harbor.” On the other side is a photo of him on a ship on one of his several trips back to Hungary to see his family. They would all be murdered in the Holocaust.

My father and I were born and raised in New York City where my grandparents later moved. My grandfather died before I was born; my grandmother when I was two. Nearly 40 years ago, I ended up settling with my family in Sag Harbor.

Tens of thousands of times since I’ve passed the watchcase factory, the biggest building in Sag Harbor and still in operation when we got here (then owned by Bulova). Last week, for the first time, I went into the four-story building which is being expertly and creatively restored, being converted into a luxury condominium apartment complex.

What struck me immediately were the windows — hundreds upon hundreds of them. You see them from the outside, of course, but only when you get inside the 1881 brick structure can you appreciate what all 700 were for. “Light,” explained my guide, David Kronman, project manager for Cape Advisors. “The factory opened with no electricity.” The windows, each topped by a graceful arch, provided illumination for the workers at benches next to them. Their machines ran on steam power generated at the factory.

Moreover, it’s not a big box of a structure, but built around a huge courtyard. This allowed for many more windows to provide light from the courtyard.

Then there are the beams! The building’s ribs, its skeleton, are of wood — beautiful beams and very large (many 18 by 10 inches). “Southern Yellow Pine,” said Mr. Kronman about what they’re made of. Cape Advisors had them expertly analyzed and the conclusion: they’re in superb condition. Indeed, the building itself, as I heard through the years, is solid.

As we weaved through it, with workers busy all over, Mr. Kronman spoke about the plans for the 65 apartments. The building’s special features — interestingly shaped little rooms here, sweeping spaces there — will be fully utilized, he emphasized. Beams will be left exposed. Even the old factory chimney will be put to use, linked to a fireplace in the lobby. There’ll be underground parking and a recreation center with a pool. We went up to the roof for the best view in Sag Harbor. There was Shelter Island and the waters of the East End and the North Fork, and unfolded below, in seeming miniature, the picturesque village of Sag Harbor. Manhattan-based Cape Advisors specializes in restoring historic structures like this one. The project is in good hands.

It was with a warm feeling I walked the stairs that my grandfather tread many years ago. America has been good to his family. His engraving tools are with my cousin, Dr. Martin Grossman, professor of business management at Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts. Stephanie’s name lives through my brother, Stefan, and our cousin Steve, world-class musicians. Stefan is a blues guitarist, this week performing in Norway under sponsorship of the U.S. State Department. Steve is a Julliard-educated jazz saxophonist whose career has included playing with Miles Davis.

My grandparent’s great-grandson, our son Adam, graduated from Pierson High School, also an impressive brick structure, a few blocks from the watchcase factory. A lawyer, he is vice chairman of the Southampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals and previously Riverhead Town attorney. I remember, just after we moved to Sag Harbor, the call by some to raze the historic high school (which opened in 1907). Happily, instead it was restored — as the watchcase factory is in the process of being now.

The renovation and restoration of the former Bulova Watchcase Factory in the heart Sag Harbor is likely the largest construction project in village history. For planning board chairman, Neil Slevin, it was expected the village would have to work with residents, businesses and the developers, Cape Advisors, to wrangle some of the headaches inherently caused by such large scale construction.

However, not even Slevin anticipated those headaches would be felt so early in the building project’s timeline.

On Tuesday night, at the Sag Harbor Village Board of Trustees meeting, a small group of residents and business owners approached the board with concerns over the impact the Bulova project was having on their businesses and lives.

The Bulova Watchcase Factory restoration and redevelopment is for a 65-unit luxury apartment building in the historic factory building and seven townhouses, which will contain 16 of the units. A recreation center, with indoor pool, spa and an underground parking facility is also planned for the project.

Cape Advisors earned village approval for the project over three years ago, but just recently began clearing the site and erecting a construction fence in anticipation of groundbreaking after earning a new partner in Deutsche Bank this fall.

For Dolores Fenn, a Main Street resident whose house backs onto Church Street, the construction fence that stretches out on the street has made it difficult for her to get her car out of her garage.

On Tuesday night, Fenn said she was moving and was worried a moving van will not be able to access her home.

