Sag Harbor Historic Preservation and Architectural Review Board Chairman Cee Scott Brown has watched over the years as historic homes in the village have been altered, without a permit, their owners either oblivious to the responsibility inherent when owning a residence in the historic district of Sag Harbor, or trying avoid the often costly nature of historic preservation by trying to skirt regulation.

And he has had enough.

Faced with yet another example of a historic home altered for the worse, at a Sag Harbor ARB meeting this week, Brown called on the village board of trustees to increase the village fines for constructing work without a permit, and said he would like to see the village take on an educational role with residents and service providers to ensure historic homes are protected in the future.

On Monday, August 23 Brown raised the discussion after being made aware by Sag Harbor Building Inspector Tim Platt that Melanie Fleishman had replaced a wood shingled roof on her historic Atlantic Avenue home with an asphalt roof. Platt told Fleishman she will need a permit for the new roof, and she will likely appear before the board at its September 9 meeting to address the situation, said Brown. However, Brown raised the issue this week with fellow board memebrs as a jumping off point to discuss the board’s inability to enforce and educate the necessity of historic preservation in Sag Harbor.

Fleishman’s contractor has cited other asphalt roofs in her neighborhood as part of the application to make the new roof legal. While Brown acknowledged there are historic homes with asphalt roofs, Fleischman’s home has traditionally had wood shingles, and should have remained that way.

“It’s about educating the homeowners,” said board member Diane Schiavoni. “And I don’t know how we do that.”

“Basically, there has to be more teeth in what we are doing here, because this is a flagrant flaunting of all we stand for,” said Brown. “If it was asphalt replaced by asphalt, no problem, but it’s not.”

“It also makes me think as board members, why are we doing this and with fines of $50 or $100 why get a permit,” he continued.

Brown added the only other recourse the village has is litigation, where often a judge could look at the cost involved with historic preservation of a home and side with the defendant.

“I think we as a board should go to the mayor and let him know we feel there should be more sting in the penalties that will be incurred if someone violates the law,” said Brown. “Number two, sometimes people just don’t know about the law and we have to get the word out.”

Board member Bethany Deyermond suggested using real estate agents as the front lines for information on the responsibility of owning a historic home. As with any residence in the village, any change to the exterior of a building must be approved by the ARB, which in the case of historic homes has the authority to demand the historic character is maintained, whether through ensuring the roofline is not altered, windows remain antique and siding and paint colors replaced in kind.

Brown added service providers could also be included in the discussion, as they are the ones performing the work on these structures; although he added often companies not from Sag Harbor secure those services.

However, said Brown, the Sag Harbor Historic Society has produced a number of pamphlets, available in the village building department, that detail the village code, requirements for historic preservation, and how to ensure renovations are in keeping with the historic character of Sag Harbor. Should fines be increased for breaches of the village code, Brown suggested that money could be funneled into a mass mailing of these pamphlets to homeowners, contractors and real estate agents alike.

“If you buy a historic home, you have a responsibility to keep it historic,” said Schiavoni.

In other news, the board approved a second story addition at Daniel De Simone and Angela Scott’s Spring Street residence.

Popularity: 1% [?]

By Francesca Normile

In late September of last year, Peconic Public Broadcasting (PPB) offered over $2 million to Long Island University for the purchase of the 88.3 FM radio license. Winning the bid, WLIU General Manager Wally Smith announced his excitement at the station’s success and expressed his confidence that the station would raise the funds necessary to purchase the license.

Before the capital fundraising campaign for the purchase of the license could begin, however, PPB needed to sign the asset purchase agreement, which they did in mid-February. It was only after signing that agreement that they had the opportunity to begin their efforts toward buying the license.

“And if you recall,” said Smith with a laugh this past Monday, “this was not the perfect winter in fundraising, and not the perfect economy for it either.”

With a deadline set for the end of August, PPB devoted its attention to its campaign, with only six months to raise the money they had bid for the channel.

Smith, when asked how fixed the now fast-approaching deadline actually is, replies, “The university has claimed that it is an absolute deadline and if we fail to meet that deadline, the license will go to someone else.”

If PPB unable to raise the required funds by the end of this month, Smith says he presumes that it will go to the second highest bidder.

“I know there are one or two bidders behind us,” he says. “But I do not [know who the other bidders are]. I asked LIU and, inappropriately, they said they would not tell us.”

