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Best News! Southampton Town Board voted unanimously last night on a resolution to accept terms with LIPA that results in the burial of 100% of the cables on the powerline route on the back roads.
The terms call for a LIPA surcharge based upon consumption — for the East End of the Town, only (excluding Shinnecock, Tuckahoe, and the Shinnecock Reseration). The surcharge will amount to $3.70 per month for the average electric consumer, i.e., bigger houses will pay more than average, and smaller houses less.
At later date, yet to be set, we must go to LIPA headquarters to impress upon LIPA’s Trustees that we expect them to also ratify this agreement. Again, on that day, CGSF will arrange for chartered Jitneys (free to supporters who come, including lunch aboard the return trip).
In the event that LIPA’s Trustees do not ratify the agreement - the Town’s resolution also calls for establishing a Special Tax Assessment District to support payment for the undergrounding. The boundaries of the STAD are yet to be set, but will include Water Mill, part of Bridgehampton, and perhaps, depending upon their agreement, the Villages of Southampton, Sag Harbor, North Haven, and Sagaponack.
Please take the time to send “Thank You” emails to the Southampton Town Board for their good work to preserve and protect our scenic vistas and hurricane escape route. This was a long and hard negotiation for them. Here are their email addresses:
Supervisor Linda Kabot: LKabot@SouthamptonTownNY.gov
Councilman Chris Nuzzi: CNuzzi@SouthamptonTownNY.gov
Councilwoman Anna Throne-Holst: AThrone-Holst@SouthamptonTown.gov
Councilwoman Nancy Groboski: NGraboski@SouthamptonTownNY.gov
Councilman Dan Russo: DRusso@SouthamptonTownNY.gov
We owe a special debt of gratitude to Assemblyman Fred Thiele, who persisted in bringing both sides to this agreement. Without Assemblyman Thiele’s involvement this deal would never have happened. Please tell Assemblyman Thiele you are grateful: thielef@ assembly.state.ny.us
Steve Abramson, Chair
Committee for a Green South Fork
info@buryLIPAcables.com
It’s very exciting news that the Sag Harbor Village Boards are, one by one, approving the plans that have been put forth by Cape Advisors for the Bulova Residential Plan. It’s been said that the project will take 5 years, and the economic rewards to the village will last for at least 100 years.
Peter Neely and Hamptons.com did a video of local merchants here
For more info, also goto: www.savesagharbor.com/
It’s not an uncommon scenario. Not to be cynical, but so much of our destiny is controlled by people who don’t live here, but wish they did, but they can’t and are not very happy about it so they feel a little “so there, you fancy-schmancies” is in order.
It’s why many have been trying to create “Peconic County” consisting of the 5 East End Towns. Why should we be ruled by people who have never even been here, some 50 miles away?
The same for the Long Island Board of Realtors. Why should a board from West Islip regulate how listings are handled on the East End, where we have a very different culture and way of doing business. That’s why HANFRA, the Hamptons and North Fork Realtors Association has grown to 1000 members in recent years - local rule!!
We’ll now we have the Long Island Power Authority - LIPA - who says they need to provide more power lines to the East End in order to keep up with demand, and they want to put up these big ugly poles along our roadways. Needless to say, many of us are against it.
Here’s one of the stories:
With a growing group of local residents coming together to Save Sag Harbor, it’s great to see our local politicians coming together figuring out how to preserve the Bay Street Theater for generations to come.
See Christine Bellini’s article: Theater’s Future Will Be In The Small Print
[tags]beachamptons, sag harbor, save sag harbor, Hamptons, bay street theater, Community preservation fund, conservation[/tags]
The Long Island Power Authority is looking at ways to strengthen the power grid for the East End and, unfortunately, they are seriously considering installing new 60-foot-high power poles on a route from along David Whites Lane in Southampton through Scuttle Hole Road in Bridgehampton to the Sag Harbor Turnpike.
The power lines we have are currently the single largest focus of complaints about vista interruptions. Adding more and higher poles would be exactly the opposite of what the public wants.
Here’s the link to the LIPA PROJECT REPORT
Let your voices be heard at the public meeting LIPA has scheduled on August 21st at 6 PM at the Water Mill Community House located on the Montauk Highway at the light in Water Mill.
[tags]Hamptons, hamptons power grid, LIPA, Stop LIPA power poles, hamptons real estate, underground power lines[/tags]
I moved to Sag Harbor nearly 10 years ago from Remsenberg, a tiny halmet just west of Westhampton. That was after living in New York, Santa Barbara, San Jose, Del Mar and Hingham, Mass.
Sag was - and still is- a number of things that I like in a community; family oriented, casual, shops mostly locally owned and operated, boating all around and quite unassuming. Sag has been known as the “Un-Hampton” for many years…until recently when housing prices have shot up dramatically and those seeking a more relaxed, integrated village lifestyle have been selling their “south of the highway” homes and moving to the Sag Harbor/North Haven area in droves.