Sag Harbor Mayor Brian Gilbride said that the fence was there for residents’ safety, but Fenn said she felt neighboring property owners should have been personally informed about some the changes taking place during construction.

“It has inconvenienced a lot of people,” she said.

Gilbride agreed all neighbors should have been personally contacted, and noted that the village has created a board led by Slevin to work with Cape Advisors on any issues that come up during construction.

“If someone got missed and we are not aware, call the village clerk tomorrow morning and we will get your number to Neil and if you have a complaint we will handle it,” said Gilbride.

Sharone Einhorn, the co-owner of Ruby Beets antiques and home furnishing store on Washington Street, said she was concerned about the closure of parking on Church Street and four parking stalls on Washington Street.

“We will not be able to receive deliveries and clients will not be able to put things in the cars if they cannot park nearby,” said Einhorn.

She asked the board consider opening Church Street back up for parking in the summer.

“Did you consider the small businesses in Sag Harbor and how this would impact them,” asked Einhorn.

She added the parking problem is compounded by the fact that the municipal lot on Washington and Division streets has become a seven-day-a-week lot, which has translated to people leaving their cars there for days on end.

On Wednesday morning, Einhorn said she would like to see that lot converted into two-hour parking, so that clients have somewhere to park nearby.

Einhorn also questioned how she, and the two other furniture stores on Washington Street, would be able to accept deliveries. Currently, when there is not parking available on Washington Street, as is often the case, trucks double park on Church Street to make their deliveries. Now, said Einhorn, getting deliveries will be difficult at best.

Deputy Mayor Tim Culver acknowledged the village could work to solve some of these issues, but said the village has been diligent in exploring all issues related to construction at Bulova.

“I think we did think about local businesses,” he said. “And the Chamber of Commerce was an advocate for this project and people in general thought it would be a good thing for business in Sag Harbor.”

Nada Barry, owner of the Wharf Shop and longtime member of the Chamber of Commerce, said that with Stella Maris Regional School now closed there is more parking near Division Street. Additional parking, some 80 spaces, added Barry, has also been procured at the former National Grid gas ball property.

On Wednesday, project manager David Kronman said that all of the construction workers at Bulova are currently parking on-site and not in public parking spaces around Sag Harbor.

However, when it is needed, Kronman said his firm has secured parking spaces at St. Andrews Church, Reid Brothers on the Sag Harbor/Bridgehampton Turnpike and at Baron’s Cove.

Kronman, who by late Wednesday morning had already set up meetings with both Einhorn and Fenn, said that working with neighbors was a top priority. His firm had already worked with Sage Street Antiques owner Eliza Warner, he said, to ensure her business had parking spaces on Sage Street when it is open on the weekends.

“There is absolutely a willingness on our part to sit down and solve any problems that arise and make this as painless as possible on everyone,” said Kronman Wednesday morning. “We want to work with all of our neighbors and be creative in coming up with solutions to issues as they arise.”

When the Sag Harbor Planning Board approved the luxury condominium development at the former Bulova Watchcase Factory three years ago, they probably never suspected that project would coincide with the expansion of the John Jermain Memorial Library.

But that is exactly what has happened.

The expansion of the historic library was only a glimmer in most Sag Harbor Village resident’s eyes when Cape Advisors — the firm approved to construct 65 condos in the factory building — was seeking permission to move forward with their plans. Flash forward three years, following the project stalling under the weight of the housing crisis, and both projects will likely begin just months apart.

On October 25, Cape Advisors, which has partnered with Duetsche Bank on their project, paid the Village of Sag Harbor’s Building Department just over $200,000 in order to obtain their building permit. Since then, the former Watchcase Factory property has been alive with activity as the company gets ready to break ground on their development, which in addition to condos will also feature townhouses along Church Street, the construction of an underground parking garage and a recreational center.

Meanwhile, the library, which is already in its temporary West Water Street home, is just months away from being able to apply for its own building permit for expansion. Restoration of the masonry on the exterior of the 101-year-old library has already been given village approval.