Smith explains that a total of $637,000 is due at the end of August in order to purchase the license.

“We have [$137,000] in the capital accounts, so we are working on the alternative 500,000,” says Smith. “It is taking a combination of cash and loans to close the deal. We still need at least $100,000 to $150,000.”

Raising $150,000 in twelve days is certainly a steep task, but Smith appears confident.

“It looks better and better every day,” he says. “Fundraising is not a science, it is an art. Nothing is predictable; nothing is absolute until the check is in the mail. We have every reason to believe that people want to contribute and that they will do so.”

The optimism of PPB half a year ago, when the bid was first won, leads to the question of whether or not the station had, at the start of their campaign, been confident in the contributions of donors who gave their word but did not actually pull through.

In response to this inquiry, Smith simply states, “Some people have contributed [the amount they had said they would], some have contributed at lower levels; but, again, we are feeling quite confident.”

Because the station is not permitted to request funds on the air— if those funds are to be put towards the purchase of the station’s license— PPB has had to get creative.

“We are fundraising in a couple of ways,” explains Smith. “We have been putting together chains of individuals with other individuals to identify prospects— that’s typical in fundraising. We had some members of the board introduce us to sources to donate, though the board is small. We’ve also used the press a lot, as they’ve been very generous, placing ads for us and so on.”

In addition to these methods of fundraising is the upcoming “Locals Live”— a benefit concert scheduled to take place on Wednesday, August 25 at the Old Whalers’ Church — the proceeds of which will go, in part, towards 88.3FM.

Addressing the critical rumors that have been circulating about how the payroll at PPB may be higher than perhaps it should be, Smith responds,

“Generally speaking we don’t comment on payroll issues, but I will say that the entire budget of the station has been modified to reflect the change in our circumstance. That is to say that everything has been reduced: operations, salaries, etc.”

As for the future of the station, should they be able to raise the money necessary to purchase the license at the end of the month, Smith said they will address PPB’s general operating needs

“In the short-term,” he explains, “the next focus will be on operating expenses, in order to sustain the operation of the station. But that has been going on alongside the capital raise and, in fact, over the past several months we’ve raised over $300,000 in operating costs. So we presume that will continue and we’ll just go back to our normal, on-air fund-drives.”

According to Smith, the Federal Communications Commission currently has a request to transfer the license and is prepared to act on it once PPB has completed the purchase of their license from LIU. What is pending now is PPB’s final payment, which will permit the FCC to go through with the final processing of the transfer.

In closing, Smith re-iterates his optimism in community support, saying, “We remain confident and have several major requests out to folks who have the capacity to help us move forward towards the goal of successfully completing this campaign. I’ll simply say, it’s not over til’ it’s over.”

Popularity: 1% [?]

Sometimes the second time is the charm.

When Dennis Suskind purchased the aging Sag Harbor United Methodist Church on Madison Street in 2008, Amagansett artist and businesswoman Elizabeth Dow felt she had missed the opportunity of a lifetime, after admiring the historic church from afar during her 15 years as an East Hampton resident.

However, after plans for Suskind to renovate the church into a private residence waned with the prospect of the financial resources such a project would entail, Dow glimpsed a second opportunity to bring her celebrated textile company and internship program to a village viewed as the artistic center of the Hamptons.

Two weeks ago, Dow took the first step towards making her dream a reality, signing a contract to purchase the building from Suskind for $2.1 million, a loss for Suskind who purchased the property for $2.9 million in 2008. This week, she presented the Sag Harbor Village Board of Trustees with plans for a “gentle reuse” of the church, creating a home for the Elizabeth Dow Studio, where the production of the company’s handmade textiles and wall-coverings would take place, as well as a retail interior design center.

“The large spaces of the former church present a perfect setting for the production of wallpaper, textiles and other fine art,” said Dow’s attorney Tiffany Scarlato on Tuesday night.

Dow’s company, Elizabeth Dow Mixed Media, a textiles and wall-coverings company boasts an impressive resume, with 15 papers housed in the Smithsonian. Dow has also recently completed four custom wallpapers for rooms within The White House, including the Oval Office.

In addition to her studio, The Elizabeth Dow Internship Program would also be housed in the historic church, lending an educational component to the space.

