23
We must do everything in our power to
preserve the character and open space of
the east end of Long Island. If we fail to do
that one of our greatest treasures and to a
lesser extent, a tourist attraction, will be
lost forever.
The allure of the east end (referred to as the
"Hamptons") lies in its rural character with
the combination of the water. The east end
is at a crossroads and unless it does
something significant, much of the allure
could be lost forever. Of all of the towns in
the east end it appears that Southampton
and East Hampton have been the most
aggressive in their land banking activities and continue to be active in this area.
Another problem is the inheritance tax situation for the farms. Many of the farms have been
in the family for generations. However, upon death, some of the farms could be worth in the
millions and could be taxed up to 55%. Usually this means that the heirs would have to sell the
farm. The Southampton based Peconic Land Trust has been active in this area protecting
over 2,000 acres of East End farmland and open space.
Today a number of property owners are selling development rights to some of their property
hoping to strike a balance between development and preservation.
Another issue is the overexpansion of retail. Purchasers of homes east of Riverhead desire
the rural atmosphere and settings. Additional retail is not desired.
Another issue is the formation of the Peconic County. Already this has cleared one political
hurdle with another one to be faced. It is fraught with logistical nightmares. There are still
some issues since there are two forks at the east end with varying degrees of economic and
political power. However, most of the east end supervisors tend to reach consensus of issues
year over year, but time is not on their side.
DEVELOPMENTS TO WATCH
A test of the strength of the Long Island economy will be how well the following projects do over
the next 2 years:
1. Roosevelt Raceway
2. Calverton Site
3. The ex-Sperry Plant in Lake Success
A positive result would be for these projects to be developed and fully rented (utilized) without
taking away the demand from other existing projects.
Another development would be the Downtown New York City market. In the height of the
effects of recession the vacancy rate was in excess of 30% while now it is about 9.2%. This
is as a result of two factors. Demand has increased due to the high office rents in mid-town
as well as a number of office buildings being reconverted to residential thus taking away