In an attempt to mitigate the traffic concerns associated with both projects, at Tuesday night’s Sag Harbor Village Board of Trustees meeting, board members adopted temporary traffic and vehicle regulations that will remain in effect through December 31 of next year.

The Sag Harbor Planning Board in their approvals for both the Bulova condos and the library expansion has already adopted most of the regulations.

According to the resolution, parking will be prohibited on Washington and Church streets to Division Street.  Church Street will also be changed into a northbound-only street from Washington to Sage streets, and parking will no longer be allowed on Sage Street from Division to Church Street. Jefferson Street will be opened into a two way traffic street from Suffolk Street to the library while that road is closed directly adjacent to the library and parking and standing on Union Street next to the library is also prohibited under the resolution.

The village board also agreed to hire engineer Frederick S. Keith, at a rate of $120 per hour, to aid building inspector Timothy Platt in review of construction documents as the Bulova project moves forward.

According to Sag Harbor Village Mayor Brian Gilbride, the village will use the building department fee furnished by Cape Advisors to cover the cost of having Keith under contract.

“It’s the biggest project the village has ever seen and I think the village needs that,” he said.

Geese & Septic Systems Targeted by State

Feeding geese on Sag Harbor Village property may soon be illegal, although don’t blame the village board of trustees— the new local law was introduced under a federal mandate to address stormwater runoff issues nationwide.

On Tuesday night, the board introduced two new local laws — one prohibiting the feeding of geese within the incorporated Village of Sag Harbor. The other requires homeowners to show, via an inspection, that their septic systems are operational every five years.

According to village attorney Fred W. Thiele, Jr., both are the result of a federal mandate administered through the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) that requires local laws in an effort to mitigate stormwater runoff.

According to Thiele, the septic legislation differs from legislation proposed by the village earlier this year that required regular inspections of septic systems. He said the law does not demand residents show their systems are being pumped regularly, but rather just requires an inspection indicating the systems are functioning properly.

“These laws just get the village into compliance with federal and state regulations,” said Thiele.

Next April, the Village of Sag Harbor will be eligible for $26,000 in Suffolk County Development Block Grants. These are restricted for the construction of improvements like handicap accessible ramps, bathrooms and crosswalks, according to village clerk Beth Kamper.

On Tuesday night, the village board heard from John Jermain Memorial Library Director Catherine Creedon who said that many of her patrons have requested additional handicap parking spaces near the library’s temporary West Water Street home, as well as a crosswalk closer to the library.

Mayor Gilbride asked Superintendent of Public Works Dee Yardley to explore that possibility, as well as upgrading the bathrooms at Havens Beach.

The long neglected building and property in the center of Sag Harbor Village known as the Bulova Watchcase Factory is intrinsically linked to Sag Harbor’s industrial heritage. For years now, village residents have been left wondering whether a village-approved luxury condominium project would eventually replace the crumbling factory.

This week, residents finally have that answer.

Three years after it was initially approved for a 65-unit luxury condominium project on the parcel, Cape Advisors announced this week it has closed a financing deal with Deutsche Bank, its new partner in the Bulova project.

The deal was struck last Thursday, according to Cape Advisors project manager David Kronman.

In a press release issued on Wednesday afternoon, Cape Advisors and the Deutsche Bank Commercial Real Estate Group announced it has closed on a $60 million investment “to fully fund the development and rehabilitation of the Watchcase Factory Lofts” in Sag Harbor.

Calling the former factory building “a majestic red brick, nineteenth century industrial building,” located on 2.3 acres in the heart of Sag Harbor, the firms said they believe the “vast interior spaces and original architectural details will create a dramatic and unique residential environment.”

“We are extremely pleased that in these difficult economic times we were able to partner with Deutsche Bank in moving forward with this exciting project,” said Craig Wood, co-managing partner of Cape Advisors. “This fall, over 30 years after the Bulova Watchcase Factory closed, we will begin construction to restore this historic building and fully integrate it into the fabric of the Sag Harbor community.”

Kronman said he expects his firm will pull a building permit from the Village of Sag Harbor’s Building Department sometime this week. Ground will be broken on the Bulova project sometime in the next 30 to 60 days, he added. Once construction has begun on the property, the project is expected to take between 18 and 24 months.