Dow, who in addition to her own company is the director of Amagansett Applied Arts and owner of Mixed Media Art Supply, has run the internship program since 1992, providing opportunities for high school students and college graduates to expand their knowledge of art and design. Hosting roughly 20 to 30 students annually, the program is rated as one of the top 100 American internships by the Princeton Review.

The plans also include office space and a residential apartment at the rear of the building, which will be used for employees or the internship program.

“The Elizabeth Dow Internship Program has gained a reputation for being one of the most sought after in the design field, accepting high school, college and graduate students who actively participate in the creation of fine art, design, marketing and management,” said Scarlato. “The location of the church building within the village is a unique opportunity to bring the creation of fine arts, educational opportunities and other job opportunities to the center of the village while restoring and maintaining a dignified village landmark with a gentle reuse plan.”

“I am very excited to come to Sag Harbor and renovate the Methodist Church,” added Dow. “It is the absolutely perfect space. Our approach is as a gentle reuse because what I love about the building is its beautiful, open spaces and I would like to maintain that as much as possible, unlike, for example, what would have to happen in a residential conversion.”

Sag Harbor architecture firm, Bates Masi Architects, will design the reuse for Dow.

On Wednesday, Dow said she was also exploring celebrating the history of the United Methodist Church within the building, although exact plans for that homage are not finalized.

“The interesting thing about this building is it has gone through so many changes — it has been moved, decorations have changed, the architecture has changed,” she said. “It has really responded to the needs of the community at the time and I think these plans are kind of in keeping with those historic changes. I would like to be able to express those iterations in a very concise way, show its evolution.”

Dow has already reached out to neighboring property owners, and said the response has been “overwhelmingly positive.”

“I expected things to go well,” she said. “But I didn’t expect people would be so excited about it.”

In order for Dow’s plans to come to fruition, not only will she need site plan approval from the Sag Harbor Village Planning Board, but first she will need the Sag Harbor Village Board of Trustees to rezone the property into the Village Business District, with the use either defined as a shop for custom work or as an interior design studio, according to Scarlato.

The property is currently zoned residential, but is directly adjacent to commercial properties within the village business district.

Scarlato argued that Dow’s plans are in keeping with the 2008 village comprehensive plan, and as a landmarked historic building in Sag Harbor, the exterior of the church will remain unchanged.

Scarlato said Dow was also open to agreeing to place covenants and restrictions on the property that would prohibit it ever being sold and converted into a convenience store, bar or tavern or laundromat and dry cleaning business.

“Sag Harbor has traditionally been a village of art and industry,” said Scarlato. “Here, a unique opportunity exists to bring both art and industry to the village in an innovative and combined way that will ultimately serve to preserve the integrity of a village landmark while making it accessible to the public. We hope to bring a new beginning to some of the fundamental traditions in the village, along with unique educational and employment opportunities that we hope the village will embrace as a balance of growth and preservation.”

The response from the village board to the project was overwhelmingly positive, although village attorney Fred W. Thiele, Jr. said his concern at the outset was ensuring an environmental review with the planning board was coordinated with the village board before they agreed to rezone the property.

Dow and Scarlato will present to that board on Tuesday, August 24 at 5:30 p.m. and the board of trustees has requested they send them a memo detailing their thoughts on the project.

“I would love to see something happen in this building,” said Sag Harbor Mayor Brian Gilbride. “I think there has been discussions of many different things happening there. To hear this great compromise — it’s a great spot for this to happen.”

“I have worked with the interns and my experience has been great,” added trustee Robby Stein, who added he would like to see any future use of the property protected should Dow ever move her studio out of the location.

Thiele said that would be negotiated, and the village would likely want to restrict any uses that generate the need for more parking or additional sewage needs, like the wet uses required for a restaurant, for example.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Sag Harbor’s Harbor Committee was poised to approve a wetlands permit for a pool at 5 Morris Cove Lane, but stopped short after village planner Richard Warren revealed that the property has had several trees in a proposed wetlands buffer zone cleared, an underground sprinkler system installed and fresh fill and seeds laid in the area — none of which was approved by the committee.

According to Harbor Committee Chairman Bruce Tait, this is an ongoing problem in Sag Harbor Village, with waterfront property owners either beginning unapproved work prior to receiving their permits, and neglecting the protection of wetlands in the process.

