What Is a Blog and Does Sag Hampton Need One?

Posted on November 20, 2008 by Saltbox

If you’re reading this online, you most likely already know what a blog is, and probably think this blog is a worthwhile undertaking. However, for my online-only readers I should explain that occasionally The Sag Harbor Express picks up a blog post from here and publishes it as an opinion piece in the print-edition of the paper. Many readers of The Express think of me as an occasional columnist for the paper, and are only marginally aware, if aware at all, that what they read in the paper has a separate life online. This post is for them.

Although you may not know it, Sag Hampton is a blog, not a newspaper column. There word blog is a shortened form of the word weblog. Weblogs are designed to allow someone, anyone, to self-publish their writing, and give voice to their opinions in a public, online forum in a format that makes it possible for readers to comment on and add their own thoughts to what has been written. So, when you read something by me in the Sag Harbor Express, I’ve actually written it for my blog on the Internet, where it has a life of its own separate from the newspaper version. I write lots of stuff online. Sometimes the editor of The Express decides to publish it in the paper, sometimes not.

Sometimes, they publish a version of what I’ve written shortened to fit in the space they have available. Sometimes they capture the essence of what I’ve written in the shorter version, but sometimes it ends up too short to really make the point I’m trying to get across. When that happens, though, you — the reader of the newspaper version — can go to the web and read the full version. You’ll always find a link to my blog at The Express’ web site: http://www.sagharboronline.com.

Now here’s the cool part. Both the editor of the newspaper and I think that it would be great to know what people in the community are thinking about the issues we write about. Sure, you can write a letter to the paper, but that may not be your style. Maybe you’re a bit more spontaneous, or would prefer a less formal way to express your thoughts. Perhaps everything you have to say about an issue can be summed up in one sentence and you think it’s just too short to make a good letter to the editor. If any of that applies to you, or you just like being a part of the online community, then the blog is made to order for you, because blogs, by design, are meant to encourage two-way communications. At the end of each article in Sag Hampton there is a place for you to leave a “comment.” In other words, a spot for you to have your say about the issue, or about what I’ve written. Others can comment too, and one person can comment on another person’s comment, giving us all a chance to have a real dialog online. Everyone can read it, everyone can participate in it. Comments can be signed, or anonymous. You must enter your e-mail address, but it is not published. Again this is different than writing a letter to the editor. When you do that, you have to sign it (even if your name isn’t published). On the blog, you can be completely anonymous if you chose. Even I won’t know who you are.

I blog (yes, it’s a verb too) because I want to start a discussion with other members of my community; so I invite you to visit Sag Hampton online where you can not only read the full text of every article (called blog posts), but also find other posts that were never published in the newspaper. And best of all, you can add your two cents (or more) to the discussion.

By the way, for those of you who do read Sag Hampton online, I would love it if instead of stopping me on the street to discuss what I’ve written (or in addition to that), you would add a comment to the blog. Even if it’s only to say that you agree (or disagree). It’s great  for me to know what you think, but not so great that you’re depriving the rest of the community of the benefit of you opinion. Please share your thoughts with the rest of the community on Sag Hampton.

Posted in About This Blog, Blog Stuff | 2 Comments

Why Isn’t the Village of Sag Harbor Supporting the Sag Harbor Gateway Study?

Posted on October 20, 2008 by Saltbox

It would seem, at first glance, to be a no-brainer. The Southampton Planning Department recently completed a study that recommends changing the zoning of a small area along the Sag Harbor-Bridgehampton Turnpike (the “Gateway” to Sag Harbor) from Highway Business to Hamlet Office. Since this area lies outside the Village’s borders, its zoning is under the control of the Town. It was the Town-appointed Sag Harbor Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) that initially suggested that a study be conducted; however, it was only after the study received the active support of the Village’s Mayor that the Town agreed to go ahead with it. Given that the study had the support of the Mayor, the CAC, CONPOSH, The Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt, and other organizations, it would seem, as I said, a no-brainer that the Village would now endorse its findings, and encourage the adoption of the recommended change in zoning. Yet, the Village Trustees recently passed on an opportunity to make such a recommendation to the Southampton Town Board. Why?

A little background may be in order. Highway Business is one of, if not the most, permissive of zoning categories. Virtually anything is allowed, car dealerships, lumber yards, car washes, warehouses, and more — basically the same mix of businesses that you currently find along County Road 39 in Southampton. It’s not pretty. The Hamlet Office category is quite a bit more restrictive, allowing a much smaller mix of low-traffic types of businesses, such as, well, offices. Private residences are also allowed. In fact, the character of an area zoned as Hamlet Office is, by design, primarily residential. Hamlet Office-zoned locales are meant to serve as transitional zones between the surrounding residential areas and the commercial hamlet centers. On the other hand, the character of an area zoned Highway Business is unapologetically strip mall. So, under current zoning, the area along the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike just outside the Village could end up populated with high-traffic, high-intensity businesses of the most unattractive variety. Again, think County Road 39.