The size of the boats that are in the harbor have quadroupled in the last five years. They are not called “boats” - they are called yachts, megayachts and gigayachts.
Then in the last year, a number of condominimum projects have been proposed for “the harbor”, all of which I am in favor of, for they will not only provide a balanced choice of lifestyles in our community, but each of them will replace blight in our village. The Watchcase Factory, The Diner Building and Roccos nightclub.
But THIS CVS THING HAS GONE TOO FAR. I am not in favor of CVS coming to our community at all, never mind opening a 17000 square foot store that belongs next to the Home Depot Expo in Smithtown. Granted , they are probably shooting for the moon, asking for way more size than they know they will be allowed, but geez…THIS IS RIDICULOUS!
Sag Harbor is the only village on the East End that still has a 5&10cent store. Let’s keep this last one open!!!
Check out the NYTimes article below and if you want to participate, go to the links after to sign the petition. md
A Harbor Village Resists Outsiders
[tags]Beach properties, Hamptons, sag harbor, watchcase factory, CVS, cape advisors, save sag harbor, diner building, water street condos[/tags]
It’s becoming a point of contention more and more often between landowners and home owners, here on the glorious East End of Long Island.
What is “Open Space” and what is and is not allowed on an Agricultural Reserve?
The Peconic Land Trust has an informative Glossary of Terms on land conservation, but doesn’t really clear up the differences.
I find that many new homeowners are paying a premium for property “adjacent to reserve” because they believe that the “reserve” will just become an extension of their backyard…until the tractors show up or the farmer decides to build a barn on the property or the owner leases the property to a polo club for the season.
A recent search of online listings on HREO, using the keyword “reserve”, turned up 401 listings, from a $29,500,000 listing in North Haven down to a $319,000 listing “adjacent to reserve” in Riverhead.
Check out this article, by Valerie in the NYT:
As we have said before, due to the lack of comprehensive tracking tools and the reliance on the county recording office, tracking sales here is like using an abacus. Good luck! It can take as long as 6 months before all transfers are recorded…by the time the horse ‘n buggy gets there and back with figures, we’re in another market already.
One way to track closings is revenue reported by the Peconic Bay Community Preservation Fund, which collects a 2% tax for each transaction at the closing table.
According to State Assemblyman Fred Thiele, the five East End towns (Riverhead, Southold, Shelter Island, East Hampton and Southampton) together collected over $53 million for the first 6 months of 2007. That’s compared to $48 million in 2005 and $45 million in 2005.
The CPF also reports the number of transactions as follows:
First 6 months 2007: 4129
First 6 months 2006: 4526
First 6 months 2005: 5133
So, while revenues are up 11% from ‘06 and 17% from ‘05,
the number of transactions are down 9% from ‘06 and nearly 20% from ‘05.
Bigger fish, less of them…md
[tags]Beachamptons, Beach, Michael Daly, Hamptons, hamptons sales figures 2007, Community preservation fund, conservation[/tags]
By CHRISTINA S.N. LEWIS, The Wall Street Journal
July 20, 2007; Page W8
Eight Hamptons Lots
New York attorney and real-estate investor Alan Schnurman has just gotten approval to sell eight lots in a Hamptons subdivision, 41 acres in all, for $64.5 million — about 2½ times what he paid two years ago.
In 2005, the 62-year-old personal-injury lawyer paid $25 million for the farmland, in Sagaponack about a quarter-mile from the ocean. Authorities approved the division last month, says co-listing agent Neil Bersin of Prudential Douglas Elliman. The lots lie just west of one of the largest homes in the country, the 100,000-square-foot mansion owned by investor Ira Rennert.
In May, Mr. Schnurman sold six lots on 26 acres in Bridgehampton to a real-estate developer for the $37.5 million asking price. He’d paid $12 million in 2005, he says. That buyer is now trying to sell the lots for nearly $50 million.
[tags]Beachamptons, Beach properties, Hamptons, sagaponack sales figures[/tags]
Well then - take it out before you put your house on the market.
As a broker, I’ve seen too many deals go bad over buried oil tanks and the arguments over who is responsible, indemnifications and possible long term effects.
Right now, we’re waiting for the DEC letter to give a Bridgehampton property the “clean bill of health” after a buried oil tank was removed.
Interestingly enough, the initial inspection showed there to be “oil in the soil” around the tank, which has to be reported to the DEC. Turns out there was no leak, but perhaps numerous careless “spills” by the oil delivery company in the past. Almost $8,000 later (paid by the seller), the tank is gone and we are over a month late in closing.
So, the seller can’t move on to their new home, the buyers mortgage rate lock is about to expire (and rates are going up). The buyer also wanted to get possession of the house before summer started so he could make some improvements and possibly rent it for the season - sorry.
Nobody is happy.
Underground tank? Take it out.
