Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc could not be at the Amagansett Citizens Advisory Committee meeting on Monday night but sent word that two knotty Amagansett problems — the dead trees on Napeague and the closed Cranberry Hole Road bridge — are no closer to resolution.
New York State, he reported, says it “does not have the resources” to deal with the dying trees, and that “the presence of [endangered] long-eared bats” complicates the situation.
The Long Island Rail Road gave the supervisor the same answer (no money) when asked to fund repairs to the Cranberry Hole Road bridge over the tracks, but said it would “work with the town” to find funding.
Across from the Amagansett School, where the committee was meeting, traffic was at a standstill all that day and well into the night. Ed Sheeran was playing in a tent set up for the occasion behind the Stephen Talkhouse, and it seems safe to say that in its 300-odd years of existence the hamlet had rarely seen half as many people as packed Main Street, all the way back to the flagpole and beyond, hoping to see, or at least hear, the star’s performance.
Carl Hamilton took the opportunity to point out the effect on Main Street businesses. At 11 that morning, said Mr. Hamilton, the Talkhouse had “blocked off four parking spaces” with stanchions, and not only that, but buses were parked in the municipal lot behind the commercial district, “where they’re not allowed,” said Mr. Hamilton. He’s heard complaints from shop owners, he said: “The issue is parking and access for other businesses.”
There was some discussion of whether commercial vehicles are really prohibited from parking in the town-owned lot, but it was brief and inconclusive.
Finally, Jaine Mehring, who keeps an eye on building and zoning, reported that Rowdy Hall, which is planning to open on Main Street next month in the former Indian Wells Tavern building, has told the Architectural Review Board it wants to paint its new home black, with “red doors and gold trim.” Whether that will happen remains to be seen.
At the start of the meeting, the committee heard from Richard Warren, president of the Southampton firm overseeing the Devon Yacht Club’s proposed reconstruction, a plan that he said will make Devon more resilient to storms, upgrade its entire sanitary system, and bring its buildings “up to modern standards.” A story on the club’s plans appears on page 1 in today’s paper.
