Tax Map of Village Property

January 2019 Letters

FLPG Rally Letter 1-7-19
________________________________________

 
January 8, 2019
 
Dear Mayor Schroeder and Members of the Village Board,
 
I write today with urgency and hope that you will suspend your scheduled vote on the proposed Sag Harbor Village impound yard this evening and seriously consider the recent  proposal offered by the Sag Harbor School District Board of Education, as reported in the Sag Harbor Express (https://sagharborexpress.com/sag-harbor-village-board-vote-tuesday-impound-lot-funding/).
 
As outlined, it appears that the School Board has identified a viable and reasonable solution to the Village’s impound yard location challenge. Notably, the proposed lot is within the Village limits, located on already developed property, and is readily accessible to routine police surveillance. Moreover, and perhaps most importantly, the proposal offered would allow the Village to invest its scarce resources directly back into the school system instead of the construction of an asphalt parking lot, two miles outside the village, in the immediate vicinity of a unique and complex ecosystem that has been the subject of decades of conservation planning and investment. 
 
From the outset of this proposal, we have urged the Village to seriously consider alternatives exactly like the one now offered by the School Board. We have also noted that the East End is defined by its ability to protect the environment and resolve complex land use issues through the use of innovative and creative problem solving, and the School Board has now presented just such an opportunity.    
 
Should this alternative be seriously considered and ultimately prove viable, I hope each of you will also consider the lesson it will teach every student about the critical importance of natural resource protection, creative problem solving, shared decision-making, productive civic discourse and most importantly, cooperation among elected decision-makers charged with promoting the public good.
 
In the absence of such consideration, the message sent will also be clear, and unfortunately serve  to reinforce the worst stereotypes of a “tone deaf” government committed only to expediency, individual interests and a general disregard for the public it is sworn to represent. 
 
We continue to believe that there is a better outcome to be had, and the first step toward that outcome requires the Village Board to suspend this evening’s scheduled vote, and take the time needed to carefully explore the tangible opportunity that has now been presented.
 
As always we greatly appreciate your time and consideration of our comments. We remain available to assist where we can in supporting any alternative effort that meets the Village’s defined needs and supports the highest level of conservation for the Long Pond Greenbelt. 
 
Sincerely,
 
Robert S. DeLuca
President
 
Robert S. DeLuca
President | Group for the East End
Office:  631-765-6450 x 213 | Cell:  631-495-0601

Email: bdeluca@eastendenvironment.org | Web: www.GroupfortheEastEnd.org
 
“Protecting the nature of the place you love”
________________________________________
From: Nancy Remkus <nremkus@optonline.net>
Date: January 8, 2019 at 11:23:59 AM EST
To: Beth Kamper <clerk@sagharborny.gov>, tgardella@sagharborny.gov, acorish@sagharborny.gov, jlarocca@sagharborny.gov, kodonnell@sagharborny.gov
Subject: N. Remkus
Dear Major Schroeder and the Board of Trustees:
I am writing once again on behalf of preserving the land near the Long Pond Green Belt
and not putting an impound lot there. I realize that each month you are all faced with a
myriad of difficult decisions that impact the future of our beautiful village-and the way you
vote this evening will once again be very important to the health and esthetic of our
village.
There is nothing more valuable than preserving our open and green space. Here on this Island
we are going to run out of it and the very thing that draws people here will disappear There
will be no quality of life with condos butting up to the village shoreline and an impound lot butted
up to the greenbelt. What an unsightly way to enter the village-and as far as I can ascertain
it is not needed. Surely there can be space found on the grounds of the Highway Department-
where paradise has already been paved and where security cameras can keep an eye on all the workings there.
This is not us against them-this is all of us working together to keep Sag Harbor beautiful.
I know I don’t want to see pavement-tall fences and security cameras there. Can’t we put our
heads together to look at other alternatives. Our voices need to come together-work together
and look towards the future for our children and their children. Surely they’re not dreaming of impound lots.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Nancy Remkus

________________________________________
From: April Gornik <artnik@pipeline.com>
To: Beth Kamper <clerk@sagharborny.gov>; Kenneth O’Donnell <kodonnell@sagharborny.gov>; tgardella <tgardella@sagharborny.gov>; acorish <acorish@sagharborny.gov>; jlarocca <jlarocca@sagharborny.gov>
Cc: greenbeltnews <greenbeltnews@aol.com>
Sent: Sun, Jan 6, 2019 5:32 pm
Subject: The Impound yard

Dear Mayor Schroeder and Village Board of Trustees,
 
You know I think the world of you and this board and the fine work you all do for the Village, but as I brought up at a meeting some months ago, I just can’t support the impound yard proposed to be right on the Long Pond Greenbelt, a beautiful, underused and under-appreciated part of our natural heritage here. I believe an alternative had been suggested, and I hope you will reconsider that instead of the present proposed position of the impound yard.
 