During their monthly meeting, on Monday, August 9, Warren raised the issue mere moments before the committee was ready to approve John Bjornen and Joseph Cornetta’s request for a swimming pool on the property, with the understanding that a buffer zone to the wetlands with natural grasses would be planted and just one tree would be removed.

Matt Ivans, a planner for Bjornen and Cornetta, said while he did know Cornetta had plans to landscape the property, he was unsure what was planted and would need to consult with his client before he could offer the committee any answers.

“The question I have is what kind of grass is going down there and the sprinkler system is not approved for a buffer zone either,” said Tait. “The whole thing bothers me because we were ready to approve this.”

Ivans said it was his hope Cornetta planted red fescue, which was a part of the buffer zone plan.

“They jumped the gun,” said board member Nancy Haynes.

“One thing we are trying to be consistent with is the buffer zones and the trees coming out is a bother, but the buffer zone is really what I have concerns about,” said Tait, adding while temporary, above ground irrigation is generally allowed to ensure plants take root, a permanent, underground system is unacceptable.

Tait asked building department secretary Doris Alvarez to have building inspector Tim Platt sign off on a stop work order for the property to ensure no further work is completed before they have a permit.

“It’s time to have people stop doing work before they have a permit,” he said.

While the committee will hold off, until at least next month, on approving plans for a pool on the property, after touring the waterfront in the Cove, Tait said they could expect approval for a dock at the same property next month.

Tait said his tour of Sag Harbor’s waterfront areas left him with concerns about the overall protection of wetlands in the village, which Warren announced his firm has remapped for the village board this week.

The map, said Warren, was developed to give residents, boards and the building department  a clear picture of what properties in Sag Harbor require wetlands permits for applications like swimming pools and other improvements.

“When we go back and look at work we have approved, sometimes we are finding out they are not doing what they are approved for,” said Tait, noting he witnessed several seasonal floats, ramps and boats stored on wetlands, which is against village and town regulations.

Tait said in addition to a number of violations in Southampton Town Trustees jurisdiction, in Sag Harbor he noticed rowing shells for Sag Harbor Community Rowing off Cove Park in Redwoods laid on a tarp, which Warren said could suffocate vegetation over time. Adjacent to that park, another waterfront property owner has constructed a mooring using a pulley system, which Tait said he believes was also done without a permit. He asked that village code enforcement look into both situations.

“If we are going to try and protect wetlands we need to be uniform,” said Tait. “We can’t be harsh on a neighbor when next door their neighbor doesn’t even try to come into compliance.”

The next Sag Harbor Village Harbor Committee meeting will be held on Monday, September 13 at 5 p.m.

Popularity: 1% [?]

For several months now, Sag Harbor Mayor Brian Gilbride has listened as a parade of residents have continually reinforced the fact there are likely hundreds of illegal apartments in Sag Harbor, each resident detailing the likelihood their own neighbors are likely in on the practice.

Without naming names, of course.

The speakers, which have appeared in a series of village board meetings, have spoken in support of, and opposition to, plans to expand an accessory apartment law in the village that would legitimize some existing, illegal apartments.

The expansion of the law would allow about 50 residents, who can show they have illegally operated an apartment in an outbuilding such as a barn or garage for five consecutive years, the ability to bring those units up to code and become legal rentals with amnesty. Two years ago, under then-mayor Gregory Ferraris, the village passed similar legislation targeted at those with illegal units within their primary residences with just a handful coming forward to bring their units up to code.

According to trustee Robby Stein, who spearheaded the expansion with former deputy mayor Tiffany Scarlato, the law is meant to address the safety issues inherent in illegal apartments, while simultaneously opening up a greater stock of rental housing in Sag Harbor.

However, as the board revises the draft legislation and continues public hearings, the law has recently come under fire by some village residents who have expressed concerns about it not protecting neighborhoods from too many apartments and other density issues. In addition, the fairness of the law has been questioned, as has the ability for village code enforcement to truly crack down on those not willing to legalize their units once the law is adopted.

During a village board meeting on Tuesday night, the tone was no different.

Stein opened the discussion by stating he wanted to see the issue left open to the public, while village officials continue to re-draft the law to address these concerns.