“We are obviously really excited,” said Kronman on Tuesday. “We think it is a testament to the project and to Sag Harbor that despite the rough economic climate we were able to secure the financing to get the project built. It speaks to the viability of the project and the faith that exists in the Sag Harbor market.”

“Certainly, I am glad to see this move forward,” said Sag Harbor Mayor Brian Gilbride. “I wish them the best and I cannot wait to see this get started.”

The Bulova Watchcase Factory restoration and redevelopment is for a 65 unit luxury apartment building in the historic factory building and seven townhouses, which will contain 16 of the units. A recreation center, with indoor pool, spa and an underground parking facility is also planned for the project.

The factory building, which for 100 years operated as the industrial heart of the village under a number of company banners until its doors were closed in the early 1980s, has long remained dormant. The property, located at Division and Church streets, is a state Superfund site. Remediation is ongoing and required for the apartment project to move forward.

Developers have tried over the years to re-develop the property, without success, until Cape Advisors came along over four years ago.

The firm embarked on a two-year approval process for their plans — easily the largest re-development project in Sag Harbor Village history. What quickly emerged as the central issue during the review was whether or not the developers would include affordable housing on-site as per a requirement of the Suffolk County Planning Commission

Eventually, after much debate, the village planning and zoning board of appeals agreed to overrule the planning commission and accept $2.5 million from Cape Advisors to be funneled into the Sag Harbor Community Housing Trust.

In a deal reached last month with the village planning board, the affordable housing payment schedule was changed, allowing Cape Advisors to pay into the fund as sales of the units are closed. However, the village will be allowed to accrue interest on a first $582,600 once Cape Advisors secures its building permit.

In addition to affordable housing, the village was criticized and later sued over its environmental review of the Bulova project. While that case was eventually dismissed on a technicality, during the review process and ensuing litigation, the economy tanked worldwide and a housing crisis emerged. Despite continued pledges of support for the Bulova project by Cape Advisors, the Bulova building remained shrouded in scaffolding as two years passed.

All of that will change this fall.

“I am happy and I hope that this project brings life back to that building,” said Mayor Gilbride. “I am also glad in that while construction is happening at Bulova, it will be helpful to our delis, our restaurants, our shops, and the entire village’s economy. So we got a lot of good news this week.”

Move Boat Party

To the Editor,

I wish to thank Tom Halton for this thoughtful letter of August 16^th.

As a summer resident/year round taxpayer for 57 years I have watched with anxious eyes the increased pressure put on these fragile coves. I no longer, or rarely, see the birds, fish or wildlife of yesteryears.

It is good to know others care and perhaps will be able to move events like this boat party to areas less prone to destruction as our precious coves.

Sincerely,

Joyce Chippindale

Sag Harbor

Locks Shorn

Dear Bryan

With regard to the monstrously ugly and over-the-top disproportionate Bulova condo spectre, Sag’s village fathers, and mothers, have for years been the most willing dupes since Sampson let Delilah cut his locks off. More, they are once again about to prove themselves such in the face of the developers’ latest move. Is this characterization unfair? Well, consider the latest heap of “b.s.” (builders’ shill) the village fathers, and mothers, are about to embrace, and you be the judge. It gives new meaning to “shovel-ready” project.

As reported in the Express, on August 25, 2011, the latest builders’ shill is that they (the builders) want to change their agreement to pay the village the remainder of $2,524, 600, so that they would not have to pay it until after the condo complex is built, and individual apartments are sold. They paid $582,600 when the deal was made, so they still owe $1,942,000. We are told the condo complex will cost $100 million to build. But the developers just can’t proceed because they can’t afford the $1.94 million to be paid in installments as they proceed — less than 2 percent of the building cost. Right.

