1 Photo
Southampton Town Board members on Tuesday tabled a walk-on resolution that would have authorized the town to purchase the Bel-Aire Cove Motel in Hampton Bays following concerns that the public had not been notified that the sale might be subject to a vote that night.
The town’s current plan is to purchase the property for $1,060,000 through the town’s Community Development Program to redevelop it for a future owner. But, earlier on Tuesday night, a public hearing was held on the purchase, and many of those who spoke expressed a desire for the board to instead use Community Preservation Fund monies to purchase the motel and set it aside as parkland or open space.
The current plan, according to Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman, is to tear down the motel and get the proper permits in place for a nitrogen-reducing septic system. Once the permits are in place, the town then plans to auction off the property to the highest bidder, which can then develop the property according to plans created by the town, local community groups and architects, most likely as a condominium development. “I have no doubt we will be able to sell this property,” he told the board.
The motel has been accused of illegally renting rooms on a long-term basis and other code violations. Additionally, officials have charged that the motel’s septic system contributes to pollution of a nearby canal, which feeds into Shinnecock Bay.
Mr. Schneiderman said the walk-on resolution—which Town Board member Julie Lofstad said she found out only about an hour prior to the meeting—was motivated by the fact that remediating the property and putting it back into the economy is what people in the community are asking him to do.
Donna Thiele of Hampton Bays told board members during the public hearing that she just wanted to see something done with the property. “All I see right now is blight, and nothing gets done,” she said. “Do something … I don’t care what it is—just do something.”
Gayle Lombardi, another Hampton Bays resident, told board members that for the past five years nothing has been done to improve the motel property, and that owner—Jagannath Jayaswal—should not be able to benefit from the deal with the town. She suggested the town use CPF revenues, if that is what it takes to clean up the property.
Anthony Cenzoprano told the board he did not think the taxpayers should be footing the bill to purchase the motel, but, instead, the owners should sell the property on their own. “I really believe this is a sweetheart deal … and should be dealt with scrutiny,” he said. “They’re getting rewarded.”
Town Board member Christine Scalera asked the board to pull the walk-on resolution to allow more discussion. She and fellow board members Tommy John Schiavoni, John Bouvier and Ms. Lofstad noted that the public had already left the meeting by the time the matter came up, unscheduled, for a vote.
Ms. Scalera told Mr. Schneiderman that she heard cries from the public for stronger code enforcement, and that she was looking favorably on a plan to use CPF money to purchase the property, opening it up for a possible park where people could launch kayaks and stand-up paddleboards.
The board tabled the resolution until November 13 at 1 p.m.
Greg Wehner on Oct 24, 2018