Deputy mayor Tim Culver said density was one issue, in particular, he would like to see addressed, specifically how to ensure 10 of the 50 units approved in the pilot program do not end up in one neighborhood.

That was just one of several concerns resident Paul Zaykowski said he had with the law, which he charged was so full of holes a truck could drive right through it.

Zaykowski started by stating he does not believe the expansion of the law will help affordable housing in the village, noting many village properties are owned as investments, and that a majority of these accessory units would not likely be rented to children by their parents in hopes of keeping them in Sag Harbor.

“I would be all for Mr. Smith or Mr. Jones renting out so their kids can stay here,” he said, adding the law would more likely be used as an income generator by people who already have enough money to purchase a $2 million home in Sag Harbor. Zaykowski also wondered what happens to those who don’t bring their units up to code.

Gilbride said once the law is passed, sometime this fall, village code enforcement will inventory the village in search of illegal units and cite them.

“That is going to cause a ton of disruption,” said Zaykowski, asking why code enforcement has not dealt with the numerous illegal apartments in the village already, or leave well enough alone.

“The problem is now that this has reared its head something has to happen,” said Gilbride.

“Part of it is hopefully for affordability, but the other part is for safety,” added Stein.

Zaykowski also questioned why someone who has broken the law for a number of years is given amnesty, and why he, as someone who has not broken the law and paid their taxes, would not be allowed to capitalize on the accessory apartment law by building his own unit.

“Your point is a good one,” said Stein, saying in the future, if they meet code, he would see no problem allowing new units to be built in the village.

“This is the first stage,” said Stein. “Let’s get what we know is out there in compliance.”

“If you really believe this is a safety issue and know they are out there, you should be enforcing the current law,” said former mayor and Sag Harbor resident Pierce Hance. “If there is a clear and present danger you should be acting on it. That is where the village responsibility lies and you are not acting on it.”

Hance said he doubted the law would ultimately help affordable housing in the village on either end of the spectrum and encouraged the board to deal with what is out there now before changing the law.

“Let’s enforce the code, get a level playing field without safety issues and then address what to do,” said Hance. “Let’s not award the bank robber after he is gone and give him the money anyway.”

Popularity: 1% [?]

By Andrew Rudansky

In the late-1970s a small store opened up in Sag Harbor catering especially to the sailors and fishermen in the area. That store, Atlantis WeatherGear, provided apparel and sportswear to east end sailors for almost ten years. Originally an export from Boston, the small company was eventually bought out by a bigger corporation and closed up shop. Now, after thirty years, several owners and various east coast locations Atlantis WeatherGear in partnership with the brand Peter Elliot has finally reopened a store in the Hamptons.

The new store, Atlantis by Peter Elliot, opened up shop at 50 Jobs Lane, Southampton the weekend before Memorial Day.

Chaz Bertrand, owner of Atlantis WeatherGear, and Eliot Rabin, owner of the high-end Manhattan clothing boutique company Peter Elliot, partnered up to create the new Southampton store, offering products from both companies’ clothing lines in the store. Rabin did say however that the majority of the products are from Atlantis WeatherGear and only some of the offerings were from his company.   

As one would expect, much has changed in the decades since the Atlantis WeatherGear’s humble beginnings out in Sag Harbor during the 1970s. For one, the newest owners from Marblehead, Massachusetts, who bought the company in 2007, have geared the company towards their own competitive sailing backgrounds, offering new products for the serious sailor.

“Chaz and the boys at Atlantis, they are true, true sailors. They go all the way back to America’s Cup, and Bill Lynn, one of Chaz’s partners, is a [World Champion and internationally ranked] sailor,” said Rabin. Atlantis WeatherGear has taken this love of competitive sailing and designed their products around this passion.

“Atlantis WeatherGear’s sailing and sportswear has been engineered so that it is as waterproof as a garment can get,” said Rabin, “these are high tech working fabrics that have a tendency to remain dry, even in [strong heavy weather conditions].”

The people at Atlantis are so confident in their products that they have recently become the official apparel provider for the US National Sailing Team, outfitting the team with Atlantis’ high quality sailing gear for each of their high profile races. Atlantis WeatherGear also hopes to support the US team in their run in the 2012 Olympics in London.  

The Peter Elliot brand has also distinguished itself as a heavy-hitter in the apparel industry, with three trendy boutiques in Manhattan. Rabin said he selected clothing from his Manhattan stores that were the most water-friendly for the new store in Southampton.

