Because of a lackluster year in the real estate market, 2019 revenues for the Peconic Bay Region Community Preservation Fund hit their lowest level since 2012, Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. announced on Friday. The $77.88 million collected was 21.3 percent less than last year, and revenues from each month of 2019 were lower than the corresponding one in 2018.
The fund, which provides money for land preservation and water quality improvement, receives the proceeds of a 2-percent real estate transfer tax. The money goes to the five East End towns: East Hampton, Southampton, Shelter Island, Southold, and Riverhead.
Shelter Island was the only town that had a revenue increase from last year; its C.P.F. money from home sales was up more than 37 percent. East Hampton’s revenues were down more than 29 percent, Southampton’s decreased by just over 19 percent, Southold’s fell 5.2 percent, and Riverhead’s declined 31 percent.
The 2019 results ended a six-year streak during which annual C.P.F. revenues had exceeded $90 million. J.B.