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Y ou r entre in to the Leggard retu rn s to You can too. M e m o ra i Day
season ahead, inside sprints and wins, pg18 cerem onies in o u r area, pg 8

sagharboronline.com THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2015 VOLUME 156 NO. 46 ONE DOLLAR

B r id g e h a m p t o n a n d
Sag H a rbo r Schools
Getting Close
On Market Budgets
Zon in g Board
appears ready to
approve HM&K.
> Page 7
m m m
Easily
East Hampton
Eyes Hamlets
Approved
Study w ill address
B itis jo in s Schiavoni
in dividual
com m u n ity needs. and Tice in H a rb o r
> Page 3 BY KATHRYN G. MENU

Airport Regs A VOTE OF CONFIDENCE was clearly

levied Tuesday night in the Sag Harbor
Delayed School District, as residents turned
out overwhelmingly in favor o f the
Judge w ill consider TRO 2015-16 budget and re-elected two in
sought by friends o f the cumbents and one newcomer to the
airport. school board by landslide margins.
Bridgehampton voters also offered
> Page 7 strong support for that districts bud
get and re-elected three board mem-
On th e S creen
Sag H arbor C inema continued on page 10
Phone # 725-0010
Clouds o f Sils M aria (R)
Sun 4:45 p.m. TUe 6 p.m. Sat. Mon. W ed.
Thur. 8 p.m. East End
Felix and M eira (R)
Sat. Thurs. 4 p.m.
Iris (PG-13)
Fri. Sun. Hue. 4 p.m. Sat. Mon. 6 p.m.
The Seven Five (R)
Fri. 6 p.m. Sun 8 p.m. Mon. W ed . 4 p.m.
Camille Clark, Gary McNeil and Bill Pickens at a historic that has been left partially restored at 7 Gull Rock Road. michael heller photos Political
W elcom e to id e (R)
W ed. Thurs. 6 p.m. Fri. TUe. 8 p.m.

Southampton C inema
Phone # 287-2774
N e ig h b o r h o o d s s a y v illa g e h a s tu rn e d its ba ck o n th e m |Shifting
Mad Max: Fury Road (R)
Mad M ax: Fury Road 3D (R) BY STEPHEN I. KOTZ Schneiderm an,
Poltergeist (PG-13)
Poltergeist 3D (PG-13) TS NO SURPRISE that many Sag Har Throne-H oist and
Pitch Perfect 2 (PG-13)
W om an in Gold (PG-13)

East H ampton C inema

S bor residents are up in arms over the
wholesale changes that have been oc
curring in their neighborhoods over
others look ahead
Phone # 324-0448 the past couple of years. BY STEPHEN J. KOTZ
Avengers: A ge o f U ltron (PG-13) Members o f the preservation organiza
Avengers: Age o f U ltron 3D (PG-13) tion, Save Sag Harbor, have become a com SOUTHAMPTON TOWN Supervisor
Ex M achina (R) mon sight at village meetings, where they
Far From The M adding C row d (PG-13)
Anna Throne-Hoist has confirmed
frequently offer a thumbs down to the de that she w ill give up her town posi
Noble (PG-13)
Pitch Perfect 2 (PG-13) velopment du jour unveiled in the village's tion this year and challenge fresh
Tom orrowland (PG) historic district. man Republican Representative Lee
But there is another group o f Sag Harbor Zeldin in 2016 instead.
W eek en d W eather residents, weekenders mostly, who say the This has been suggested to me for
village has ignored a slowly creeping blight some time, Ms. Throne-Hoist said on
spreading across their neighborhoods. Wednesday morning. I finally made
Thursday, May 21 Residents o f three traditionally African- my decision a couple o f weeks ago.
Partly Cloudy American neighborhoods o ff Route 114 on
Temps in the low 60s the east side o f the villageAzurest, Sag Har continued on page 11
bor Hills, and Ninevahsay the village has 1 y
Friday, May 22 for years failed to act on their complaints
about abandoned houses and other code vio
Chance of Showers lations or moved at glacial speed in response Sag H arbor
Temps in the high 60s to them.
The village is excellent at focusing on
Saturday, May 23
Sunny
the historic district but not so good when
it comes to responding to other neighbor
hoods, said Camille Clark, the chairwoman
Hero is
Temps in the high 60s