So far Atlantis by Peter Elliot offers mostly men’s and boy’s clothing, but they do intend on introducing a woman’s line for the store as well.

According to Rabin the store has been doing well in its first few months.

“I can’t complain,” he said about recent sales, chalking up his success to the high quality of his products. “I think people have discovered both the Atlantis brand and the Peter Elliot brand, and it seems to jive pretty good together.” Even though the partnership between Peter Elliot and Atlantis is relatively new, both are contemplating opening up a second Atlantis by Peter Elliot store.

“If we continue to do well in Southampton it would be very possible for us to jump over into Sag Harbor,” said Rabin. Bill Lynn at Atlantis said his company would be happy to expand into Sag Harbor. Both camps were enthusiastic at the prospect of taking Atlantis back to Sag Harbor, a long time nautical hub in New York.

“I had a meeting in Sag Harbor the other day and I like the town,” said Rabin, who cautioned that any plans for expansion were currently in the preliminary stages. He did say that he had already spoken to a local real estate agency about available locations in the village. The plans for a second store in the village of Sag Harbor would be similar in design to the current store in Southampton.

Sag Harbor has for years been a commercial center built around the sea, with a rich history of commercial shipping and whaling. The village’s economy is still highly dependent on the water, mostly through revenue from boating and tourism.

“We have a product that is built for a specific purpose, being on the water,” said Rabin; a seemingly perfect fit for this waterside village.

Popularity: 2% [?]

By Claire Walla

Last week, the battle to keep higher education alive in Southampton raged on.

Responding to SUNY Stony Brook’s decision in early April to end its residential and undergraduate programs at its Southampton campus, State Assemblyman Fred Thiele and State Senator Ken LaValle introduced legislation to create a task force that would explore the option of turning the 82-acre, seaside property into an independent branch of the SUNY system. If all goes according to plan, this would allow the Southampton campus to function, for the first time since its founding in 1963, without the oversight of a parent institution.

“It doesn’t work to have Southampton as a satellite campus,” Mr. Thiele said. “My bottom line is to provide people in the East End with access to a real college. Stony Brook just wanted to use the campus to benefit Stony Brook.

“The ultimate goal has to be an independent SUNY campus,” Thiele continued. “It’s the best use of [the State’s] investment.”

Since 2005, when SUNY Stony Brook acquired the Southampton facilities from Long Island University, the state has spent nearly $75 million to improve the buildings and accommodate programs in environmental sustainability and marine biology. The campus grew to include about 400 students this past year and would have had twice that amount in the fall, but Stony Brook was forced to shift gears.

According to Lauren Sheprow, a spokesperson for SUNY Stony Brook, the university has suffered a 20 percent cut in state funding over the past two years. “With no relief in sight, and facing such an enormous deficit, Stony Brook was forced to streamline operations, including those at Southampton where the cost of educating a student is 2.5 times great than on Stony Brook University Main Campus,” she wrote in an email.

The university estimates it will save about $6.7 million annually by relocating most of Southampton’s academic programs to the main campus, a decision fully backed by the SUNY system. According to an email from a spokesperson for SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher, the whole SUNY system has lost $424 million in funding over the last two years, and “the chancellor supports Stanley’s decision to live within the means available to him.”

With many Southampton buildings no longer in use, Stony Brook recently established an Advisory Committee to explore options for future use of the campus, such as developing a center for the creative arts and expanding graduate programs. Members of the Committee consist of university officials, others from the SUNY system, business and planning delegates, and two community members (including Laura Baudo Sillerman, whose husband served as Dean of the Southampton campus when it was still owned by LIU).

 Thiele, however, insists that Stony Brook hasn’t done enough to bolster undergraduate education, an oversight he sees as a fundamental shift in priorities at the university. Stony Brook, he said, is now focusing on more lucrative programs in the sciences and mostly at the graduate level.

 “One of the reasons why I’m so passionate about this campus is because of my own experience,” Thiele said. “I went to high school in Sag Harbor and then I went to Cornell. But, my family fell on some tough times—the economy was pretty bad then and both of my parents were out of work, so I had to come home. If that college hadn’t been there, then I wouldn’t have gotten my diploma.”

