Letters

Most Southampton Village business owners have said this June was historically soft. While rain and hot weather played a role, East Hampton and Sag Harbor performed better. Commercial real estate professionals have echoed this, noting that even popular restaurants, typically booked months in advance, have empty tables.

Southampton’s downtown has become a destination for day-trippers and teenagers, with few activities offered by the village to engage them. Even our beautifully restored movie theater is not filling seats.

This should come as no surprise. Southampton Village has adopted anti-business policies while doing little to support our local entrepreneurs. Fees for outdoor dining have doubled, hurting restaurants and cafés that are just trying to survive.

To cover $3.2 million in new spending over the past two years, the administration has leaned heavily on fines and fees, often sending code enforcement officers into stores during business hours to issue citations for trivial matters like sandwich board signage. Even my business was fined for the first time in 15 years.

Shoppers and business owners have received parking tickets for tires slightly touching white lines. These ticky-tack violations don’t build goodwill, they drive away VIP customers.

Meanwhile, the streets and sidewalks have been torn up, bricks have been scattered along Main Street for months, and potholes remain unaddressed. These infrastructure projects should be completed well before Memorial Day, not dragged into July Fourth weekend. Roads leading into our downtown are a mess.

The Chamber of Commerce, housed in a village-owned building, has been pushed into hosting political meet-and-greets instead of supporting small businesses that fund its budget. It’s no wonder the chamber now has historically low membership and minimal resources to fulfill its mission. Sag Harbor’s Chamber of Commerce is thriving.

Local businesses have reported that village-imposed traffic barriers have made it difficult for employees to get home from work, and say it’s now harder than ever to recruit and keep staff.

The disconnect between Village Hall and Main Street is clear. The village now relies on a $48,000 taxpayer-funded publicist for damage control. But pulling village employees off their jobs for photo ops doesn’t improve business — it highlights a lack of a real plan.

Jesse Warren

Southampton Village

Warren is a former mayor of Southampton Village — Ed.