Most respectfully yours,
April Gornik
61 Fresh Pond Rd
Sag Harbor, NY  11963
________________________________________
From: Tria Giovan <tria@triagiovan.com>
To: clerk <clerk@sagharborny.gov>; kodonnell <kodonnell@sagharborny.gov>; tgardella <tgardella@sagharborny.gov>; acorish <acorish@sagharborny.gov>; jlarocca <jlarocca@sagharborny.gov>; greenbeltnews <greenbeltnews@aol.com>
Sent: Mon, Jan 7, 2019 7:51 am
Subject: Preserve the Long Pond Green Belt

As a citizen of Sag Harbor, and a resident living near the pond and its beautiful environs, I am in staunch opposition to the proposed impound yard for so many reasons.
 
I am surprised and disappointed to hear that the village would have even considered a project that could have such a negative affect on this pristine area.
 
Of all the places…what are you thinking?
Please do not go forward with the impound yard.
 
Tria Giovan

Tria Giovan
Tria Giovan Photography
192 Suffolk Street
Sag Harbor, NY 11963
www.triagiovan.com

October 2018 Letters

________________________________________
 

From: Lisa Prowant <lisa.prowant@stonybrook.edu>
To: clerk <clerk@sagharborny.gov>; kodonnell <kodonnell@sagharborny.gov>; tgardella <tgardella@sagharborny.gov>; acorish <acorish@sagharborny.gov>; jlarocca <jlarocca@sagharborny.gov>; greenbeltnews <greenbeltnews@aol.com>
Sent: Tue, Nov 6, 2018 9:36 am
Subject: Long Pond Greenbelt

Hello,

My name is Lisa Prowant and I am a conservation ecologist completing my doctoral studies in the Ecology and Evolution department at Stony Brook University and I urge you to reconsider your decision to place an impound yard in the Long Pond Greenbelt.

I study the conservation of animals on Long Island. When I first began my research, I was struck by the lack of green areas. It seemed as though strip malls and suburbs had taken over, leaving few areas where our island’s native species could persist. At the locations I could find to do my research, most did not resemble Northeastern deciduous forest, but rather had shockingly high levels of plants like poison ivy and greenbrier that are typically associated with habitat disturbance and human encroachment.

The Long Pond Greenbelt was one of the very few areas I visited that was pristine Northeastern deciduous forest. In fact, the Long Pond Greenbelt has one of the highest concentrations of rare species in New York State according to the Nature Conservancy. The coastal plain pond species found in the greenbelt are one of the rarest species groups in the northeast. The chemical runoff, smog, and noise pollution from an impound yard would cause irreversible damage to this fragile ecosystem. So, aside from poisoning your own water supply, you would be poisoning the water for thousands of native species.  

This decision may seem like a small, insignificant, convenient choice, but I would like you to bear in mind that this is one of thousands of similar decisions that are made every day. When the results of these decisions always favor the further destruction of our planet, those choices add up quickly. As Rachel Carson once wrote: “We stand now where two roads diverge. But unlike the roads in Robert Frost’s familiar poem, they are not equally fair. The road we have long been traveling is deceptively easy, a smooth superhighway on which we progress with great speed, but at its end lies disaster. The other fork of the road — the one less traveled by — offers our last, our only chance to reach a destination that assures the preservation of the earth.”

Please reconsider your decision to pollute the greenbelt with an impound yard. The Long Pond Greenbelt is a rare, unaltered, beautiful stretch of forest that deserves our protection.