More, the developers want the Village to approve this, and other changes in the agreement they made, quick, quick quick, before the planning board’s next meeting on September 27, 2011, or the whole project might not go forward. Ever, ever, ever! Right. The b.s., as reported, is that “Without almost immediate approval of these changes …” it was “questioned whether or not this opportunity would pass by both Cape Advisors [the developers] and the village at large.” And that would mean Sagageddon, which the village fathers, and mothers, would never permit! And, “Cape Advisors founder Craig Wood announced the condominium project could move forward as early as this fall, but only if the planning board allowed these three changes.” Isn’t “could” a lovely word? It means, “maybe, maybe not.” Right.

And still more, the article told us that the chief government shill over years for the Bulova project, former mayor Greg Ferraris, “said that he and Schoen [the village lawyer] both agreed that their input into the evening’s discussion should be kept minimal.” Let’s see: the village lawyer is to remain mum, but Planning Board Chairman Neil Slevin says that the payment deferment proposal and other “questions” “needed legal counsel.” Right.

This follows more than three years, during which Sag’s fathers, and mothers, shielded the Bulova project from a lawsuit by the Group For The East End about the environmental concerns surrounding it. In the proud words of the then mayor, Greg Ferraris, doing so cost “tens of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money.” Speaking of government accountability, is the village board going to tell us just how many tens of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money has been spent so far on the Bulova fiasco? Right.

Moreover, Sag’s fathers, and mothers, did it with such legal pettifoggery that no judge heard the merits of the case. And none ever will. The plan includes sending some 700 truckloads of toxic waste from the site past countless homes and schools. So it can definitely be said that regarding this, and other environmental concerns, Sag’s fathers, and mothers, are proceeding according to the highest political standard of our time, that is, “You’ll find out all about them after it’s done!” Right. And, of course, the village fathers, and mothers, in 2010 renewed the developers’ expired building permit, after, of course, much, much deliberation. Right.

So, as said, does anyone doubt that the village fathers, and mothers, will allow more of its locks to be trimmed, and more taxpayer money be vulnerable, perhaps even before this letter is published? Right.

In light of all this, should the term “willing dupes” be changed to the word “collaborators”? Right.

Richard Gambino

North Haven

It has been three years since Cape Advisors was given final approval by the Village of Sag Harbor to construct luxury condominiums at the historic Bulova Watchcase Factory. Following approval, the economy tanked, lawsuits were filed over the village’s approval of the project and for the better part of two years the watchcase factory has sat shrouded in scaffolding, with little word on whether or not the project would resume.

On Tuesday night, at the Sag Harbor Village Planning Board meeting, Cape Advisors founder Craig Wood announced the condominium project could move forward as early as this fall, but only if the planning board allowed three changes to its approval of the development, including when Cape Advisors must pay over $2.5 million into the Sag Harbor Community Housing Trust.

Without almost immediate approval of these changes, given the turbulent economic worldwide forecast of recent weeks, Wood questioned whether or not this opportunity would pass by both Cape Advisors, and the village at large.

The Bulova Watchcase Factory restoration and redevelopment is for a 65-unit luxury apartment building in the historic factory building and seven townhouses, which will contain 16 of the units. A recreation center, with indoor pool, and an underground parking facility is also planned for the project, which estimates have shown could cost nearly $100 million to complete.

The factory building, which for 100 years operated as the industrial heart of the village under a number of company banners until its doors were closed in the early 1980s, has remained dormant for over 20 years, although a few have tried, and failed, to redevelop the site. The property, located at Division and Church streets, is a state Superfund site. Remediation is ongoing and required for the apartment project to move forward.

On Tuesday, after years of not having the financing to move forward with the project, Wood said his firm hoped “to close with a new lender in early September and start construction this fall.”

“We are very concerned with moving this along quickly given the state of the world,” added Wood, noting his company needs a few of the 70 conditions in the village’s approval of the project altered in order to secure financing for the project.

The first issue, said Wood, is the request that Cape Advisors change the payment schedule for the $2,524,600 it agreed to pay into the Sag Harbor Community Housing Trust in lieu of on-site affordable housing, easily the most debated issue during the planning board’s review of the project.

Following the affordable housing debate, and a requirement the village ultimately overrode by the Suffolk County Planning Commission for 20 percent on-site affordable housing in the project, the planning board required Cape Advisors pay $2.5 million into the newly created Sag Harbor Community Housing Trust. That organization would then use that capital to start affordable housing efforts within the Sag Harbor School District.