He continued, “But it’s not just about individual dreams and individual students. Higher education creates several hundred jobs and trained employees.”

No proceedings are yet underway—the plan is still very much in the gestation phase. But, Mr. Thiele said that he hopes discussions will pick-up quickly so that the campus will be up and running again as a four-year institution by next year. 

Popularity: 1% [?]

The Parrish Art Museum is expected to break ground on its new — and long-awaited — expansive museum this coming Monday, July 19. The $25 million building, which echoes the barns and artists studio’s that dot the East End, is designed by celebrated Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron and will be located on a farm field just east of Duck Walk Vineyards on Montauk Highway in Water Mill.

The building allows for three times the amount of exhibition space as is available at the Parrish’s current location on Jobs Lane in Southampton. The 34,500 square-foot building is the first art museum to be built on the East End of Long Island in more than a century. Among the amenities are a café, gift shop, offices and climate controlled storage areas.

The future of the Job’s Lane space in Southampton is undetermined.

A timeline for construction is expected to be available at Monday morning’s groundbreaking.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Sag Harbor resident Susan Baran believes the Federal Aviation Administration’s draft plan aimed at regulating helicopter flight paths and curbing the chopper noise that has plagued East End residents for years does not go far enough.

In comments made to the FAA on the proposed “Schumer Rule,” Baran was among hundreds of Sag Harbor and Noyac residents who asked for the regulations to be expanded to include more than one mandatory route for helicopters, as well as higher altitude requirements for pilots.

“We have borne the brunt of the departing traffic for years,” said Baran of the Sag Harbor community. “Our house shakes, windows rattle and conversation is impossible.”

Residents were joined this week by the supervisors of four East End towns, state government leaders, and Congressman Tim Bishop in asking the “Schumer Rule” be expanded in order to aid residents on the East End as well as those further west on Long Island.

Under the proposed regulation, helicopter pilots would be required to follow a northern route one mile offshore over the Long Island Sound to Shoreham where they would split off either to Gabreski Airport in Westhampton, the Southampton Helipad, the Montauk Airport or the East Hampton Airport following voluntary routes established in 2007, some of which bring flights from East Hampton directly over Sag Harbor and Noyac.

Regulations also propose that pilots keep a minimum altitude of 2,500 feet.

Following the FAA’s announcement about the regulations in May, government and community leaders commended the agency for taking action to deal with helicopter noise on Long Island, but almost unanimously were outspoken that a single northern route would unfairly burden a few communities, demanding a southern route to the East Hampton Airport over the ocean and Georgica Pond.

This week, those recommendations became official with East Hampton Town Supervisor Bill Wilkinson, Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst, Southold Supervisor Scott Russell and Shelter Island Supervisor James Dougherty, all of who submitted a joint response to the FAA asking the agency to support nine recommendations created by the East End Helicopter Noise Stakeholders Group.

Recommendations made by the stakeholders group have received the support of Congressman Tim Bishop, with New York State Senator Ken P. LaValle, New York State Assemblyman Marc Alessi and Suffolk County Legislator Edward Romaine making similar recommendations to the FAA.

According to Southampton Town Councilwoman Nancy Graboski, Senator Charles Schumer’s office was instrumental in setting up the stakeholders group, which included Kathy Cunningham, the chair of the East Hampton Airport Noise Abatement Advisory Committee, East Hampton Town Councilman Dominick Stanzione, Graboski, airport noise abatement advisory committee members Peter Wadsworth and Charles Ehren, and Shelter Island resident Don Kornrumpf, among others.

The stakeholders group asks the FAA to create two mandatory designated routes, one along the North Shore and one along the South Shore, with pilots required to fly one mile from shore on both routes.

“This is essential in order to accommodate the important southerly transition routes from [the East Hampton Airport] and other East End Airports and to equitably distribute the volume of helicopter traffic using the North and South Shore routes,” reads their statement.

Stakeholders recommend that helicopters flying the North Shore route to East Hampton be required to transition east from Plum Gut, and proceed south to Barcelona Neck and over Route 114 to the East Hampton Airport.

Both the East Hampton Airport and Gabreski Airport should also be empowered directly or through the FAA to manage the number of flights coming into their airports at one time, according to the recommendations, and should be allowed to establish curfews for when flights can take-off and land.

