Waterfront Park Vs. New Houses

We were rather pleased to see that Sag Harbor Village as regards an application for a new high-end residential complex on the waterfront near the North Haven bridge is taking a hard line. In meetings last month, Greystone Property Development was told by one of the village’s legal team to think again about its calculation that it could have 11 houses with private parking and boat slips. At issue was Greystone’s math on how much of the site it could build on. Greystone says one thing; the village says another. If the Sag Harbor is right, Greystone would be entitled to a somewhat smaller number of units. This is a big deal.

Just how many of the developer’s faux whalers’ houses it could build could emerge as a key issue for the future of the land. The Sag Harbor Village Board, the Town of Southampton, and many residents and visitors favor the public acquisition of the property for a park. If the permissible residential density there falls below some certain unnamed point, it is conceivable that Greystone might agree to sell. We hope.

Frankly, Greystone’s principals should have been willing to do the right thing all along. It is regrettable that their narrow, money-making vision includes permanently marring the Sag Harbor waterfront and potentially miring the village in litigation for years as the matter is fought in court. They could be heroes by working with the village to create a public space everyone could be proud of. Instead, they appear to be girding for a fight.