As previously stated, in the study the Southampton Planning Department recommended that given the nature of the area, changing views of the community as to the types of development found acceptable in residential areas, as well as environmental concerns related to the proximity of Long Pond Greenbelt, Ligonee Creek and related wetlands, the zoning be changed, and that the preferred alternative should be Hamlet Office.

Now, you may have noticed that there are already a few businesses along this part of the Turnpike. What would happen to them if the zoning were to change? Nothing. They would be, of right, grand-fathered as pre-existing non-conforming businesses, and would be allowed to continue as such basically forever.

Yet, at least one of these business owners is not happy with the proposed change. Robert Reid, of Reid Brothers Inc., has voiced his opposition to the change, stating that it will limit his ability to further develop his property in some, as yet unspecified, way. He is, of course, correct in that if he should desire, say to develop his property in a way that would substantively change the nature of the business conducted there, it would not be allowed. Not long ago, Mr. Reid did propose such a change, but withdrew his plan when it was determined that the potential environmental impact was of a significant enough nature to require a full environmental impact study (EIS).

With that background in mind, let’s look again at the Village Trustees’ lack of support for Southampton’s Draft Gateway Study, which was undertaken at the Mayor’s request to protect the visual and enviromental integrity of one of the main entrances to  Sag Harbor Village. The only opposition to the study’s recommendations has come from two of the businesses in the study area (which, you will recall is outside the of the Village’s borders). Should that matter to the Village Trustees? Well, maybe…

Maybe it would if one of the business owners had offered his property as a staging area for the trucks and work crews at the recently approved Bulova Watchase condominium project. It would especially matter if that property owner was the developer’s only remaining option for a staging area, after having been refused access to other areas they had proposed for this purpose. Still, the business owner will be paid by the Bulova developers for the use of his property, so why should the Village be concerned about voicing approval for the Gateway Study even if the property owner in question, Mr. Reid, doesn’t care for it? I suspect the answer has something to do with the EIS that Reid never undertook for a project that looked quite similar to the use his property will be put to by the Bulova contractors. Reid’s previous proposal called for a “contractor’s” garage and storage area, that would allow contractors from out of the area to store their trucks, equipment and supplies at a local “depot,” which could then be used as a staging area for their work crews each morning as they arrived here from the companies’ home offices further west. That propsed use was deemed possibly too intensive for the location, and so an EIS was required before the project could continue. This time around, no study is required since no construction is involved, even though the propsed use is very similar to Reid’s original plan.

However, this use of the property, which is unrelated to the Reid’s current business there, flies in the face of the conclusions of the Gateway Study, which, if adopted, would prohibit such a change in use for a pre-existing, non-conforming business. It also, creates the potential for the type of serious environmental impact that led the Town’s Planning Board to previously require the EIS.

Still, you may ask, why should the Village Trustees let this interfere with their endorsement of a change that would be of great benefit to the Village while costing them nothing? Well you may ask, and I hope you do. One factor which may be relevant is that prior to the Bulova project’s approval, much pressure was exerted on the Village government by the business community and others on behalf of the Bulova devleopers. At times, these folks made it seem that the entire future of the Village depended on the Bulova project being approved. As we all know, the project was ultimately approved, but perhaps that feeling of desparation persists. If so, it could be clouding the vision of our elected representatives to the point where they feel they must protect the interests of the developers, whatever the cost in other areas. Maybe, maybe not. It’s a question worth asking, though.

Posted in Development, Government, Property Rights | Comments Off

Is There Poverty in the Hamptons?

Posted on October 15, 2008 by Saltbox

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:

According to NationMaster.com, data from the 2000 Census (the latest data available) shows that in the Town of Southampton, “The median income for a household in the town is $53,887, and the median income for a family is $65,144. Males have a median income of $47,167 versus $32,054 for females. The per capita income for the Town is $31,320. 8.3% of the population and 5.3% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 10.2% of those under the age of 18 and 6.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.“

In the Town of East Hampton in the year 2000 (again, according to NationMaster.com) the situation was similar. “The median income for a household in the town is $52,201 and the median income for a family is $60,743. Males have a median income of $42,041 versus $31,732 for females. The per capita income for the Town is $31,300. 9% of the population and 6.7% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 11.2% of those under the age of 18 and 6.2% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.“  (This data was corrected by me to reflect actual U.S. Census data for the Town of East Hampton. The NationMaster article reported data for the East Hampton CDP  — Census Designated Place — which is different than the Town. Don’t ask me how it’s different; I only have so much patience for research.)