Lisa Prowant
PhD Candidate 
Department of Ecology and Evolution
Stony Brook University
________________________________________

From: LMC Clifford <hamptonsbeach@gmail.com>
To: greenbeltnews <greenbeltnews@aol.com>
Sent: Sat, Oct 13, 2018 7:51 am
Subject: Please stop the impound lot

As a member of this community I implore that something be done to stop this ill thought idea of using green belt property to park cars and destroy a pristine part of our land🌿
 
THIS MUST BE STOPPED
 
Please protect our wildlife and our greenbelt
 
Thank you
Linda Clifford
________________________________________
 
From: William <willhastings@aim.com>
To: greenbeltnews <greenbeltnews@aol.com>
Sent: Sat, Oct 13, 2018 8:04 am
Subject: Police Impound Yard
We the people do not support the proposed impound yard being discussed by the Village Board. The proposed impound yard is a reckless idea.  Not only will it introduce chemicals into the Greenbelt’s water system from the asphalt paving itself, but also from fluids leaking from vehicles stored there.  Water from the property flows directly into Long Pond and Little Long Pond and, ultimately, our sole-source aquifer. This should not be allowed to happen.
And what about parking impounded vehicles in a secluded area where there is no on-going police presence (in fact barely any presence at all)?  Isn’t Sag Harbor Village responsible for the protection of these vehicles? Further, New York State is advocating for shared municipal services and Sag Harbor sits in both Southampton and East Hampton Towns.  Both already have unfilled impound yards situated (wisely) near police facilities.  If the argument is that these neighboring impound yards are too far for the village police to travel to catalog the vehicle contents (4-5 miles!), this can surely be accomplished at the village fire department (where it is done now) and then the vehicle  can be towed to the other yard.
A slight inconvenience? An extra tow fee?  Wouldn’t you say that’s a small price to pay to protect our aquifer and the Long Pond Greenbelt?
 
This ill-advised project does not have to happen. Inter-municipal solutions exist. For too long our elected officials have simply taken cheap, short-sighted solutions to these difficult issues; but we can no longer stick our heads in the sand with regard to water quality. Is this board oblivious to the numerous contaminated wells found on Long Island recently, that they can be so reckless with respect to our water supply? This is unacceptable! Please join me in vowing to vote out of office anyone who supports this ill-advised plan.
We are the people, we have spoken clearly on this issue, and we have the power.
________________________________________
From: ann chwatsky <annphotog@aol.com>
To: greenbeltnews <greenbeltnews@aol.com>
Sent: Sat, Oct 13, 2018 3:07 pm

Do we live in a Soviet style system in Sag Harbor where the members of the Village are not listened to?

Rather we have a board, except for one exception being Aidan Corish, that is secretive in that the meeting and vote on the Impound Lot meeting was not announced until a half hour before scheduled town board meeting, therefore many of us could not get there to make our protest heard.
 
The board has heard arguments against the impound lot, heard other more environmentally sound suggestions from many reputable organizations… but to no avail.
 
Please urge the board to think of the future… Sag Harbor should be known as a village that respects the environment and works to protect it (the Long Ponds) as well as protecting the appearance of the area instead of supporting such a lot used for impounding cars in that location.
 
Sincerely,
Ann Chwatsky
________________________________________
 
From: Eve Behar <eve@evebehar.com>
To: letters <letters@sagharborexpress.com>
Cc: acorish <acorish@sagharborny.gov>; tgardella <tgardella@sagharborny.gov>; greenbeltnews <greenbeltnews@aol.com>; jlarocca <jlarocca@sagharborny.gov>; kodonnell <kodonnell@sagharborny.gov>; clerk <clerk@sagharborny.gov>
Sent: Sun, Oct 14, 2018 11:14 am
Subject: No to impound!


Hello,
 
The board must reconsider their vote on putting an impound yard next to the green belt.
We have to protect our water, wildlife, environs for us to have future on this planet. Don’t add to the destruction.
 
Thank you,
Eve Behar
Sag Harbor resident
________________________________________
 
From: Julie Sullivan <jsllvn766@gmail.com>
To: letters <letters@sagharborexpress.com>
Cc: clerk <clerk@sagharbornny.gov>; kodonnell <kodonnell@sagharborny.gov>; tgardella <tgardella@sagharbony.gov>; acorish <acorish@sagharborny.gov>; jlarocca <jlarocca@sagharbony.gov>; greenbeltnews <greenbeltnews@aol.com>
Sent: Sat, Oct 13, 2018 3:08 pm
Subject: Long Pond Greenbelt


Hello,

I am opposed to any harmful use of parks and preserves — such as Long Pond Greenbelt — that serve as nature sanctuaries especially when alternatives exist. The proposed vehicle impoundment yard will impact not only Long Island’s aquifer, but the fauna and flora that evolved with the natural ecosystem. Each time a community trivializes the impact of a parking lot, a nonconforming use, or rezoning a park or preserve, Long Island degrades by another notch as in a death by a thousand cuts. Please reconsider your decision.

