East Hampton To Spend $4.8 Million To Buy 1 Acre Of Waterfront On Hook Pond

The East Hampton Town Board last week approved spending $4.8 million from the Community Preservation Fund to purchase a 1-acre waterfront property on Hook Pond in East Hampton Village.

The property at 81 Ocean Road, which is owned by a pair of family trusts, has a 3,200-square-foot, four-bedroom house on it that will, according to the deal, be razed, at the current owners’ expense, prior to the town taking ownership. The parcel then will be restored to a natural state.

The lot is immediately adjacent to the village’s pondfront parking lot at Main Beach.

East Hampton Village Mayor Paul Rickenbach thanked the Town Board for agreeing to the purchase, which had already gone into contract when the town held a public hearing on the deal last Thursday, January 17.

“The property boasts a beautiful scenic view of the pond,” the mayor said. “The elimination of improved structures will be beneficial to efforts to improve water quality in the pond. And the creation of open green space will be preserved for all future generations to enjoy.”

The board approved the purchase by a unanimous vote, despite objections from a Springs resident who called it wasteful and questioned the motivations for the sale.

David Buda, a Springs resident and frequent hawk of the town’s CPF expenditures, said the purchase would be an unnecessary waste of CPF resources and of dubious environmental or community benefit.

“When did it become appropriate to spend millions of dollars to tear down beautiful structures?” Mr. Buda asked. “As a general matter, I don’t approve of spending valuable resources to tear down well-maintained structures. And there is a certain aroma when a property has been on the market for four years and, all of a sudden, the village wakes up and asks you to buy it. It’s extravagant.”

Mr. Buda also objected to the fact that the town, as a matter of policy, never disclosed the substantial purchase price until a contract for the deal was already drafted. Representatives of the owner said that the contracts for the purchase have not yet been signed.

Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc, in a separate conversation, defended the purchase as a deferring to the desires of the Village Board, because real estate sales in the village generate a sizable portion of the town’s annual CPF revenues, but the village does not have the power to affect land purchases on their own.

“The village contributes a lot to the fund, which is controlled by the town, so when they make a request, we pretty much honor it,” he said. “It’s a big deal, because there aren’t a lot of properties in the village that are eligible, and they’re a lot of money. But this will open up the viewshed to the pond, and it removes another septic system and another lawn with fertilizer that’s close to the water.”

The house had most recently been listed by Douglas Elliman for $4.995 million.