The government uses a table to determine the poverty level for households of differing compositions. Here are two examples for the year 2000: A household of four people, two of them under 18 years of age, would be classified as poor if their annual income was below $17,463; a household of two people where the “householder” is over sixty-five would be classified as poor if their annual income was below $10,419. (Those figures were increased to $21,550 and $12,027 respectively for the year 2007.) Combined, the two towns comprising the South Fork had a population of 74,431 in the year 2000, of which 6,126 individuals lived in government-defined poverty. That’s 8.2% of the population, over 1,000 families, who were living in poverty in the Hamptons in the year 2000.

As a point of reference, a couple who are both employed full time (37.5 hours/week) in minimum wage ($7.15 p.h.) jobs, working 51 weeks a year (1 week unpaid vacation, no sick days, no personal days) would gross $27,349 for that year. If they have two children, they would be slightly above the 2007 poverty level — assuming neither one misses much work due to personal or family illness, or other obligations.

So, clearly, the answer is yes, there is poverty in the Hamptons. Who is poor? My research abilities do not extend to that level of detail, but I’m guessing I know at least one family, probably more, who are struggling to make ends meet here in one of the nation’s wealthiest communities. I’m also guessing a few of my retired friends may be close to the poverty borderline too, especially now, after the recent economic meltdown has either jacked up their mortgage rate, devastated their invested retirement funds, or both.

Then, of course, we have the sad state of affairs, often commented on in this blog: the complete lack of affordable housing. This dearth of reasonably priced places to live  is driving lower- and middle-class people out of the area. Even with what might be considered adequate incomes elsewhere, these folks can’t find a place to live in Sag Hampton. Now, compounding this crisis — and a crisis is what it is for reasons that have been documented elsewhere on this blog — we have the credit crunch, which makes getting a mortgage impossible even for those half-dozen or so lucky individuals who have actually found a home they can afford to buy.

But, I digress. From a poverty perspective, the “affordable housing” problem is not about the folks who can’t find a place to live, it’s about those who have managed to find a place to call home, but in order to afford it have to devote an impossibly high percentage of their income to paying the rent or mortgage. At the end of every month they then find themselves without enough money to pay for other necessities of life. The result is a class of people who, while earning incomes substantially above the government’s poverty level, still can’t afford to both eat and get healthcare; pay their taxes, and buy fuel oil; buy work clothes and buy gas to get to work. It’s poverty Sag Hampton style, but the effects are nonetheless debilitating. Ultimately, these families are forced to make a decision as to whether they want to stay here, in the communities in which they were nurtured, close to family and friends, or to move somewhere else where they will be able to afford all the necessities of life.

So, poverty comes in different forms. I wouldn’t think of comparing the plight of cash-strapped homeowners in Sag Harbor, to the refugees in Darfur. The suffering faced by refugees and the victims of war, famine, despotic governments, and natural disasters, the world over is several orders of magnitude more severe than anything seen in Sag Hampton. Yet, poverty on any level has serious repercussions for both the individual and the community. Our towns and the people in them are not immune to this disease; it’s here among us and requires a personal response from each of us. In the land of the $10.00 bowl of oatmeal, no one should be cold or hungry.

Do something:
The Sag Harbor Food Pantry
Long Island Cares
Peconic Habitat for Humanity

If you know of other worthwhile local organizations, please add their contact information in the comments. Thanks.

Posted in Affodable Housing, Blog Action Day, Values | 1 Comment

Share the Road?

Posted on September 22, 2008 by Saltbox

A few weeks ago I included an anecdote about bike paths in one of my posts here on Sag Hampton. It was just an anecdote in an article that was about something else entirely — but I made the point that a bike path could be beneficial in jump starting increased use of bicycles as a means of transportation, in addition to the way they’re mostly used — as a form of recreation. In that post, I did not develop the idea at any length, because — well, the article was about something else. This past weekend though, the need for more bike-friendly roadways was brought home to me in a very powerful way.