Julianne Sullivan
Long Island Resident
________________________________________
 
From: Peter Gethers <gushen@aol.com>
Date: October 14, 2018 at 11:46:21 AM EDT
To: letters@sagharborexpress.com
Cc: clerk@sagharborny.gov, kodonnell@sagharborny.gov, tgardella@sagharborny.gov, acorish@sagharborny.gov, jlarocca@sagharbirny.gov
Subject: Impound proposal

As a 30 year resident of and a registered voter in Sag Harbor, I am writing to protest against the reckless impound yard being proposed by our mayor and other local officials. Here is what we don’t need in Sag Harbor: projects that willfully and needlessly contribute to the destruction of our environment – we have more than enough of that from our president and congress. We should be fighting to protect our local environmental needs not to destroy them. This proposed project  will potentially poison our aquifer and the Long Pond Greenbelt. I can see no value whatsoever in that.

There are other valid and better solutions. I can see no reason for this proposal to go forward other than some kind of unspecified greed or misguided values on the part of the officials pushing to move it forward.

I am certainly not against progress. Nor am I unaware of the need to balance economic and environmental needs. What I am against is unnecessary destruction of our environment when there are other easy solutions to a need or a problem.

Thank you. I hope these elected officials realize they are here to serve their constituency. If they don’t, I and many others will lead the charge to make sure they are not re-elected.

– Peter Gethers
307 Division Street
Sag Harbor, NY 11963

________________________________________
From: Robert Lupi <rlupimd@optonline.net>
To: clerk <clerk@sagharborny.gov>; letters <letters@sagharborexpress.com>; kodonnell <kodonnell@sagharborny.gov>; tgardella <tgardella@sagharborny.gov>; acorish <acorish@sagharborny.gov>; jlarocca <jlarocca@sagharborny.gov>; greenbeltnews <greenbeltnews@aol.com>
Sent: Sun, Oct 14, 2018 12:47 pm
Subject: Proposed impound yard
Dear Members of the Sag Harbor Village Board,
I am writing as a resident of Sag Harbor to implore you in the strongest terms to halt the development of the proposed impound yard near the Long Pond Greenbelt. This plan has been opposed by The Nature Conservancy, Southampton Town and Suffolk County. The environmental community, the local newspaper, our state assemblyman and former Sag Harbor Village lawyer all oppose the plan both for environmental reasons and because the secluded location will present difficulties preventing vandalism.
It is particularly puzzling that the plan is proceeding since there is a very workable alternative that wouldn’t involve the risk of polluting
our aquifer.
I urge you to listen to the majority of the community that will be affected by this decision who strongly oppose it.
Respectfully,
Robert S. Lupi, M.D.
________________________________________
From: James Monaco <JMonaco@UNET2.net>
To: clerk <clerk@sagharborny.gov>; kodonnell <kodonnell@sagharborny.gov>; tgardella <tgardella@sagharborny.gov>; acorish <acorish@sagharborny.gov>; jlarocca <jlarocca@sagharborny.gov>
Cc: greenbeltnews <greenbeltnews@aol.com>; letters <letters@sagharborexpress.com>
Sent: Sun, Oct 14, 2018 1:04 pm
Subject: dumb idea

Putting an impound yard smack in the middle of the Long Pond Greenbelt is a really dumb idea. What must you be thinking? Read Dai’s statement again.
 
If you can’t be a proper steward of your 24 acres there, sell the property to some group who can.
 
Thank you Aidan Corish for having some sense.
 
