Southampton Town Designates Additional Funds To Fix Southampton African American Museum Construction Flaws

Southampton Town Board members on Tuesday approved the additional spending of $19,500 for the Southampton African American Museum on North Sea Road, after work completed by a previous contractor was found defective.

According to a resolution that was approved on the matter, the contractor that was originally hired for the job, William Proefriedt of West Babylon, is no longer working on the construction of the museum.

Some of the work Mr. Proefriedt and his crew conducted on the building was found to be out of scope, and the $19,500 is intended to correct the work and bring the project to a close.

Brenda Simmons, the founder of the museum — often referred to as SAAM — said in a text on Sunday that all of the work Mr. Proefriedt did has to be redone, and litigation has slowed down the process.

Ms. Simmons could not immediately be reached for further comment.

In November 2018, Mr. Proefriedt was arrested and charged with a felony criminal charge after being accused of providing false information in a bid to restore the Pyrrhus Concer house on Pond Lane in Southampton Village.

When he submitted the lowest bid of $437,600 in May 2018 to rebuild the house, he signed a statement saying he had crew members who were certified to complete electrical, plumbing, heating,ventilation and air conditioning work, which village officials claimed in January was untrue.

He was charged with first-degree offering a false instrument, a felony, and is due back in court on November 1.