Dan's Papers - April 25, 2008 - Plenty of Nothing

Quite possibly the most pathetic example of failing to move a project forward is the consistently thwarted efforts to turn the Bulova Watchcase Factory into something useful for Sag Harbor. I've been covering this story for three years, and if there's one consistent word that resonates loud and clear each time the Bulova building issue is raised, it is "nothing." Absolutely nothing of any substance has happened with this building and that is what's pathetic.

As the price of real estate and the glamour and appeal of the Hamptons have grown, so has the desire to keep things the way they are, and maybe that is the logic behind having a giant, crumbling, vacant, toxic building stand right in the middle of one of the most beautiful villages on the East End.

But even after literally decades of lack of progress with this building, we still must report any sliver of hope or activity surrounding the building. Ironically, for this story, the news is the opposite of progress. Last week a vote on Bulova in Sag Harbor was canceled. The vote, which canceled for the third time, is considered to be the deciding factor on the building's future - on the topic of whether to override an on-site affordable housing requirement that will allow the construction of a luxury apartment complex. The vote has been postponed until June 17.

Just when you thought the Bulova building project was going to move forward, major questions are now being raised and the reason is because it was the developers - Sag Development Partners - who cancelled the meeting. Since developers are the very people who usually do everything possible to get their projects built, their action raises an eyebrow.

SDP has been working tirelessly, filling out applications, getting licenses and environmental approval and doing it all with amazing endurance, waiting years for a vote like this. A call to SDP was not returned, and that has further fueled speculation that they are getting cold feet about the project, which includes 49 units that exist in the building and an additional 16 units in seven different townhouses, as well as a pool and recreation area.

The chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeals, Michael Bromberg, was surprised by the cancellation. After all, he is normally the person who does the canceling regarding this project. The last two times, he cancelled the meetings because the Board had not yet decided on what it was going to do about the affordable housing requirement, and whether or not they were going to accept the $2.275 million payment proposed by the developers to go toward a housing trust - thus voiding the requirement for affordable housing.

But when SDP didn't show up for the vote, essentially canceling it, there was speculation that they may be re-evaluating the business plan. Michael Eicke, the owner of the Christy Antiques building, confirmed that SDP was looking to break a lease they signed in September for an office to accommodate real estate agents who would show the completed Bulova apartments.

We can only wait and see what will happen with this project, which has been going on for almost half a decade now. But so far, the events surrounding this building have had the same historic results, which is nothing. It is tremendously frustrating for the people of Sag Harbor to have to watch this kind of a project fall through when a reputable developer had come along and was willing to work with just about every obstacle that prevented the building from being put to good use. But there is, of course, still that sliver of hope that one day, in this lifetime, we'll have a Bulova building in Sag Harbor that is used for something, instead of nothing.