In the planning board’s resolution approving the Bulova condominiums, it required Cape Advisors pay $582,600 into the trust when it is issued its building permit. Following the first payment, $194,200 must be paid each time the developers receive certificates of occupancy for the first five units, and the same amount each time they receive a certificate of occupancy for the 10th to 15th units.

Wood said his firm would instead propose that payment to the trust be made with each closing sale of the 65 units.

“And this is required for our loan as well,” said Wood.

Wood also asked that the planning board’s requirement for a liaison committee — made up of planning and architectural review board members, as well as police and the building department — be assembled immediately.

Wood said his firm would also like to post bond, but not the second letter of credit, as required by the village for projects of this scale to ensure their growth, performance and the maintenance of sidewalks.

Lastly, Wood asked Cape Advisors not be required to have a crossing guard stationed at the cross walk to the Stella Maris Regional School across from the Bulova site, given the school is closed. If it reopens, Wood said the firm would reinstate the crossing guard requirement.

Planning board member and former mayor Greg Ferraris, who was also one of the founders of the Sag Harbor Community Housing Trust along with the new village attorney Denise Schoen, said that both he and Schoen have formally resigned from that board to avoid a conflict of interest. Stacy Pennebaker remains the committee’s president.

According to Sag Harbor Mayor Brian Gilbride, the housing trust will be asked to work closely with the Long Island Housing Partnership in implementing affordable housing in the village, once it has the funds to get off the ground.

On Tuesday night, Ferraris added that he and Schoen both agreed that their input into the evening’s discussion should be kept minimal.

Board member Jack Tagliasacchi said he believed everyone on the board realizes “the economy is very, very bad.”

He said he believed changing the affordable housing payment schedule, as well as the crossing guard requirement, made sense, but that he would like the village’s attorney to review the request before the board formally adopts a resolution regarding bonds.

“I think as a part of the deliberation process we have to think about the implications to the applicants, the financial environment has already changed, but we also have to think about what it means to the village,” said planning board chairman Neil Slevin, adding he was uncomfortable voting on the measure that evening.

Tagliasacchi agreed.

“I know you have been waiting very long, and so have we,” he said.

Wood countered that while he understood the village’s position, during the two years it took to gain village approval for the Bulova project, his firm lost two financiers.

“With the instability of the world today, we want to close as soon as possible so we can build this project,” said Wood, imploring the board to schedule a special meeting before its September 27 meeting to weigh in on Cape Advisor’s requests.

“We are concerned with that building as much as you,” said Tagliasacchi.

Slevin said the village would immediately form the liaison committee and the board was comfortable waiving the crossing guard requirement, but that in relation to bonds and affordable housing needed legal counsel.

Schoen added the planning board could in fact hold a special meeting if they so desired.

“The bank wants to move forward and they don’t want to wait a month,” said former attorney for Cape Advisors and Sag Harbor resident Dennis Downes. “I think all of us would like to see this project come to a conclusion.”

By Mayor Greg Ferraris

I am sure that many of you have now read last week’s Point of View column penned by Richard Gambino. While I have refrained from responding to various letters, articles and editorial opinions over my six years of public service, I felt inspired to respond and set the record straight on numerous inaccuracies and potentially libelous comments contained in his column.

It is quite obvious that this column was an attempt to justify a stance against the Village’s review process through the medium of unaccountable journalism rather than the tried and true method of stating fact and reality. Fortunately, the Village has individuals like Planning Board Chairman Neil Slevin and other committed review board members who are willing to sift through this biased rhetoric of lobbying organizations to make determinations which are for the betterment of the entire Village without regard to self-interest.

Let me begin by stating that the proposal brought to the Village by Sag Development Partners for the Bulova building was undoubtedly the largest development project that the Village has seen in our modern era. This project as proposed, which was embraced by nearly all Village residents, would not only have resurrected one of the most historically significant structures within the Village, but provided a source of economic activity while completing the ongoing remediation of a documented Superfund site.

