Jul 3, 2018 2:55 PM

As soon as Southampton Town officials mention “Hampton Bays,” they often face frustration and animosity.

For years, hamlet residents have grown impatient with a perceived lack of attention paid to the hamlet’s issues, particularly involving the conversion of at least two motels for use as overcrowded affordable housing, a slew of vacant buildings along Montauk Highway, and what residents say is poor maintenance of the area’s beaches and parks.

Members of a Facebook community group, “Hampton Bays Whatever Happened To ...” voiced their concerns this week.

“It’s not an esthetically pleasing town as you drive through it,” Kenneth Booth Jr., a member of the group, said of the hamlet. “Southampton Town takes our taxes and gives us nothing in return.”

However, Southampton Town Councilwoman Julie Lofstad, who lives in the hamlet, couldn’t disagree more. Though she admits that her hometown has its problems, she says the town has made great strides in boosting the hamlet’s reputation, all while keeping the community involved.

“Some people have a very different opinion than what me and many other people feel Hampton Bays is,” Ms. Lofstad said, noting that fixing the public’s perception of the hamlet starts with its residents appreciating its newest additions.

She pointed to the upcoming $1.9 million reconstruction of the Ponquogue Beach pavilion, which is scheduled to be completed by next spring, as well as the reconstruction of the old Ponquogue Bridge fishing piers, which are expected to re-open in October. Both piers—converted from the remnants of the original Ponquogue Bridge—were severely damaged when Hurricane Sandy hit the region in October 2012.

Southampton Town hired D&B Engineers and Architects P.C in Hauppauge to design the pavilion—a snack bar, outdoor seating area and bathroom stop on Ponquogue Beach—based on feedback provided by the Hampton Bays community.

Ms. Lofstad said that when the idea for a pavilion was still in its infancy, Southampton Town officials reached out to the community to ask for its input. Based on those responses, additional upgrades were planned, including new landscaping and fencing near the entrance to the beach parking lot that sits off Dune Road. The project also includes updates to the pavilion’s public bathrooms, the installation of two outdoor showers, as well as seating, and an extension of the ramp and railings leading to the beach.

The town also reversed course when residents cried out in support of saving the Old Ponquogue Bridge northern fishing pier, which the town originally planned to demolish. The pier was severely damaged when Hurricane Sandy knocked down a section and left a portion in the bay disconnected from the shore.

Thanks to the community, the updated plan, which is expected to cost close to $2 million, now calls for the refurbishment of both the north and south fishing piers, with the northern one being reduced in length by roughly 300 feet, as well as the installation of new railings on both. The plan is to shorten the northern pier to avoid having to repair the section that fell into the bay.

“The community rose up—and here we are,” Ms. Lofstad said. “They’re getting rehabbed and they’re going to be beautiful.”

Ms. Lofstad, whose husband runs a commercial fishing boat out of the Shinnecock commercial fishing dock, within sight of the old bridge, said keeping the pier an active recreation area will be a boon to the business community, with visitors shopping in bait and tackle shops, eating in downtown restaurants and taking advantage of other amenities the town is looking to improve in Hampton Bays.

“This renovation, when completed, will improve public access to enjoy Shinnecock Bay and all its beauty,” Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said.

“You can say a lot of things about the Town Board, but we try our best to listen to the community—those are two perfect examples of that,” Ms. Lofstad said of the piers and the pavilion.

And while some members of the Facebook group, like Mr. Booth, criticized the hamlet, Ken Mades of Hampton Bays sang the hamlet praises last week.

“Hampton Bays has some of the nicest geographical features in the Hamptons, with access to three bays—Shinnecock, Tiana and Peconic—a canal, an inlet, and the ocean with dunes in their most natural form,” he said.

“No one else has that,” Ms. Lofstad agreed.

Still, while the hamlet has a lot to look forward to, Ms. Lofstad admits that in order to shift the locals’ perception of Hampton Bays, three major points of contention must be addressed: the vacant Friendly’s restaurant on Montauk Highway, the shuttered Hampton Bays Diner a few doors down, and the illegal overcrowding in the Bel-Aire Cove Motel on Shinnecock Road.

“We’re still waiting for the diner and Friendly’s—those are two sore spots for a lot of people,” she said.

“We really need a place for breakfast and to fill the empty stores,” Dawn Penny of the Hampton Bays Facebook group said last week. “We have become a pass-through town.”

Vicki Marotta Swanson, who owns Swanotta Screen Printing on Montauk Highway, agreed: “We really need a casual breakfast place.”

Joseph Vona, an attorney representing Montauk 24 Realty LLC, the entity that purchased the diner property for $3.2 million in June, said last week that its new owner, whom he declined to identify, was committed to providing some form of eatery at the Montauk Highway location.

The diner abruptly closed in July 2015 after its longtime owners, Frank and Maria Vlahadamis of Hampton Bays, were ordered by a bankruptcy judge to sell the diner after accumulating some $1.3 million in debt, according to court documents.

