There is no easy solution for the South Fork’s affordable housing crisis, which is striking schools, police departments and volunteer emergency corps hardest. A new idea is to use some of those same properties where men and women are employed, or where they volunteer, to build affordable housing and to give them an inside track at a place they can truly call home, in exchange for their employment or volunteering. Sag Harbor Village Mayor Tom Gardella floated the idea as a Village Board member to use the Sag Harbor Firehouse property in that way, and a similar plan has been pitched to East Hampton schools. Is it one possible answer?
On October 12 for the latest Express Sessions discussion The Express News Group assembled Tim Fromm, assistant superintendent of East Hampton School District; Tom Gardella, Sag Harbor Village mayor; Curtis Highsmith, executive director, Southampton Town Housing Authority; Kirby Marcantonio, owner of Hampton Life; and Tommy John Schiavoni, Southampton Town councilman; at the American Hotel in Sag Harbor to discuss these innovation solutions.

Affordable Housing for Essential Volunteers and Professionals on Public Land

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone visited Southampton in late August to announce that the county plans to seek proposals for “innovative traffic solutions” for a seven-mile stretch of County Road 39 from Hampton Bays to Southampton Village. He joined also the Express Sessions conversation on October 26 at Union Sushi & Steak in Southampton, with panel of local and county public officials exploring what those innovations might entail.

The addition to Bellone, the guests included Suffolk County Department of Public Works Assistant Chief Engineer Alex Prego, Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming, Southampton Village Police Chief Sue Hurteau, Southampton Town Highway Superintendent Charles McArdle and Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman.

Innovative Solutions to the South Fork Traffic Mess

Sag Harbor Village, with a new mayor at the helm, appears poised to tackle an important planning project, including an update to its zoning code and the potential for the creation of a comprehensive plan, which would serve as a blueprint for the village’s development future. Considering the various pressures the village faces, including a proposal for a new residential and commercial development that could transform the west side of Sag Harbor behind Main Street, continuing concerns about water quality and the need for more affordable housing, a master plan conversation would set the stage for Sag Harbor in the 21st century. What, exactly, should the master plan say? This week's Session Report podcast looks back at an Express Sessions event on November 16 at The American Hotel in Sag Harbor.

A Blueprint for Sag Harbor Village's Future

Since 1963, a sprawling 84-acre stretch of Shinnecock Hills has had a college presence, first as Southampton College, then, starting in 2006, as the Southampton campus of Stony Brook University. Over the years, some things have stayed the same — the campus is a focal point for marine science and a bastion of the arts — but the vision for its future has varied. Today, Stony Brook has plans to build a new $300 million hospital on the site, which could spark a new era for the campus. In the meantime, the condition of some buildings have critics crying foul and worrying about Stony Brook's vision — or lack thereof. Several key leaders from the Stony Brook University administration joined Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., a key critic of the state of the campus, State Senator Anthony Palumbo, and former U.S. Representative Tim Bishop, a former Southampton College provost, to discuss the present and future of Stony Brook Southampton.

Clarifying the Vision for the Stony Brook Southampton Campus

The Express News Group hosted its latest Express Sessions live event, "Can the Winter Be Brisk for Businesses in East Hampton?" on February 1 at Rowdy Hall in Amagansett with East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen, The Anchor Society founder Bess Rattray, Honest Man Restaurant Group owner Mark Smith and Hal Zwick, the director of commercial real estate at Compass Hamptons.

Traditionally, merchants in East Hampton Town and its villages make their money in the busy summer season, then have various strategies for riding out the other half of the year — some stay open to serve locals, others close up shop altogether. But the town has a healthy full-time community, has become more of a year-round destination for part-time residents and the newly formed Greater East Hampton Chamber of Commerce has emerged to help serve and unite the town’s business community. Filling the empty storefronts in the winter could be good for shoppers — and possibly for business owners as well. '

Another part of this conversation is exploring new ideas to replace pulling up the stakes in winter, with a special focus on a new charitable organization, the Anchor Society, and its vision of creating “winter shops” in the typically vacant storefront spaces.

Can Business Be Brisk in East Hampton in Winter?

With 10 acres of tribe-owned land off Sunrise Highway being cleared for a possible travel plaza, which would feature a retail shop and tax-free gasoline pumps, the Shinnecock Nation continues forward with a list of economic development activities. Not far away are the two "monuments" — roadside electronic billboards bringing in advertising revenue. Little Beach Harvest recently opened the first nation-owned marijuana dispensary on Shinnecock territory. Other developments on the table include a cannabis growing facility, and perhaps a spa, as well as a gaming facility. Shinnecock business leaders speak on their vision of the future, and the impact the new revenue is having — and with local leaders speak on their response to a new era for the Shinnecock Nation.

A New Era for the Shinnecock Nation

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently completed an $11 million project that widened the beach to protect Montauk properties from rising oceans. Dredging and dumping sand on beaches is expensive, and it’s only a temporary measure — but it remains the preferred strategy, despite the costs. This Express Sessions event on April 4 featured a discussion of beach nourishment, its application on beaches throughout the South Fork, the pluses and minuses, and how regular replenishment can be used both as a short- and long-term strategy, as well as buying time for other approaches, such as coastal retreat.

Shifting Sands: Is Beach Nourishment the Best Option To Protect the Oceanfront?

The Sessions Report is a production of The Express News Group. In the podcast, editors form the newspaper group discuss the organization's popular Express Sessions panel discussions of current events happening on the East End of Long Island.

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