James Monaco
Mount Misery
 
Long Island Nature Organization
________________________________________
 
From: kathyvj334@aol.com <kathyvj334@aol.com>
To: greenbeltnews <greenbeltnews@aol.com>
Sent: Sun, Oct 14, 2018 2:27 pm
We vote no on impound yard.
Home owners Kathy and Ed Jaworski.
________________________________________
 
From: drlbutterfly <drlbutterfly@aol.com>
To: clerk <clerk@sagharborny.gov>; kodonnell <kodonnell@sagharborny.gov>; tgardella <tgardella@sagharborny.gov>; acorish <acorish@sagharborny.gov>; jlarocca <jlarocca@sagharborny.gov>
Cc: greenbeltnews <greenbeltnews@aol.com>
Sent: Sun, Oct 14, 2018 2:13 pm
Subject: Stop the Impound Lot in the Greenbelt

 
Dear Mayor Schroeder, Deputy Mayor O’Donnell, Trustee Gardella, Trustee Corish and Trustee Larocca,
 
You are being asked to decide a matter of grave importance, one that will affect generations of inhabitants in this area, both human and animal.  This is an opportunity for you to save an irreplaceable plot of land and place it safely within the Greenbelt’s nature preserve.  What a wonderful opportunity you have been given to save and preserve a unique part of our natural environment.  This is your moment to make a decision that will be remembered for generations.
 
Is there a more meaningful way to be part of Sag Harbor’s history?  I don’t think so.  Become “Champions of the Greenbelt” and heed the pleas of generations yet to come as you vote to save the property being considered for an impound lot.
 
Most Sincerely,
Diane R. Lewis
________________________________________
 
ALEXANDRA EAMES
P.O. Box 1296
Sag Harbor, NY 11963
alexeames@optonline.net
 
October 14, 2018
 
The Honorable Sandra Schroeder, Mayor
Members of the Board of Trustees
Sag Harbor Village
P. O. Box 660
55 Main Street
Sag Harbor, NY 11963
 
Dear Mayor. Schroeder and Members of the Board
 
As the Park and Recreation Association (Mashashimuet Park) representative on the Long Pond Management Plan subcommittee in the early 1990s I find the proposed impound use for the former village dump extremely worrisome. Any potential increase in pollution in this fragile
area of the Greenbelt is an extreme step backward.
 
The years of effort, expertise and expense provided by Suffolk County, Southampton Town and the Nature Conservancy to acquire, preserve and protect this treasured resource must be respected. I ask the Sag Harbor Village Board to please reconsider their position and to select an alternate location for auto storage.
 
Sincerely,
Alexandra Eames
________________________________________
 
From: Larry Baltz <lbaltz@adtechllc.com>
To: letters <letters@sagharborexpress.com>
Cc: clerk <clerk@sagharborny.gov>; jlarocca <jlarocca@sagharborny.gov>; kodonnell <kodonnell@sagharborny.gov>; acorish <acorish@sagharborny.gov>; tgardella <tgardella@sagharborny.gov>; greenbeltnews <greenbeltnews@aol.com>
Sent: Sun, Oct 14, 2018 7:30 pm
Subject: Proposed Impound Yard

To Mayor Sandra Schroeder and the Sag Harbor Village Trustees;

I am writing regarding the proposed impound yard in the Long Pond Greenbelt.  Locating the Sag Harbor Village impound yard in such an environmentally sensitive location far from any Sag Harbor Village police presence is a terrible idea for all of the reasons enumerated in the Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt – Call For Action, dated October 12, 2018.

More upsetting is the cavalier attitude of the Mayor and all of the trustees except Aidan Corish.  It seems clear that public sentiment is generally against locating the impound yard in this location. The manner in which the resolution was brought to a vote after not being listed in the posted meeting agenda earlier in the day,  appears to have been done to minimize public input (opposition) and discussion.

I would ask that the Village Board reconsider their rush to move ahead with this ill-conceived proposal and to instead act in accordance with the wishes of their constituents.  The Board should also consider that many Suffolk County residents treasure the Long Pond Greenbelt and that their decision selfishly ignores the wishes of those residents outside of the village as well.

Locating the impound yard on the Turnpike may be the easiest solution, but it is certainly not the best solution. I remain optimistic that good sense and responsible, ethical practices will prevail in this matter.

Sincerely,

 Larry Baltz

 North Haven, NY

________________________________________

From: Caroline Cassa <clayfish33@gmail.com>
To: greenbeltnews <greenbeltnews@aol.com>
Sent: Mon, Oct 15, 2018 10:42 am
Subject: Long Pond Greenbelt

Thank you for reading my comments on this vital and timely issue for Sag Harbor residents and visitors. Our Greenbelt is a protected NY State nature sight. It has taken many years to establish this greatest treasure for the good of the community as well as for the good of our precious environment. Many voters have worked tirelessly and on a completely volunteer basis, to protect this chain of ponds, the trails and the last bit of remaining wildlife and air/water quality. There is ALWAYS a much broader picture to look at when making decisions that may never be reversed and cause irreparable damage to our delicate ecosystems. We now have enough scientific proof of our limited clean water supply vital to our community, economy and our very existence here on the east end of Long Island. 