Sunday, May 24
Mostly Sunny
o f the Sag Harbor Hills Improvement As
sociations government affairs committee.
We are concerned about the performance
Honored
o f the Building Department and whether or
Temps in the low 70s not we are able to get adequate service from 44 years later, county
that department."
Our taxes are subsidizing the historic officer is recognized
INSIDE district," added Gwendolyn Hankin, a resi
dent o f Ninevah, who said residents ask lit BY STEPHEN i. KOTZ
Obituaries 17 tle in the way o f services from the village, D o n t leave these disreputable DENNIS DELANEY was a rookie cop
Opinion 12 but dont expect to be ignored either.
We are calling into question the whole when a call came
Arts & Leisure Bl
Calendar B2
performance o f the land-use portion o f the looking places in our nice over his radio on
village government," said Gary McNeil, a the night o f April
Classifieds 14 6, 1971, reporting
Sports 18
resident o f Azurest.
Ive walked through the area and there
neighborhood. It s an insult to that a fellow officer
are many derelict houses," conceded Tom had been shot while
responding to a call
The Hometown Newspaper of
Preiato, the village's senior building in
spector, this week. I did commit to getting
the property owners here, it is a in Wyandanch. Offi
KATHERINE BATTLE cer Delaney raced to
some kind o f compliance there, and Im not
808805932782 going to give up. The problem is Ive been
met by 12 to 15 undeliverable letters. These
safety and health issue. the scene, arriving there at about the
same time as Officer Anthony Pierri.
are absentee owners.... That said, its not an Forty-four years later, at a May 12
BILL PICKENS
continued on page 20
continued on page 15

