Dan's Papers - March 13, 2009

There's a lot to report in the winter on the East End, if you don't care about news.

February and March aren't big news months out here. Snowstorms and details of town meetings tend to be turned into big front page stories. That's the plight of the community paper in a resort town. Not that the local news isn't importnat, it just seems that big news never happens in the dead of winter.

So a lot of us local papers are forced to become Dickensonian in our approach to coverage, reporting news of seasons past and news of seasons yet to come. Headlines are filled with words like hoping, may, might, possible, expects, considers and plans. In other words, there are a lot of stories about upcoming news, and those stories are important for us to report, just in case. So here are some things that will happen in the next few months in the Hamptons. Yet again, they might not.

A lot is going on with real estate in Sag Harbor. A lot. Plans are being proposed, proposals are being reviewed which will be subject to revisions to the proposed plans. A new plan was submitted for the condo project of Ferry Road near the bridge. Apparently, the developer could build 40 units, but they're looking for just 18, which is fewer than the 22 proposed - two years ago. Something's going to happen there, you can be sure. Except that it has recently been revealed that there's an ownership issue that has to be resolved concerning an abandoned road. That could derail the plan. Or maybe not. Village Attorney Fred Thiele said that as long as the developers get an insured title, it can go through. The proposal, that is, not necessarily the development, which must undergo more review. However, according to Thiele, the Village could get additional information that would complicate the issue. There will be a lot more news about this potential news in coming months. And that's for sure.

The dump in Springs is going to be privatized. Maybe. But it really could happen if a committee presents its recommendations to Town Board candidates. The whole town might be restructured - at least that's what being proposed and might be considered. It would mean East Hampton would have a town manager, a position that could end up costing the town $93K per year in salary. Or even $200K. That's a lot of money for an already burdened town. If it happens we should all be outraged.

Linda Kabot is going to run again for Town Supervisor. She said so in a letter to the Southampton Republican Town Committee. So that news - from January - is still a definite. Yes it is. But the real news is that the party might not endorse her. Then again, they might. It's big news either way. And when they decide, that will really be something to report.

The Shinnecocks are planning to build a casino somewhere in Suffolk sometime, depending on when the government gives them federal recognition as a tribe. But a new Supreme Court ruling might give New York State and Suffolk County authority over some Native-American owned land, which could include land earmarked for the casino. But the Shinnecocks say that's poppycock, the decision doesn't appear to have an influence over what they want to do, when they're finally in a position to do it. Glad that's finally being resolved.

In Westhampton Beach, street musicians have long been a part of the scene, setting up to entertain passers by. Well they just might be playing too loudly. And if they are, that might be discovered if the village trustees remove a code requirement that sets a decibel limit of 65. Then what? A Westhampton police officer said the village will now let the officers decide what's loud and what isn't. Well, actually, he suggested the village might want to think about considering that. So it's a definite possibility. But there is new news on this issue: Westhampton Beach's town code has no definition of "outdoor music." The term is 100% vague, that's for sure.

County Road 39 was getting overdeveloped. As a result, the Town Board set a 12-month ban on construction. That was big news last July. But now the Board is considering lifting the ban earlier, from July 22 of this year to March 30. Well, that's the date being considered. The reasoning by some for lifting the ban is that, in this economy, there shouldn't be any restrictions on ventures that will create jobs. By lifting the ban early, developers could move ahead on construction projects that could stimulate the local economy. And that would be good news, hopefully...