That being said, although I would love to take credit for all of the hard work and effort put forth during this arduous process, the Village Board of Trustees and I had no role in review of the application, except to the extent that the Village Board is the legislative branch that establishes the code that is implemented by the review boards. All of the appointed individuals on these boards are well-versed in their duties and worked tirelessly on the Bulova application, enduring more than 50 long, tedious public meetings that addressed every environmental issue that arose in the evaluation of the application, each of which were addressed in public, in detail and by submissions of the applicant and responses from the Village’s consultants. Had Mr. Gambino attended any of the meetings held in connection with this project, he would know the depth at which each issue was addressed and would have concluded that the review boards and the Village’s staff did a tremendous job of dealing with such a large-scale proposal and in fact did comply with the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA).

Mr. Gambino has repeatedly shown his ignorance to the facts and circumstances of this application and process. He alleges that the Village approved a plan to truck 30,000 cubic yards of “potentially toxic soil” from the site. The Village Planning Board did no such thing. Actually, prior to the submission of this application by Sag Development Partners, the Bulova property was the subject of a “Record of Decision” issued by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) in 1996, which required the owner to remove the soil from the site. Pursuant to New York State law, a municipality is pre-empted from regulating any of the elements covered by the order and further, the order itself and its implementation is exempt from environmental review. In this particular case, the Village Planning Board asked the applicant to discuss the implementation of the NYSDEC mandate, who agreed, although discussion was not required. In addition, Mr. Gambino stated that the Village would incur liability as a result of any soil spill. In reality, liability for removing and transporting the soil lies with the applicant under the supervision of the NYSDEC as required by the order.

Mr. Gambino also incorrectly categorizes the recommendations of the Suffolk County Planning Commission (SCPC) with respect to the affordable housing component of the Bulova site as a “legal requirement.” The Planning Commission responded to two agencies involved in the proposal, the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Planning Board, with a recommendation that the applicant provide affordable housing. The comments of the SCPC are recommendations, not legal requirements. According to New York State General Municipal Law, a referral to the local planning commission was required for this application. The law also states that the comments provided by the local planning commission are recommendations that may be overridden by the agency responsible for the project by a majority plus one vote. In this case, the Boards determined, as they had absolutely every right to do, that the Sag Harbor Community Housing Trust Fund was an acceptable alternative which addressed the community’s concerns about the provision of affordable housing and legally overrode the SCPC recommendations. As a matter of fact, the Village subsequently received a letter from the SCPC acknowledging that this was an acceptable alternative.

The column also alleges that the Village “bypassed” New York State environmental regulation. The Village prides itself on compliance with each and every aspect of the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) regulations. If we had been called upon to defend the merits of a suit alleging any improper environmental review, I have complete confidence that a court would rule in favor of the Village’s actions and review. The purpose of SEQRA is to incorporate environmental consideration into the planning, review and decision-making process of a local agency at the earliest possible time. To insinuate that the Village failed to do this is illogical. Before any determination was made as to the environmental significance of the project, the village review boards held more than 50 public meetings on numerous environmental issues, accepting public comment on each and every issue and requiring the production of thousands of pages of reports, information and expert testimony that was carefully evaluated by both the Planning Board and the Villages’ consultants. This is exactly what SEQRA requires.

The lawsuit against the Village that alleged defects in our procedure was dismissed on a technicality which was the result of plaintiff’s counsels’ repeated failure to comply with details for filing a suit of this type. Although the Village would have been successful on the merits of a challenge to its process, it became clear that due to the obvious defects in the Plaintiff’s petition, it was more efficient and fiscally responsible for the Village to first defend the suit on that basis. 

Mr. Gambino also questions the authorship of the final environmental review document that was completed in connection with the proposed project, insinuating that I had prepared an “in-house report” as part of the environmental review. In fact, an expanded environmental assessment form and summary report that evaluated the environmental impacts as well as provided a summary of all the information gathered was prepared and submitted by the applicant’s environmental planners, Frudenthal & Elkowitz. That final document is the effective equivalent of a final environmental impact statement and included all of the legally required elements and was accepted by the Planning Board as having adequately addressed all environmental concerns of the project. This process was innovative and not only addressed each environmental issue in public, but was paramount to the Board’s and the public’s understanding of the process and the issues. 