They also ask the FAA to establish procedures in coordination with area airports to monitor and enforce compliance with the proposed routes and that any helicopters maintain an altitude of 3,000 feet when flying over land while departing or arriving at any of the local airports. Pilots should also be mandated to follow noise abatement policies established by each airport, states the group.

“Since the FAA has found that the Long Island helicopter noise problem is unique, the present rulemaking must deal expressly with that problem as it relates to the East End Airports,” said Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne Holst in a letter to the FAA. “Current and recent trends indicate that the burden of helicopter traffic centering on [the East Hampton Airport] will increase substantially in future years, further exacerbating the noise problem for the East End.”

The Noyac Civic Council, as well as a number of Sag Harbor and Noyac residents, would also like to see the northern route require pilots to use Orient Point as a waypoint before flying to East Hampton and Montauk airports.

At a Bridgehampton Citizens Advisory Committee meeting on Monday, Graboski praised the FAA for making “a significant move” by beginning the process of regulating helicopter routes to the East End, but noted the regulations as proposed aid residents in western Suffolk County and Nassau County, more than they do the Twin Forks.

The proposals supported by the four supervisors, she said, would round out the regulations to protect residents on the East End as well.

“It was probably one of the more challenging things we have been involved in,” she said.

The deadline for comments to the FAA was June 25. To view comments submitted to the FAA, visit www.regulations.gov and use the keyword FAA-2010-0302.

Popularity: 2% [?]

By Ellen Frankman

While mold festers in the basement of the Poxabogue Golf Center, Michael Avella waits. The chef and owner of the Love Lane Kitchen in Mattituck is all set to begin his new venture in the space formerly known as the Fairway Restaurant, but a timely opening seems to be slipping further and further away.

At the June 17 Southampton Town Board Work Session, Town Management Services Administrator Richard Blowes assured the board that a discovery of mold is nothing new on the East End. “It certainly has not been an uncommon incident throughout Southampton Town and I’m sure everywhere in this type of climate,” said Blowes.

The issue has nevertheless proved alarming and far more significant than the town and those involved anticipated. Avella, who had hoped to open the Love Lane Café by the July 4 weekend, is now waiting patiently for the town to hire a contractor for the mold remediation project.

According to George Maul, a consultant with Insight Environmental hired by Southampton Town to investigate the problem, three major areas of mold growth exist: the walls of the basement, a rear portion of the café, and the closet of the pro shop.

“The basement is very significant. It’s heavily damaged and probably should be stripped down to the foundation,” Maul informed board members at the meeting. He also made it clear that a major roof leak is likely the cause of the mold, which is both growing and airborne in high concentrations.

In order to remediate the situation as efficiently as possible, Maul suggested isolating each of the three infested areas before gutting them. While his estimated cost of the project was between $40,000 and $50,000 (not including the price of the roof repair), outside contractors have entered quotes for the work as high as $90,000, numbers that both East Hampton and Southampton towns likely cringe at.

While Blowes assured board members that employees and patrons of Poxabogue are in “no imminent danger,” Southampton Town Councilwoman Bridget Flemming found the news rather alarming. Flemming, whose own child suffers from allergies, remarked that the town had an obligation to inform customers of the mold issue. Along with Flemming’s suggestion of a posted notice, recommendations were also made by Maul to seal off the air conditioning and pro shop closet so as to temporarily lower risks.

“I don’t think we can keep the shop open without some very clear notification to anybody who’s going in there,” Flemming stated.

The debate over whether or not the pro shop can remain open is still up in the air.  While Maul appeared confident that the remediation work would take no more than a week, making it feasible for the golf center to stay open during its busiest season, Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst suggested that shutting down Poxabogue briefly would allow for a more rapid and thorough gutting of the building. Either way, all seemed to agree with Maul that “time is of the essence” in handling the matter.

The cost is equally as important for the town. “We need to get a few comparative quotes,” said Throne-Holst.

Meanwhile Avella remains patient. With the intention of Poxabogue’s Love Lane Café having the same “look and feel and atmosphere of Love Lane Kitchen,” Avella emphasized that he is hoping to get into the space as soon as possible.  

“I’m in this for the long haul. I believe we were the right people to put in there. If not this month, next month, and if not next month then the month after,” remarked Avella.

Popularity: 1% [?]