Dans Papers - May 18, 2007 - Amagansett Farmers' Market Saved Forever

Every year for the last ten years, a bolt of fear would rumble through East Hampton and Amagansett as residents considered the fate of the Amagansett Farmers Market. Rumors had it, again, that the Farmers Market will be closed for the summer season. Someone else has purchased it and is turning it into a subdivision or a Denny's or anything but what it is - and thus will end a historical icon of the summer.

But it never happens. This year, if all goes as planed, you will be able to put all your worries aside. Finally your summer source for fresh rhubarb is safe, not to mention your corn and potatoes. A somewhat complicated plan has been put into action, which will not only preserve the Farmers Market, but a great deal of acreage behind it forever.

This joint effort is being made possible through a great deal of logistical work between the Market's owner, Pat Struk, along with East Hampton Town, the Peconic Land Trust and Stony Hill resident, Margaret de Cuevas.

Though nothing has been signed, the plan is for Ms. de Cuevas to sell the development rights of 24 acres of her own property in Stony Hill two miles away to the Town for $4.4 million. As these acres are not physically connected to the Farmers Market, the sale is just a means of preserving that land and raising funds for the next step. Ms. de Cuevas will use the $4.4 million to help purchase the Amagansett Farmers Market, as well as the surrounding property, for an undisclosed price (the property was last listed for somewhere around $9.5 million). Ms. de Cuevas will then sell the development rights of the surrounding property, to the Town and donate the market to the Peconic Land Trust who will take stewardship of the market.

Though it seems a bit confusing as to who owns what, all you need to know is that this summer, everything should go just as it has for the past 53 years. The Struk family will continue to run the market, serving up all the summer delights you've been dreaming about all winter long.

Once the ink is dry on all the legal documents, the Peconic Land Trust will have to initiate the task of searching for the proper management team for the next season. While the Struk family will continue to own and live in the house adjacent to the market, it is not clear if they will continue to run the market after this summer.

The Peconic Land Trust, founded in 1983, has preserved over 8,500 acres of Long Island, including another Amagansett institution, Quail Hill Farm. The Peconic Land Trust and the de Cuevas family have a long-standing relationship with regard to conservation. Just five years ago, the Peconic Land Trust received over 200 acres of land from the family. The Stony Hill area has seen a great deal of development in recent years and coups like these are integral if the Town and Land Trust hope to preserve not only the beauty of the area, but the ecological importance it plays on the East End.

In order to prevent the vast overdevelopment of the East End, conservation has been pushed to the forefront and programs like East Hampton Town's conservation plan, as well as private groups like the Peconic Land Trust and the Nature Conservancy, have made it possible to protect vast tracts of land.

So the next time someone starts preaching about the closing of the Amagansett Farmers Market, tell them that if all goes according to plan, it should be around indefinately.