2 Photos
The Foster House
Quogue House and Presbyterian Chapel in about 1906.
One of the oldest homes in the Village of Quogue may soon have a new address, if attempts by its owner to split in half the Quantuck Lane parcel it now sits on and move the home are successful—that is, if anyone wants to preserve the historic home.
The aging gray structure, known as the Antiquity House, belongs to developer Joseph Gazza, a resident of Quogue. Mr. Gazza is seeking to remove the house from the 3.6-acre property in order to split the land into two 1.8-acre parcels. He wants to give one each of the parcels to his two daughters, Blair and Mallory, who are both in their 20s.
In order to divide the property, Mr. Gazza would need relief from the village’s zoning code, which stipulates that residential properties in the area where the parcel is located must be at least 2 acres in order to qualify as a building lot. To make up for the missing acreage, Mr. Gazza has said that he would give up development rights to waterfront property he owns at the end of the same street—land that is primarily wetlands.
At the same time, he has offered to move the historic home from its current perch to somewhere else in the village. The problem is that, so far, no one has expressed any interest in taking the centuries-old structure off his hands.
During a Quogue Village Planning Board meeting last month, Mr. Gazza offered to pay to relocate the home and to build a new foundation for it in exchange for the right to split the property in half.
At the same time, Mr. Gazza said that although he would like to divide the property for his daughters, he is still open to other development options. “I’m not convinced yet exactly what I’m going to do with the property,” he said on Monday.
The structure has a centuries-long history, according to Village Historian Frances Ryan, who noted that it was a boardinghouse for many years before it was transformed into a “family home” and moved to its parcel on Quantuck Lane.
“It’s got an amazing story,” Ms. Ryan said. “The thing that’s so special about this house is that it has been lived in and cared for by four of the original families to live in Quogue.”
The home was first built by Deacon Thomas Cooper in 1734. After being inhabited by the Cooper family for a century, the house was sold to the Foster family. When patriarch John F. Foster died, the home was taken over by his daughter, Sophia Foster, who married into the Herrick family. Ms. Foster’s daughter, Margaret Foster Herrick, lived on the property until she was about 100 years old, according to Ms. Ryan.
The home’s varied history continued when former village resident Mary Howell took it over in the early 1900s and transformed it into one of Quogue’s first boardinghouses. The home—known as the Foster House at the time—at one point boasted a three-story addition. That addition burned in a fire around 1917, according to Ms. Ryan.
After the heyday of the boardinghouse era had passed, Ms. Howell transformed the structure into a family home and moved it back to Quantuck Lane. It was at one point home to former Quogue Mayor Thelma Georgeson, during the 1980s and 1990s.
The home on Quantuck Lane was most recently inhabited by Concha Payne, mother of Quogue Village Trustee Kimberly Payne. The elder Ms. Payne, who is 105, moved from the property two years ago in order to receive continued medical care. Ms. Payne, who owned a portion of the property, had an agreement with Mr. Gazza, who purchased the land 10 years ago, that allowed her to live in the home for the rest of her life, according to Dick Gardner, a former member of the historical society and current member of the Planning Board.
“It’s a wonderful house,” Mr. Gardner said. “Better to preserve the house rather than seeing it destroyed.”
Mr. Gardner said Mr. Gazza approached the board recently to discuss ways to split the property, but noted that he had no desire to preserve the home.
“The house is antiquated,” Mr. Gazza said. “It’s certainly not something I’m interested in refurbishing or maintaining.”
The builder noted that he wants to leave his daughters with land they could live on in their hometown. He added that he has no interest in inhabiting the Antiquity House, and noted that since he acquired the home, he has paid about $120,000 in property taxes.
“I’m willing to work with the village,” Mr. Gazza said. “I don’t want the house. I’m not a historic house buff. I think that it’s not my taste. Having the ability to afford this, [the land] is something I can leave behind for my daughters.”
Though the structure’s future is currently up in the air, Ms. Ryan said she hopes that the home could be preserved in its current form. She lamented the fact that Mr. Gazza has no interest in keeping the home on his property.
“Not a tiny bit interested,” Ms. Ryan said. “Nobody in Quogue seems to be interested in it.”