On Sunday, Bobbie and I were on our way to New York to visit some freinds from my college days. As we were driving down Scuttlehole Road, we began to pass a steady stream of bicyclists. The further we went, the more bicyclists there were. Obviously, it was some sort of planned ride. Now as anyone who has driven or biked on Scuttlehole knows, this road is far from an ideal place to ride a bicycle. It is a major back road “shortcut” used by countless motorists to avoid the stretch of Montauk Highway that bottlenecks in Bridgehampton. It’s also a quick way to get to Sag Harbor, and maybe, via Rt. 114 to East Hampton and beyond. Unfortunately, although it’s used by an inordinately large number of vehicles, it is only two lanes wide (one in each direction), has many twists and turns, at least one of which is entered blindly from either direction, a roundabout that can barely accommodate the cars that squeeze through it (and can’t accommodate the trucks and buses that also use this back country road) and has no shoulders anywhere along its length. In short, a road that’s barely safe for motorists, and entirely unsuitable for any other form of transportation.

Well, as I was saying, riding along this very dangerous road, which was crowded with weekend traffic, were at least fifty or sixty cyclists strung out over its entire length. Now, as inconvenient as this was for me as a driver, I’m not going to say that they did not have a right to be there. They were clearly well within their rights. I’m also not going to vent about the few who found it necessary to ride two and even three abreast, forcing traffic to a crawl behind them. Annoying, but not a crime. But what I am going to complain about, and LOUDLY, was that at least two of these bicyclists had children riding along with them in this potentially deadly exercise. One had what looked to be a homemade tandem bike, larger in the front, and smaller in  back so his child could ride along behind him. This one wobbled so badly at one point that Bobbie and I both flinched as we thought they were going to tumble over in front to our car. The other cyclist with child was towing one of those covered child carriers behind his bike. I assume there was a very young child inside, or what would be the point of towing the device? I was and am aghast that any parent would knowingly subject his or her child to a situation as fraught with peril as riding a bike on Scuttlehole road. I can see no justification/excuse for that behavior. And, as we all should do with our friends who have had too much to drink, their bicycling buddies should have “taken away their keys,” rather than acquiescing to this insanity.

OK, these two parents were irresponsible, and it made me sad and angry, but why blog about it? The answer is simply that bicycles, whether for recreation, sport, or transportation have long been part of the local scene here in Sag Hampton, and as fuel costs continue to rise with no relief in sight (or even possible, despite the “drill baby drill” nonsense) we will undoubtedly see an ever increasing number of bicycles on our roads. Where will they go to fit in safely? And, if a bicyclist wants to ride from Sag Harbor to Water Mill, and bring his or her child along, what route will they travel? Currently, there is no good answer to these questions. Yes, there is a Bike Committee in Southampton Town. All volunteers, they have done an admirable job of putting together a plan for bike paths, lanes, and routes (all different, but that’s another story). However, given the restrictions they have had to work under, the plan is fragmented and incomplete. Even if fully implemented, best case you will be able ride safely on some roads, but not others. This may work for recreational bikers, but it’s wholly inadequate for anyone hoping to use a bicycle for serious transportation.

That’s a shame, because a road system that truly accommodates bikers is not only good for them, but good for the rest of us too. More people on bikes means fewer people in cars. Fewer cars on the roads means less traffic, less pollution, less noise, fewer automobile accidents, and fewer frayed tempers. It could also mean fewer overweight children and adults, as we get in shape by rediscovering our ability to generate our own power. As more of us get in shape, we remove some of the strain on our precarious health care system, and potentially lower the cost of health insurance for everyone. (When there are more healthy people in a plan, the insurer faces less risk, and can lower the cost to all members of the plan.)

So, in a perverse way I’m grateful to those two irresponsible parents who endangered their children on Scuttlehole road this weekend, because they’ve made me think more deeply about why our local governments need to get off their asses and get to work developing a serious plan to make our roadways more accommodating to bicyclists. A few “Share the Road” signs are not a plan. Really. There are lots of good reasons to get out ahead of this issue before it reaches critical mass. This time, let’s not wait until the issue has to be addressed because of a rising accident toll a la County Road 39.

And, since you were probably wondering, no, I don’t (currently) ride a bike.

Posted in Behavior, Transportation | 5 Comments

A Simple Question with No Simple Answer

Posted on September 14, 2008 by Saltbox

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. I opened my mouth to answer, but found I couldn’t decide. Not because I didn’t have an opinion, but because I was suddenly acutely aware — not for the first time — that all these issues are deeply interrelated and interdependent. Given that reality, it seemed to me that singling out any one issue would unfairly shortchange the others.

