‘Eyesore’ on Bridgehampton Main to Be Razed
The Bridgehampton Fire District, which bought the building on Main Street that once housed the Pulver Gas Company in 2011 for $3.9 million, will tear it down by the end of the month. While it is in a prominent place in downtown Bridgehampton, across from the Post Office and Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Catholic Church, the district’s fire commissioners have said it is not architecturally significant, is in unsafe condition, and that it would not be financially feasible to restore it to meet current codes and standards. John O’Brien, one of the commissioners, called it an eyesore.
“The building can’t be saved,” Mr. O’Brien said, adding that previous owners had not maintained the building structurally. “The floors are shot,” and asbestos, which has since been removed, was found. “It’s actually cheaper to tear it down and get rid of it.”
Last month, the district awarded a bid of $129,000 to Keith Grimes, a Bridgehampton contractor, to demolish the building. The district is waiting for PSEG-Long Island to certify that the electricity has been disconnected before finalizing necessary permits, according to Bruce Dombkowski, the chairman of the board of fire commissioners. “We’ll proceed to knock down as soon as we get that. Hopefully two or three weeks,” he said. The property will then be graded and planted with grass and a post-and-rail fence will be installed facing the street.
“We’re aware members of the community have been concerned with the empty building and the future of the property, and are happy we can now move ahead to improve both Main Street in Bridgehampton and the quality of the Fire Department’s service,” said Ray Topping, who was, until Jan. 4, the chairman of the board.
At 2339 Montauk Highway, with more than 95 feet of street frontage, the building was put up in 1921 as a Studebaker car dealership. The company’s seal can still be seen etched into second-story concrete. The back of the property, which is .64 of an acre, abuts the firehouse, on School Street.
The district has no immediate plans for the property. “Eventually, we’re going to have to put up another building,” Mr. O’Brien said. “What kind of building, how big a building, and when? We don’t know.”
The district is still paying off a 15-year bond with a 3.5-percent interest rate that costs taxpayers about $26 a year per $1 million of assessed value. Mr. Dombkowski said it was likely that the district would wait until the bond has been paid off before constructing a new building. “I probably won’t be there when they do that,” he said.
In a referendum in October 2011, voters approved the $3.9 million purchase. The commissioners at the time did not have clear plans for the property, with Pulver maintaining its lease for another two years. Earlier that year, the district shelved an $8 to $9 million renovation and expansion plan for the firehouse after it failed to gain community support. Later, in 2014, voters approved a $1 million renovation, which was completed last year.
The district covers 27 square miles, including Bridgehampton and Sagaponack as well as areas of Wainscott and Water Mill. The department answers more than 1,000 calls a year.