Sag Harbor Opportunity

Sag Harbor Village officials and their counterparts on the Southampton Town Board appear in agreement on a wish to see a portion of the Sag Harbor waterfront revert to public ownership. A developer has been working on a plan for townhouse-style units there and has filed application paperwork with the village. In effect, the structures would wall off that side of Sag Harbor from the water.

In a recent vote, the Southampton board agreed to add the property, which includes several parcels near the village’s 7-Eleven, to the town’s community preservation fund list. This will allow an official appraisal to be made and then, perhaps, an offer to the property owners. Therein lies the rub: Representatives of the partnership that controls the site have insisted that it is not for sale.

If you have ever driven over the bridge from North Haven approaching Sag Harbor and looked out to the right, you have seen the site. For Sag Harbor residents, as well as for the thousands of visitors who pass by each year, we hope that Greystone Property Development, a Manhattan company believed to own the controlling interest, reconsiders.

A deal should be struck to buy the developers out. A park would be much more welcome than residences and tie in well with the village’s existing walkable waterfront. Sag Harbor and Southampton should be willing to do whatever it takes to make the publicly accessible open space there a reality.