In connection with the process followed by the Planning Board, the author maliciously misinterpreted the comments by Planning Board Chair, Neil Slevin. According to the article written by Kathryn Menu that appeared in the April 2, 2009 edition of the Express, Mr. Slevin stated that, in connection with the environmental review process that was followed for the Bulova application, “I could not imagine for the life of me a process that is better for figuring out the challenges or impacts a development might present or where the community would have a greater opportunity to share their expertise and concern… The very thing we have been criticized for, I believe, is the best thing we have done. The public came to us…and we made the developer answer.” These statements demonstrate the very core of environmental review principles: public participation and calling upon the applicant to answer the questions.

As a matter of clarification, my comments about the Group for the East End were representative of their actions towards the Village with respect to the affordable housing concerns on the Bulova application. Despite the many environmental issues that were addressed throughout this process, the Group curiously focused their attention on a single social issue, the provision of affordable housing on-site, which seemed to me to be out of the scope of their mission as an environmental advocacy group. I would hope that in the future the Group would partner with the Village to deal with development pressures by offering their expertise rather than criticizing a Village Board that has taken substantial steps toward preserving the character and environment of Sag Harbor.

In closing, I find Mr. Gambino’s skills as a creative fiction writer are most impressive and provided last week’s Express audience with a very entertaining article at my expense, but he should have at the very least researched the basic facts. Is that not a basic premise of journalism?

The Sag Harbor Village Planning Board has had a fair amount of heavy lifting to contend with over the course of the last two years. In that time, it has engaged in a lengthy review of the now approved condominium projects at the former Bulova Watchcase Factory and at 21 West Water Street, as well as the conversion of the controversial Havens Bar and Lounge on Bridge Street into retail and residential space, and the review of the Loeffler office building across from the Breakwater Yacht Club on Bay Street.

And as the board is about to embark on yet another prolonged review – this time of the proposed 18-unit luxury condominiums at 1, 3 and 5 Ferry Road – it has said good-bye to its former chairman, Jerome Toy. Barring a dramatic turn of events, the board will accept new member Nathan Brown at its October 16 work session.

On Tuesday, October 14, the Sag Harbor Board of Trustees is expected to appoint Brown to the planning board in a unanimous resolution, according to Sag Harbor Mayor Greg Ferraris. Brown will take Toy’s seat on the board. In August, board member Neil Slevin replaced Toy as chairman of the planning board and will continue to lead the board through its review of the Ferry Road application. (See interview on page 9).

According to Ferraris, after interviewing Brown, his appointment was inevitable.

“It really came down to what his thoughts were on the village,” said Ferraris. “Where it has stood now, where it has evolved from, and where he thought it should evolve to. We talked a lot about the process, and how he would handle hypothetical situations. In terms of being able to digest information and make educated decisions, I think he really showed he would have the village’s best interest at heart.”

Brown, who along with his wife Gloria, can be seen at virtually every meeting that takes place in Sag Harbor – from village board meetings to library board meetings and forums arranged by the Coalition of Neighborhoods for the Preservation of Sag Harbor (CONPOSH) – has been an active member of the community, noted Ferraris, a key quality the mayor was looking for in a replacement for Toy.

“He knows the process, and what the planning board is up against,” he said.

For Brown, deciding to throw his name in the hat was a simple decision.

“I live here,” he said on Tuesday. “I figure I have the time to get involved and make it better. This is my home. I can’t see living in a place and sitting in the background doing nothing.”

Brown’s background is in technology. He worked for 25 years at IBM before retiring and starting a small company for himself in New Jersey. Brown and his wife have owned their home in the Chatfield Hills neighborhood of Sag Harbor for 24 years, and are now retired there.

In addition to his service as the co-president of the Chatfield Hills Property Owners Association, Brown is also a member of Save Sag Harbor, has worked with CONPOSH, is a trustee with the Suffolk County Library Association and volunteers at the Sag Harbor Food Pantry each week.

“I know this is going to be quite a challenge,” said Brown. “But at least I know I have the time to devote to this.”