An ongoing struggle between people interested in arts preservation and East Hampton Town officials over what should happen to the studios and house of the Abstract Expressionists James Brooks and Charlotte Park points to a broader concern: what to do about the increasing number of historic properties the town now owns. These include the Fowler House on Springs-Fireplace Road, the Marine Museum on Bluff Road in Amagansett, and the recently acquired Carl Fisher mansion in Montauk.
The town used community preservation fund money in 2013 to buy the artists’ 11-acre retreat, then designated it a historic landmark the following year. In 2018, it approved $850,000 for the restoration of its quirky buildings, but that was set aside when the structures were deemed too far gone the year after that. For the six years-plus that site has languished; the studio, house, and outbuildings have fallen into greater disrepair from lack of follow-through by the town. Now, if work is to be done to save them, it will cost far more than the initial amount budgeted.
The town does not have an office dedicated to history, and so these sites fall between the cracks, kicked among several departments for care and upkeep. Brooks-Park is one of many such challenges. Starting now, the town has to rethink its approach to its historic properties. Just buying them is not nearly enough.