 
I strongly urge you to find an alternative location for towed vehicles and service trucks. It is inappropriate and dangerous to our ponds and community to follow through with your present proposed sight. I speak as an environmentalist, as a voice of reason, a voice for water trees and wildlife that a healthy ecosystem require. There is so little left of what makes Sag Harbor such a precious community to live, work and play in. Without the beauty of these trails we will lose many tourists and tourism dollars, negatively affecting out town’s economy. There is ALWAYS a bigger picture.
 
I encourage ALL of the town board members to look for a simple alternative location for impounded and service vehicles. And to recognize the wishes of the many residents who signed our petitions as well as major environmental groups that work tirelessly to respect and value Nature. Please at give us a chance to be heard.
 
Thank you for your time and love of our community,
Caroline Cutaia Cassa
SagHarborClayfishLtd.
Clayfish33@gmail.com 
516 448 7686
________________________________________
From: Bornstein, Barbara <barbara.bornstein@Sothebyshomes.com>
To: letters@sagharborexpress.com <letters@sagharborexpress.com>
Cc: clerk@sagharborny.gov <clerk@sagharborny.gov>; kodonnell@sagharborny.gov <kodonnell@sagharborny.gov>; tgardella@sagharborny.gov <tgardella@sagharborny.gov>; acorish@sagharborny.gov <acorish@sagharborny.gov>; jlarocca@sagharborny.gov <jlarocca@sagharborny.gov>; greenbeltnews@aol.com <greenbeltnews@aol.com>; david weseley (david@NewYorkTitle.com) <david@NewYorkTitle.com>;  (blbornstein@optonline.net) <blbornstein@optonline.net>
Sent: Mon, Oct 15, 2018 4:04 pm
Subject: Sag Harbor Village proposed Impound Lot in Long Pond Greenbelt

15 October 2018

From:   Barbara L. Bornstein

To:       Sag Harbor Express
            Sag Harbor Village Mayor Sandra Schroeder
            Deputy Mayor Kenneth O’Donnell
            Trustee Thomas Gardella,
            Trustee Aidan Corish
            Trustee James Larocca

Re:       1310 Bridgehampton Sag Harbor Turnpike
             Sag Harbor Village proposed Impound Lot in Long Pond Greenbelt with paving, fencing and lighting

I served over twenty years on the Trails Advisory Board, and the Boards of Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt and Southampton Trails Preservation Society.

In addition to being part of FLPG, the stewards of this land, I have enjoyed walking and riding my horse along the trails and open spaces of the Greenbelt from Sag Harbor, through Bridgehampton to Sagaponack for over twenty-five years. 

I ask the Mayor and Trustees of Sag Harbor Village to please take a long term view of what is good for the land, the rare plants and animals that live only here, including the endangered tiger salamander, certain turtle species, and the vulnerable groundwater and ponds. What is at stake extends far beyond any of us. We are lucky to enjoy it now, and have a duty to protect it for future generations.

Southampton Town through the Community Preservation Fund, along with Suffolk County, Nature Conservancy and private donors, has spent millions of dollars preserving land in and around the Long Pond Greenbelt. To let anything detrimental happen to this parcel would be in direct opposition to what the Town has supported all these years. 

We have heard weak arguments, that this site was once a dump, so why bother to protect it. Past violations are to be avoided, not repeated.  The land did not lose its significance when it was violated and misused in the past.

We have seen successful rehabilitations behind Sag Harbor Industries which was severely contaminated and with the cooperation of Town Trustees and the NYSDEC has been cleaned and protected.  Beautiful Vineyard Field behind the South Fork Natural History Museum – once a mess full of tangled wire, fence stakes, and farming implements and overrun with invasive species has been restored as a native grassland habitat for birds, plants and other wildlife as well as a passive recreation area and educational area for the community.

We all need to – by whatever means necessary – protect this land from leaky vehicles, fencing, lighting, and from being an eyesore right at the gateway to beautiful Sag Harbor Village.  There are always ways to solve issues which are purely logistical. There is no reason to further damage this wooded habitat and the surrounding area.  There are plenty of smart people in Sag Harbor Village government who are up to that task, as well as many volunteers who care deeply about this area, who have and will offer ideas for solutions.

