Letters

This letter concerns the preservation of the gas ball parking lot for the benefit of Sag Harbor residents [“Sag Harbor Village Will Retain Gas Ball Parking Lot Lease — for Now,” 27east.com, December 22]. The lot’s lease to Adam Potter via 11 Bridge Street LLC would eliminate the public’s use and must be approved by the New York State Department of Public Services. Thanks to the hard work of the village mayor, trustees, Fred W. Thiele Jr. and others, many residents have provided compelling comments advocating preserving the lot for the benefit of Sag Harbor residents. You can provide your comments on the website for the New York State Department of Public Services (documents.dps.ny.gov case No. 22-02220).

In reviewing the comments, I was surprised to see that both Sag Harbor Theater (Chris Siefert, deputy director) and Friends of Bay Street, Bay Street Theater (Stephen Hamilton, director of external affairs) have both submitted comments supporting the termination of the residents’ use of the lot and instead supporting for-profit private development. It’s worth noting the Friends of Bay Street, Bay Street Theater and Sag Harbor Redevelopment Inc. is, according to public documents, lead by both Mr. Potter and Tracy Mitchell, who is simultaneously executive director of the Bay Street Theater. I thought it was worth highlighting for the village residents that nonprofits who enjoy the benefits of being in Sag Harbor are now advocating the termination of the public use of land for the benefit of the theater’s private development partner. The land in question is neither located on theater property nor directly relevant to the theater in any way. These comments supporting for-profit private development over public use begin to call into question the motivations of these two intertwined nonprofits.

Tim Culver

Sag Harbor