Letters

Concerning the pending U.S. Coast Guard housing auction and the value of the living units, although we are not privy to the discussions between Southampton Town and the General Services Administration (our Freedom of Information Act request will not be made available to us until late October, long after the auction), we do have an idea what the town offered for the site.

It works out to be about $135,000 per unit. Is this “fair market value”? If you examine the property sales in Hampton West Estates since January 2021, you will come up with 16 transactions averaging $421,000. If you apply that average to the 52 residential units at the Coast Guard site, you get a value approaching $22 million.

Let’s suppose you recently purchased a property at Hampton West. After the Coast Guard auction is finished, you are likely to be well under water. Your house will now be valued at far less than you paid, even if the town sweetens its offer.

Town officials shouldn’t be dismissive of resident concerns about town-administered housing projects, however they are packaged. Historically, people are afraid of developments because they have been sources of instability.

The town has done absolutely nothing in reaching out to the residents and homeowners of Hampton West, a dereliction of duty — no excuses. The elected officials of Southampton Town have clearly decided it has no need of Hampton West residents and will push this project down the residents’ collective throats regardless of their concerns.

Their actions are as transparent as mud.

Forest Markowitz

Westhampton Beach