A very obvious example of how the important issues we face often intersect is the seeming conflict that exists between open space preservation and the creation of more affordable housing. In a nutshell, that conflict can be stated as every acre of open space that is preserved is an acre of land no longer available as a possible site for affordable housing. One might also say the inverse is true as well: more affordable housing equals less open space. Of course, it’s not that simple. Nothing ever is. The real conflict is not between open space and affordable housing; it’s really between high-end housing and open space. Rarely is affordable housing proposed in an area that is also desirable for preservation. Has anyone heard of a plan to put affordable housing in the farm fields of Sagaponack? Not likely. But those fields are definitely vulnerable to subdivision into lots suitable for a new crop of McMansions. When affordable housing is proposed, which as we all know is not very often, it is almost always in areas that are already well developed, and so not in conflict with open space preservation.

So, all is well, or so it would seem; but this happy little scenario gets turned on its head when viewed from the perspective of the aforementioned “well developed” area. Take for instance, Sag Harbor Village, which is almost at the complete build-out stage. In the Village, open space is at a premium, and many of those who live in the Village would certainly like to see as much as possible of what’s left preserved. So when, as recently happened, the owner of one of the few remaining undeveloped parcels proposes a mixed use development — one that will include both offices and housing — all of it affordable — we are faced with quite a conundrum. Adding to the complication is the fact that the parcel abuts the northern end of the Long Pond Greenbelt, and that it may be part of the migratory range of the endangered Tiger Salamander. So, do we encourage the Town to offer to purchase this property with money from the Community Preservation Fund, or do we encourage the developer to go ahead with his plans to create some desperately needed affordable housing for the community’s police, firefighters, teachers and others in the endangered species known as the middle class?

In my mind that’s a tough call. But, so far, we’ve only examined the intersection of open space preservation and affordable housing. If you thought it was going to be that simple, think again. What about that other major East End headache, traffic? As you undoubtedly already know — unless you never drive in the morning, mid-day, or afternoon — commuting workers are one of, if not the most, significant factor contributing to the congestion on our roads. Why do so many area employees commute to work here? Because, they can’t afford to live here due to a lack of affordable housing. So, it stands to reason that one way to reduce traffic would be to make more affordable housing available in the Sag Hampton area. And, where should this affordable housing be? Well, if we really want to reduce traffic, the housing should be as close as possible to businesses and other major public resources like schools, stores, and professional offices. Ideally this new housing stock would be built within walking or biking distance of the aforementioned community resources, i.e., in hamlet centers like Sag Harbor. All perfectly sensible, unless your priority is to preserve the tiny bit of open space that remains in the Village.

However, if you take a slightly broader perspective, it makes perfect sense to encourage hamlet centers such as Sag Harbor, East and Southampton Villages, and downtown Bridgehampton, among others, to accept both additional housing and businesses, because doing so reduces suburban and commercial sprawl and takes the development pressure off the more pristine outlying areas. This makes sense from a public transportation perspective too, as the more people that live and work in an area, the easier it is to serve those people with public transit. A public bus in Northwest doesn’t make a lot of sense; there just aren’t enough people and businesses there to make it worthwhile. But a bus that serves the Villages of East Hampton, Sag Harbor and Southampton, as well as the hamlets of Wainscott, Bridgehampton and Water Mill (especially if each of those hamlet centers also has some new affordable housing within walking or biking distance of downtown) makes a lot of sense. Buses such as these would not only ease congestion on our roads, but also reduce stresses on the environment such as motor vehicle-created air pollution. And, as we focus more  development in the hamlet centers we reduce the pressure to develop farm fields and wooded areas throughout the East End.

The scenario I’ve just been describing is sometimes known as smart growth. It’s a highly-regarded strategy among planning professionals, but not always so popular among our local politicians. To be fair to the politicians, there are valid reasons for this lack of popularity, including the additional stress on our schools, sewage treatment plants, and other public services that come along with increased density. Unhappily, there’s always a trade-off. Housing affects open space. Open space affects transportation. Transportation affects the environment. Or, looked at another way, housing affects transportation. Transportation affects open space and the environment. Take your pick, or come up with your own formula. The combinations are endless…but not insoluble. The key is to start somewhere. We may not be able to say which of our concerns is the “most” important, but we can acknowledge that it is important to get started working wherever possible.  As we proceed we must pay attention to the collateral impact that any action we take will have in other equally important areas.

So, in the end, I told the candidate that affordable housing was “my issue.” It’s what I care about the most right now. I chose it because it is the most neglected of the major issues confronting Sag Hampton. I also told her I was concerned about the impact any development would have on open space preservation and the character of the Village, as well as being very concerned about threats to the environment. So, while I did pick one issue,  in so doing, I actually picked them all.

Posted in Affodable Housing, Development, Open Space, Transportation | Comments Off