New Location Proposed for Amagansett Public Restrooms... Again

The updated plans for long-awaited public restrooms in Amagansett, a project that has been in the works since 1998, were introduced at the East Hampton Town Board work session on Tuesday.

Architect Joe Catropa of McClean Associates, who spoke on the subject at the work session, said the new plan puts the restrooms in the back of the parking lot, where a portable toilet currently sits behind a fence.

“It won’t impact the architecture—it remains the same,” Mr. Catropa said, referring to earlier plans drawn for the restroom that placed it behind the Amagansett Library building. “It’s just taking it and, hopefully, putting it in a concrete location.”

However, Councilwoman Sylvia Overby said having the restrooms set too far back poses a safety issue. “My concern has always been that you’re having children going through a parking lot where cars are going to be backing up—and when a kid has to go, they have to go,” she said. “They don’t necessarily hold on to your hand and walk with an adult through the parking lot.”

Ms. Overby said she would like Mr. Catropa and the Amagansett Citizens Advisory Committee to consider moving the restrooms “a little bit forward.”

Alex Walter, assistant to Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell, said plans for the restroom behind the library were halted by opposition from business owners. They then hit another roadblock when the Suffolk County Health Department did not approve the location due to the close proximity of a well and cesspool owned by Tina Piette, a local attorney and ACAC member.

Ms. Piette, whose office is located adjacent to the parking lot, said she was opposed to the location, along with other business owners and library staff. She said at the end of May there was a 20-3 vote against the location directly behind the library.

“Tina didn’t want [the restroom] there,” said Rona Klopman, a fellow ACAC member. “We wanted to put it in the back, because it looked like the library. It had the same plan, but she got the library involved to protest the location.”

Ms. Klopman said library officials wanted the restrooms in the back of their building at first, but suddenly changed their minds. She also noted that Ms. Piette refused to connect to town water, which she said may have resolved the conflicts with the Health Department.

Ms. Piette did not return calls for comment in response to those allegations.

Ms. Klopman told council members at the work session that she and the rest of ACAC members had yet to see the new plans, although they had discussed them. She questioned whether the Suffolk County Health Department would approve them.

“A vote said, ‘Let’s get the bathroom done,’” she said. “But they don’t realize they can’t do it without the Health Department.”