f T h e W h it e R a b b it K n e w A b o u t O n e O f O u r

2 5 J it n e y s A D a y , H e W o u ld N e v e r H a v e B e e n L a t e

F o r H is V e r y Im p o r t a n t D a t e .
Our story is our times. HamptonJitney.com 631.283.4600
 PAGE 20
Communities feel abandoned by village
continued from page
m t lt im t P r J fr o m
1
e ra 1
excuse."
Residents o f the three separate de
velopments that blend into one an
other along Sag Harbor Bay point to
long abandoned houses that serve as
attractive nuisances to kids and rent-
free housing for raccoons, rodents,
and even deer and wild turkeys like
one at 72 Walker Avenue. A portion o f
the exterior wall is missing, there is a
hole in the roof, and an exposed foun
dation about 8 feet deep that was once
covered by a deck now poses a hazard
to an exploring child.
On Hillside Drive East, a well-kept
house is flanked on either side by
abandoned houses. Across the street
is a long abandoned foundationresi
dents say when the couple who owned
the property divorced, neither side
wanted to bother with it.
A tarp covers much o f the roof o f
another decaying house at 40 Mer
edith Avenue, where a gaping hole
opens to the elements high on one
wall and an old sedan sits in the drive
way. The house across the street at 39
Meredith is also abandoned, its lawn
overgrown, a broken mailbox lying
on the ground. Just down the block,
at the corner o f Cadmus Road, there is
another long abandoned house, with
a large number 11 spraypainted on a
padlocked door.
Others houses, while occupied, are
allowed to languish, they say, like
S in c e 1954
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one at 233 Hampton Street, where a
window replacement job has been
left unfinished for at least five years,
even though the village code contains
language requiring residents to main
tain their property.
In other cases, they complain that
lax oversight by village review boards
has led to the construction o f houses
that are too large for their lots or sim
ply out o f character with the neigh
borhood. The poster child for their
scorn is what appears to be a three-
story Victorian house with green sid
ing that takes up most o f a clear-cut
lot at the corner o f Beach Avenue and
Route 114.
It looks like the Addams Family
house," said Bill Pickens, a resident o f
Ninevah Place.
The Mcmansion craze is being un
leashed in our community," added Ms.
Clark, who said a neighbor o f 6 Beach
Avenue has suffered from flooding
because the house takes up most o f
the property and fill continues to be
brought in, raising the grade.
The neighbors may not like it, but
the property at 6 Beach Avenue was
approved by the Board o f Historic
Preservation and Architectural Re
view, according to Mr. Preiato and it
meets the requirements o f the zoning
code. What appears to be a third floor
is an attic, but i f there are signs it is
used as living space, Mr. Preiato said
he would issue tickets. The building
inspector said he had yet to see the
Lets Settle This.
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The Sag Harbor Express
_
flooding that Ms. Clark complained
about, but added the owners plan to
put in drywells to retain runoff on
their property.
Although Ms. Clark said she and
other community members have
been making frequent complaints to
the village, they say the first time it
responded was when a group o f them
turned up at a village board meeting
in February, at which the board an
nounced it would take steps to safe
guardand even demolishthe long
decrepit Morpurgo house at 6 Union
Street.
At that meeting, Mr. Pickens said
there were plenty o f houses in his
neighborhood that could use some at
tention. As a result, Mr. Preiato, who
had only joined the village staff a few
months earlier, drew up a list o f 11
problem houses he would target in
the village10 o f them in the Azurest,
Sag Harbor Hills, and Ninevah neigh
borhoods.
Sense o f Pride
The burr under Mr. Pickenss saddle
is a house at 7 Gull Rock Road, right
behind his own home. That house was
moved to its current site about four
years ago from its original location
in Sagaponack, where it had been the
home in the early 20th century o f Bev
erly Stewart, the only African-Ameri
can to own farmland in Sagaponack.
According to Mr. Pickens, a new
foundation Was poured, the lot was
graded, and the house was slid into
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position. Because the house is placed
in a deep depression on the lot, a pass
erby looks into a second-floor window.
Although some initial work was done,
the house, which is not sided, was
soon allowed to languish. Today, a
plank leads to an open door and win
dows are open. A hole in the roof was
recently patched with a piece o f tar
paper. Construction debris and other
garbage is strewn about the lot.
Dont leave these disreputable
looking places in our nice neighbor
hood," Mr. Pickens said. Its an insult
to the property owners here, it is a
safety and health issue."
Mr. Pickens said an influx o f new,
absentee landowners, who dont have
the sense o f community that has long
been a hallmark o f the three neigh
borhoods, is a problem. Where is OUT OF PLACE ? michael heller photo
your integrity? Where is your honor?"
he asked. Did your parents or grand This new Victorian house at 6 Beach Avenue has drawn the ire of neighbors who say it is out
parents treat their neighbors this of place in the neighborhood.
way?
Other residents said a number o f
the questionable homes are owned by
second and third generation owners,
whose parents or grandparents were
part o f the initial wave o f professional
African-Amerjeans who were able to
afford a second house on the East End
The M cm a n sion craze is
in the post-World War II years, even
though local banks would not provide
them with building loans. being unleashed in o u r
We built our house in 1956 and
my father paid cash because he could
not get a mortgage, said Andrea Cott-
man, an Azurest resident, who said
c o m m u n ity
that self-reliance was a source o f great
pride.
Ms. Clark said the neighborhoods
C AM ILLE CLARK
of S a g Harbor H ills
provided a summertime oasis for the
families o f African-American teach
ers, police officers and other profes
sionals.
There is 65 to 75 years o f histories
in these communities, said Ms. Clark. mal, she said. Its a much more in ment could respond to our leader
There is a lifestyle, a culture, a way your face thing."
o f life, away from the madding crowd ship, she said. But the answer we get
While residents fault the village for is Were working on it.
o f the city.
a slow response, they say they dont Mr. Preiato said he could only ask for
She said she could not put her fin believe racism is involved. The main
ger on why owners have allowed their thing is they arent doing a good job
patience. The village has reached out
houses to fall into disrepair, suggest managing the changes, said Ms. to the property owners and w ill soon
ing that perhaps it is because many Hankin. It doesnt matter i f you are start to ticket those that do not make
descendants o f original homeown white, black, red, green, they are just improvements. Some o f the proper
ers no longer live anywhere near the incompetent." ties, including 72 Walker Avenue and
New York area. They just continue to Ms. Clark said efforts to remedy the
40 Meredith Avenue, may have gone
pay the taxes, she surmised, expect situation have been stymied because beyond the point o f simply being
ing the land to continue to escalate in rundown to where they now pose a
the Building Department is under threat to health and safety, meriting a
value so they can sell out some day.
staffed. She charged complaint letters request to the village board to secure
Renee Simons, another Sag Har often do not make their way into the
bor resident, said with the shortage them or even order their owners to de
file and complaints made at village
o f building lots on the East End, the board meetings do not show up in the' molish them, he said.
neighborhoods have caught the eye o f minutes. She also said the ARB, which The wheels o f government do turn
speculators, who have begun to buy reviews many applications, does not slowly, he said. Im doing the best I
up old houses and replace them with can. Im not letting it go. All I can say
print legal notices o f its agendas.
luxury homes. We are in a new nor- is have faith.
It seems that the Building Depart
Southampton
HISTORICAL
MUSEUM
IN S ID E R S
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