Mr. Vona said that he’s been in touch with the property’s broker “ad nauseam” the past few weeks, fielding several interested tenants, whom he also declined to identify. “We’ve been getting calls from a lot of people who are interested,” he said. “We still want to do what’s best for the town.”

Barry Moore, an independent real estate salesman in Baldwin, who has listed the former Friendly’s building for an undisclosed price, could not be reached for comment. The restaurant closed its doors in July 2017.

But the motels aren’t as easy a fix as finding tenants. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

In October 2017, Southampton Town’s Public Safety Department cited the owners of several motels and overcrowded homes in Hampton Bays with more than 200 code violations—including bed bug and roach infestations, electric violations, inoperative smoke detectors, and overflowing septic systems.

In a State Supreme Court filing, which dates back several years, Assistant Town Attorney Richard Harris sought approval to remove the tenants from their unsanitary homes at the Bel-Aire Cove Motel and shut it down. But the judge denied his request.

There was no written statement, Mr. Harris explained, but he said the judge preferred the town focus on addressing the life, health and safety issues within the building.

“As you can imagine, he doesn’t want to be the person responsible for throwing people out on the street,” Mr. Harris said of the judge.

On Thursday, June 28, Steven Troyd, the town’s public safety and emergency management administrator, reported that there are approximately 30 people living in 19 of the 20 units of the 2,688-square-foot motel.

Concerns over the long-term rentals of motels and overcrowding of residences have repeatedly been aired by Hampton Bays residents at Board of Education and civic meetings for years—and have also been frequently brought to the attention of the town.

Mr. Harris offered a glimmer of hope this week, noting that the judge agreed that as units are vacated, they may not be rented to new tenants. “There is sort of an end in sight,” he said.

He explained that the town could legally condemn the building, “but, based on how the State Supreme Court has handled this matter, they would look very poorly upon us throwing people out and boarding up the place.”

The owners of the property, Konstantine Polumentis and Jagganath Jayswal, who hold the property under a company called Bellaire Cove Resorts Inc., are actively trying to sell the 1.4-acre property for an asking price of $1.3 million, according to Town Attorney James Burke.

He added that the town has thrown the idea around of purchasing the property to convert it into condominiums, which under the existing zoning would allow the town to build 10 senior units.

“We are looking to motivate these people in the right direction without making people homeless,” Mr. Troyd said of the property owners.

“We certainly know it’s an issue, and we are working on many different avenues to try and make the problem go away,” Ms. Lofstad added.

However, until the property is sold, there is little the town can do to rectify the problem, other than keep it as safe as possible, Mr. Harris said.

Another issue often brought up by the town’s detractors when referring to Hampton Bays is the lack of restrooms in the recently opened Good Ground Park. But according to officials, a solution may be in sight.

Last year, while the Squiretown Road park was successful in bringing more than a dozen musical and theatrical performances to the community, Hampton Bays residents loved to point out that the $4 million park lacked a public restroom. The town was unsuccessful in securing funds to construct the $325,000 comfort stations when building the park last year. However, that cost has now been allocated for in the park’s 2018 capital budget.

Additionally, at a recent town board meeting, Mr. Schneiderman accepted a $100,000 reimbursement grant from Suffolk County to be applied to the cost of constructing a comfort station.

Ms. Lofstad said that the town is awaiting approvals from the Suffolk County Department of Health to begin construction of the public restrooms, which she said will begin as soon as the town gets the green light.

The comfort stations will be built adjacent to the playgrounds, near the parking lot, to allow room for the septic system and to be in closer proximity to the theater. “We are trying like heck to get those done,” Ms. Lofstad said.

In the meantime, park visitors can use a temporary portable bathroom set up inside the 36-acre park.

As for the upcoming season, organizers plan to double the number of events that were held at the park last year.

“It’s such a beautiful place,” Ms. Lofstad said of the hamlet.

And despite its problems, many locals said this week that they were proud to call Hampton Bays their home.

“I am growing to love Hampton Bays more every year that we are here,” said Shannon Beyer McMahon, who moved to Hampton Bays from Sag Harbor four years ago. “I love that there are so many young families, and it’s a great community of people.”

However, she said there are still some things that need attention—for instance, more mom-and-pop shops along Montauk Highway. “A little charm to the downtown area would be so wonderful,” she said.

“I do think that things are changing,” Ms. Lofstad said, referring to two new historic structures on Main Street that will offer students of history a glimpse into the past.

She pointed to the newly restored Lyzon Hat Shop, a 1900s-era hat shop where locals could purchase one-of-a-kind hats made by owner and hat designer Walter King, as well as the restored Prosper King House, one of the oldest buildings in the Town of Southampton, and once home to the King family. The hat shop officially opened its doors, several years after the grand opening of the King house, on June 30.

“We have such unique destinations,” Ms. Lofstad said, “and we need to continue to get the word out there.”