Over Development / Inappropriate Development Simply put, over development is the poison that will kill the golden goose. As we all know, people love this area because of its natural beauty, open vistas, fresh air, and rural feel. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that suburban sprawl, McMansion ghettos, charmless villages filled with [...]
Posts under ‘Affodable Housing’
Is There Poverty in the Hamptons?
I’m taking part in Blog Action Day, which is today, October 15, 2008. On this day, bloggers all over the world are writing on one topic: poverty. Most blogs have a theme — something that serves as the subject matter, or at least background — for all the articles in the blog. Some themes lend themselves more easily to a post on poverty than others. My theme, as you probably know, is the Hamptons, with a focus on Sag Harbor. Poverty, in any form, rarely comes to mind when one discusses the Hamptons, except perhaps as the antithesis of the Sag Hampton lifestyle. This makes writing about poverty a bit of a challenge for me, if I’m going to try to stick to my theme — which I mostly try to do.
So, I thought a little research might be in order to find out if there is any poverty in the Hamptons. Here’s what I found out: ..
A Simple Question with No Simple Answer
The other day a candidate for political office who lives in a different part of the Town, asked me to fill her in on issues important to Sag Harbor. Easy…many of these issues are among my daily obsessions: development, preservation of open space, protecting the environment, affordable housing, transportation issues, preserving the “character” of the area, and education. I may have missed one or two; feel free to remind me if I did. Anyway, all was going well until she asked me which one was most important. …
So, Where Do We Put the Affordable Housing, Take Two
Transportation issues are on everyone’s mind again even though the worst of the summer season is over. (So, you’re thinking, “what’s that got to do with affordable housing? — wait, I’ll get there.) The much hyped South Fork Commuter Connection (SFCC), comprised of extra Long Island Railroad trains between Speonk and Montauk, and feeder buses to take commuters from the …
Saving Sag Harbor
There’s a new and very active group in our community calling itself Save Sag Harbor. Its primary mission is to preserve Main Street’s traditional look and business mix — mostly small locally-owned stores and restaurants — by preventing national chains and big box stores like CVS from moving in and driving up commercial rents to the point where they are …
Is This the Land of No?
Sometime it feels like we’re living in the Land of No. There are quite a few things in recent memory to which one or another Sag Hampton group has said (or tried to say) NO!
Many folks said no to the NYS Department of Transportation a few years ago when they proposed a roundabout at the wharf end of Main …
Can You Hear Us Now?
Last Tuesday, a little jet-lagged, yet clear of purpose, I attended a public meeting called by the Planning Board of the Village of Sag Harbor to hear public comments on the proposed condominium project at the old Bulova watchcase factory. I went to speak, or more accurately, to lobby for the inclusion of some affordable units among the 81 condominiums proposed for this site. I figured that I would be one of two or three speakers to bring up this issue, and that I already knew who else would speak on this topic. Never assume… …
What Sag Harbor Can Learn From Brooklyn’s Atlantic Yards
Ordinarily, you wouldn’t expect to find a lot of similarities between Sag Harbor and Brooklyn. But while reading an Op-Ed piece in Saturday’s New York Times by Jennifer Egan (author of the novel The Keep
And Now for the Not So Good
A couple of weeks ago I made a list of some positive developments here in Sag Hampton in an effort to cheer myself (and you, if you needed it) up. It worked. I had a very pleasant holiday, barely giving a thought to local issues. I hope your holidays were equally pleasant. I called that post “The Good” and promised “The Bad and the Ugly” would follow. With the holidays over, now is as good a time as any to explore the clouds whose silver lining I praised last time. …
The Good (Next: The Bad and maybe The Ugly)
OK, so it’s the week before Christmas (Hanukkah’s already underway) and I’m pretty grumpy about how slowly grind the wheels of progress around here. But grumpy is just not an appropriate way to be feeling at this time of year. So, I’ve made myself a deal. Today, I’ll make a list of the positive developments in the Sag Hampton area in an attempt …
