Wrecking Ball Dangles Before Village Houses

[caption id="attachment_62181" align="alignnone" width="800"] 37 Prospect Avenue in Sag Harbor.[/caption]

By Christine Sampson

Five proposed demolition projects came before the Sag Harbor Board of Historic Preservation and Architectural Review for consideration on March 9, a number of cases that its chairman said is rare for the village in a given year and rare for the board to see in any one meeting.

It’s not indicative of any pattern or emerging trend, though, according to Anthony Brandt, the ARB’s chairman.

“Demolitions, as I see them, are scarce,” he said in an interview Tuesday, “and if they happen to come all at once — well, that’s just chance. They come when they come. Nothing surprises me anymore about Sag Harbor.”

Most notably on the list of demolition discussion items was Michael Brosnan’s house at 37 Prospect Avenue.

The property is listed as a contributing house in Sag Harbor’s historic district, according to the 1994 survey completed by the U.S. Department of the Interior National Parks Service’s National Register of Historic Places. Mr. Brosnan made a bid in early December for the demolition of the one-and-a-half story cottage where he, his wife, and his twin children live.

The village code prohibits demolitions in the historic district unless the homeowner can prove hardship — which Mr. Brosnan successfully achieved, Mr. Brandt said Tuesday. The ARB approved the demolition on December 22.

“There was very little opposition to it, and there was some question about whether it really belonged as a contributing house in the historic district,” Mr. Brandt said. “It was built around 1940 and I didn't think it belonged. Zach Studenroth didn't think it belonged, and we didn't want to make an issue of it.”

Mr. Studenroth is the board’s historic preservation consultant.

When Mr. Brosnan appeared before the ARB again on March 9, it was to pitch the plans for his new house: A two-story, 2,800-square-foot house with a detached garage and a swimming pool.

“I tried to take the path of least resistance and still tried to design an aesthetically pleasing house,” he said. “I didn't want it to overpower the lot.”

Board member Christopher Leonard objected to the size of the house and asked for a three-dimensional model or image of the project.

“The house that was there was quite modest,” he said. “It was one-and-a-half stories, and this one is obviously much larger. This is an issue that, as a board, we've been dealing with throughout Sag Harbor, where little houses become big houses. That's what's happening here. It would seem this size structure is going to change the whole feeling of the street.”

But Mr. Brandt disagreed. “I like the design, partly because of the scale. Prospect Avenue is not a street of small houses,” he said. “This is not too big for the lot.”

The ARB also continued its discussion of the cottage at 232 Main Street, listed as a non-contributing house in the historic district. The ARB heard an initial proposal for its demolition on February 23. Attorney Brian DeSesa, who represents SG HRBR LLC, the corporation that owns the house, said the plans have been adjusted to move the house farther back from the street. Neighbors had initially objected to its shallow setback. But the ARB wasn’t quite ready to approve the plans for this one, with concerns remaining over the proposed design.

“Main Street is, according to the American Planning Association, one of the 10 best in the country and we're really concerned about keeping it that way,” Mr. Brandt said during the meeting. “This is going to take a while. This would have been better if it had come in as a discussion item … and it's a much more open situation and not so fraught.”

The ARB also discussed the demolition of 56 Grand Street, just outside of the historic district; 431 Main Street, an 800-square-foot house, where a 3,500-square-foot house is proposed as a replacement; and a three-lot property at 106, 110 and 116 Hillside Drive East, where Mile High Partners LLC has scrapped plans to combine that property with an adjacent lot at 55 Lincoln Street.

Manhattan attorney Bruce Bronster confirmed Wednesday he is involved with the latter project, which at one time called for a 6,300-square-foot house but is now a 4,700-square-foot project.

“It seemed to make better sense for the owner and for the community to not combine the properties, and create a smaller house on the front property that’s going to be beautiful and appropriate,” Mr. Bronster said.