Sag Harbor Will Consider Expanding Free Wi-Fi on Main Street

The poor quality of cellphone service is a common summertime complaint in the heart of Sag Harbor. But if the Village Board signs off on a proposal next month to increase the number of Wi-Fi receivers on village streets, dropped calls and the inability to book a reservation at a local restaurant online may become a thing of the past.

Thomas Iden, a contractor with Saunders Broadcasting Corp., which owns Hamptons.com, has already discussed the proposal with Mayor Tom Gardella and will make his pitch when the full board meets on Tuesday, November 12.

Under the proposal, Saunders, owned by Andrew Saunders of Saunders and Associates real estate, will cover the cost of making the upgrades, in exchange for the right to install street cameras in choice locations that it will stream on Hamptons.com.

“This is a project that started out about four years ago,” Iden said, noting that the company has brought Wi-Fi and street cameras to a number of beaches in both Southampton and East Hampton towns and is now making a push to do the same thing along village streets.

“Cameras are usually placed high for a picturesque view,” Iden said. The one the company currently has in Sag Harbor is on the building at 95 Main Street and looks over the street at the crosswalk between Sag Pizza and the Sag Harbor Pharmacy. There is a Wi-Fi access point at K Pasa restaurant as well.

Iden said the initial goal is to add five new access points at key locations, including Long Wharf, Marine Park, Havens Beach and eventually John Steinbeck Waterfront Park and Windmill Beach. More access points could be added in the future, and additional cameras could potentially be placed at Windmill Beach and at Havens Beach, he said.

He said besides giving people a chance to watch what’s happening from afar, the cameras have proven helpful for local police departments, which routinely ask him to save footage to help them investigate crimes.

He pointed out that Georgica Beach in East Hampton had no Wi-Fi service, and when a beachgoer suffered a heart attack, lifeguards were unable to call an ambulance from the beach. Today, he said, there is a Wi-Fi access point within range of the lifeguard stand.

The access points will be both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. Iden said the 2.4 GHz signal offers wider coverage but less penetration and is useful for what he described as “the internet of things,” such as electronically controlled lawn sprinklers, thermostats and smartphones, while 5GHz provides more penetration but less coverage and would typically be used by someone using a laptop or using the internet.

A side benefit, Iden said, is that with additional access points in the village, it will be easier for motorists to access the ParkMobile app when they try to park their cars in those parking lots, where fees are charged.

Gardella stressed that making it easier to operate the paid parking program was not the main reason for his interest in the project. Connectivity is spotty, at best, along much of Main Street, he said, adding that it would help with public safety and convenience for downtown visitors.