An Impassioned Crowd

If nothing else, one thing can be said about the Hampton Bays residents who attended the first Express Sessions forum of the year, “Hampton Bays Under Pressure,” last week at Cowfish: The hamlet’s residents are a passionate bunch who care deeply about the future of the community they live in, and also care about their neighbors.

And while they may not all agree on the path forward for Southampton Town’s largest hamlet, or the best way to address some of the issues facing the community, the forum also proved that when opposing sides can sit down together and hash out their differences, compromise toward a middle ground may be achieved.

And there’s a lot to talk about in Hampton Bays. The Express Sessions discussion was meant to address a number of issues but focused primarily on two hot-button topics, the town’s plans for downtown revitalization and the Shinnecock Nation’s plans to build a gas station and travel plaza on Sunrise Highway.

The panel for last week’s lunch discussion included members of competing civic groups in the hamlet, each with different ideas about how the downtown revitalization plan should move forward. The recently formed Hampton Bays Alliance was represented by its founder, John Leonard. In the other corner were Ray D’Angelo and Gayle Lombardi from the Hampton Bays Civic Association, as well as longtime hamlet advocate Marion Boden. Wearing the striped shirt in the middle was Southampton Town Councilwoman Cyndi McNamara. And keeping order was Express News Group Executive Editor Joseph P. Shaw.

Leonard and his group have taken a pro-development and pro-business stance when it comes to the revitalization effort, while the association members urge caution, fearing the perils of overdevelopment and increased density. And while Thursday’s discussion became heated at times, it remained respectful and civil as each side debated the issue.

As for the looming travel plaza and gas station, while the panelists and residents in attendance — some of whom live on Newtown Road, adjacent to the Shinnecock’s Westwoods property where the gas station is being developed — expressed concern about the possible traffic and infrastructure impact of the project if the tribe can not secure access to the gas station from Sunrise Highway and traffic is funneled through the residential neighborhood itself, everyone expressed a desire to work with the Shinnecock and recognized the importance of the tribe’s efforts at economic development.

Members of the Shinnecock Council of Trustees were in attendance, and while they remained stoic throughout the forum, Chairwoman Lisa Goree addressed the crowd and, while asserting the tribe’s independence, indicated the Shinnecock’s desire to be good neighbors and work with both the town and community to alleviate the concerns.

Town Supervisor Maria Moore and Councilman Michael Iasilli, who has worked as a conduit between the tribe and town government, were in attendance on Thursday and reassured the audience that although the town had hired an attorney to look into the gas station development, officials were working closely with the tribe’s leadership and didn’t envision filing a lawsuit in the near future.

The goal of Express Sessions is to bring community members together to discuss the issues facing specific communities over lunch, in a calm and respectful manner. And while answers to the questions or problems facing a community can’t be answered over a single lunch, the forums go a long way in fostering a civil discourse and bringing all sides together.

And in that, last week’s event was a huge success.