The history of this land is very important.  It inconceivable that when the Manning family decided to deed this acreage over to the Village exactly seventy years ago, that they intended anything other than for it to be left pristine and for the enjoyment of all.  This seems evident, as written in the original conveyances of this property by Edward R. Manning to the Village of Sag Harbor in 1948, that his intention through making the conveyance “subject to the rights of the public or any adjoining owners to pass and repass over any woods roads or trails that cross the [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][land]” that it be used for pure purposes¸ not to be desecrated for short sighted projects.  The intent of the Manning family’s gift may have been violated over the years since then, but that is not valid reason to continue anything that is detrimental to the land, its flora, fauna, the groundwater, ponds or to future generations.

Historic title documents including the original Covenants and Restrictions to support this use have been delivered to the Mayor of Sag Harbor.

I pray long term vision will prevail and the original Covenants and Restrictions will be honored. 

Thank you.

Respectfully yours,
Barbara Bornstein
________________________________________

From: Norma Vavolizza <normav@westnet.com>
To: Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt <greenbeltnews@aol.com>
Sent: Tue, Nov 6, 2018 3:22 pm
Subject: Impound yard opposition

This is what I wrote to Messrs. O’Donnell, Gardella, Cornish, LaRocca and Mayor Schroeder:

 
As a homeowner in Hampton Bays, I want to register my complete opposition to building a paved impound yard in the Long Pond Greenbelt.  We have something precious on the East End of Long Island.  Please don’t despoil it—not just for us, but for future generations.  Let’s leave Long Island better than we found it.  Please vote NO.
 
Sincerely,
Norma Vavolizza
90 Springville Road
Hampton Bays, NY
________________________________________

From: Jean Dodds <jean_dodds@hotmail.com>
To: clerk@sagharborny.gov <clerk@sagharborny.gov>
Cc: kodonnell@sagharborny.gov <kodonnell@sagharborny.gov>; tgardella@sagharborny.gov <tgardella@sagharborny.gov>; acorish@sagharborny.gov <acorish@sagharborny.gov>; jlarocca@sagharborny.gov <jlarocca@sagharborny.gov>; greenbeltnews@aol.com <greenbeltnews@aol.com>
Sent: Fri, Nov 9, 2018 11:09 am
Subject: Proposed Impound Yard

Dear Mayor Schroeder and Trustees,
 
As a Bridgehampton/Sag Harbor Turnpike resident, I am concerned regarding the Vehicle Impound Yard proposed for the Village of Sag Harbor property just South of the Southampton Town transfer station and feel the need to add my voice to the opposition.  Despite having previously been used as a dump, we should be making efforts to restore this area back to it’s natural habitat given that it is within the fragile Long Pond Greenbelt and its hydraulic boundary.  Asphalt, lights and impounded vehicles (some from collisions which will mean the potential for hazardous fluid leakage) is not what is needed in the Long Pond Greenbelt, especially so close to its pond system which links to our aquifer.
 
I understand the need to comply with state regulations for your impound yard, hence the need for a new site, however sharing an impound yard (East Hampton Town or Southampton Town) that is already in compliance with these regulations and not much farther from the proposed site would be more environmentally and financially sound.  It is my understanding that the Town of Southampton Community Preservation Fund has offered to purchase the proposed site for preservation.  This would provide the funding (plus some!) for any costs associated with sharing these impound yards without also having to lay out funds to turn this location into an approved impound yard. 
 
While my main focus is the continual preservation of the Long Pond Greenbelt and its rare flora as well as the water quality of its pond system and in turn our aquifer, it appears that there are other alternatives that would also make more sense financially for the Village.  Please take the time to review the pros and cons of all of the options available regarding this project (sharing other lots, finding another location, re-configuring the current location, etc.) and realize that this site’s best use is that of a nature preserve and not a vehicle impound yard.
 
Thank you,
Jean Dodds
Bridgehampton

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Statement to the Sag Harbor Village Trustees

Town of Southampton Conservation Board
Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt
The Nature Conservancy
Group for the East End
South Fork Natural History Museum (SoFo)
Southampton Trails Preservation Society
Mike Bottini
Jeff Cuje
George Held
Liz Joyce
Preston Phillips
Nancy Remkus
Greg Wiseman
Tax Map of Village Property[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]