Letters

I remember when the new King Kullen Shopping Center in Hampton Bays was proposed, and one of the selling points to the community was its walkability — that it would help add to the vibrancy of the east side of Ponquogue Avenue on Main Street.

And so, what happened? The parking was put in a parking lot at the rear of the stores, and the frontage on Main Street was practically deserted from day one. It is human nature to park in the parking lot and head for the nearest entrance.

I remember when the planners at one meeting about that new King Kullen Shopping Center said that the post office was a meeting hub of sorts, and it would be so wonderful to have the Community Center right across the street, adding to that hub. And so, what happened? All the doors on Ponquogue Avenue facing the post office are locked, and the entrance to the Community Center is from the parking lot in the rear.

And so now we have the proposed downtown overlay district on the west side of Ponquogue Avenue. Here’s the major vision of this district as stated by the town: “A vibrant, walkable, mixed-use downtown with many options for shopping and restaurants, with high pedestrian activity.”

And guess where the majority of the parking is, friends? You got it — behind the businesses, in parking lots.

Why am I telling you all this? Because we have all got to get involved here as much as we can. It’s our hamlet. We must look at the plans, read everything, including the fine print, and not rely on some “expert” telling us what it’s all about. We can’t rely on glib answers like it will be “vibrant and highly walkable.” Yadda, yadda. Please ask questions of those who have actually read the plans and not just listened to the pretty speeches.

And look at the drawings of proposed building styles, not at the pretty pictures of already existing stores in Sag Harbor. The drawings show a proposed downtown that could be plopped in the middle of Anywhere, USA. It is not us at all.

I, for one, do not want to live in a place that looks like a mini-Patchogue or similar. I am sure most of us living here feel the same way.

Marion Boden

Hampton Bays