Community Preservation Fund revenues for the five East End towns totaled $8.44 million in August, a robust jump over the $5.86 million raised in August 2013.
That means that the CPF raised $64.14 million in the first eight months of 2014, a 9.6-percent hike over the $58.53 million tallied over the first eight months of 2013.
Thus far, the Peconic Bay Community Preservation Fund, which was founded in 1999, has generated $948.88 million, according to State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., who predicts that the $1 billion mark could be reached “sometime in March or April” 2015. The fund is fed by a transfer tax on real estate transactions and is used to preserve farmland, open space and historical resources.
The fund’s best year so far was 2007, before the recession, and its next-best was 2013. The numbers for last year and this year, as well as the tally for August, are “continuing evidence of a really strong recovery” in the real estate industry, the assemblyman said on Friday.
As far as individual towns go, Southampton continues to lead, having pulled in $37.85 million in the first eight months of this year. East Hampton is in second place, with $19.19 million, followed by Southold, with $3.28 million; Riverhead, with $2.33 million; and Shelter Island, with $1.48 million.
As far as growth, however, Riverhead leads, with a 43.8-percent increase in revenues, compared to a 31.2-percent increase in Southold, an 11.1-percent increase in Southampton, a 1.9-percent increase in East Hampton, and a 0.7-percent decrease on Shelter Island.
on Sep 29, 2014