State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. has introduced legislation to help make housing more affordable for low and moderate-income residents of East Hampton, Southampton, Shelter Island, Riverhead, and Southold by establishing a fund to provide loans to first-time homebuyers.

Money for the fund would be generated by adding a half-percent surcharge to the region’s real estate transfer tax — the same levy that currently replenishes the community preservation fund. Houses valued at $1 million or less on the South Fork and Shelter Island would be exempt from the tax, and those valued at $750,000 or less would be exempt on the North Fork.

“After the recession, and with the housing market going up, the affordability gap has grown substantially over the last three or four years,” said Mr. Thiele this week. “This has been one of the biggest problems that’s defied a solution for many, many years.” 

Mr. Thiele’s bill lays out the range of negative consequences caused by the lack of affordable housing, from residents being forced to live in overcrowded conditions to the traffic congestion caused by the so-called “trade parade,” in which much of the area’s labor force commutes between East End worksites and their residences farther west, where housing is more affordable.

Mr. Thiele emphasized that his proposal is a study bill and has a long way to go before becoming serious legislation. And even if the bill is enacted, the East End town boards would still need to formally adopt the measure, which would then be subject to a mandatory voter referendum.

Still, a considerable amount of research has been done to substantiate the effort. For instance, Mr. Thiele estimates that the half-percent surcharge would generate about $15 million to $20 million a year, predominantly from house sales in Southampton and East Hampton. That money would then be used to provide loans for first-time homebuyers for up to 50 percent of the purchase price. 

Eligible applicants would have to be either a resident of or an employee in the towns. Income eligibility requirements would also be in place (the cap in the current version of the legislation is $132,960 for a one or two-person household and $155,120 for a household of three or more), as would a limit on the purchase price of a house. The loan would come due upon resale of the property, with the amount of the loan — plus a share of any financial gain from the resale — coming out of the proceeds and going back into the fund. 

“With the environmental constraints of the East End, we are not going to build our way out of this problem,” said Mr. Thiele, in a statement announcing the proposal. “Instead, we need to have a tool that brings the existing housing stock within the financial reach of middle class and working class East Enders.”

Mr. Thiele has a long history of crafting legislation designed to help middle-income homebuyers — including his 2006 “McMansion bill,” which proposed establishing a loan fund by charging a $10-per-square-foot fee on residential houses that exceeded 3,000 square feet — but to no avail. This time, he believes, the economic and political climates make getting something done far more feasible. “The landscape has changed, because of the federal tax act, which will make buying a first home even more difficult,” he said, referring to the bill signed by President Trump in December. “Plus, the tax act will help the wealthy and then put more pressure on the luxury market.”

The opposition to his previous attempts, said Mr. Thiele, mostly came from state lobbyists for the real estate and building industries, but that local builders and brokers recognized the benefits of making the East End affordable for all. “Everyone needs the volunteer fire department and the stores on main street and people who work in the hospital,” he said. “And I would argue that the thing that makes East Hampton and Southampton special isn’t just the historic places or the bays and beaches, it’s also the sense of community we have here.”

None of three East End real estate professionals contacted by The Star agreed to share their opinions on the proposed legislation, but Mitchell Pally, the chief executive officer of the Long Island Builders Institute, offered a mixed assessment. Solving the affordable-housing crisis, said Mr. Pally, can be done only by increasing the supply of homes, not just reducing their cost. “You have to solve both problems at the same time,” said Mr. Pally, who noted that the institute’s board had not yet taken an official position on Mr. Thiele’s bill. “We would hope that the funds could also be used to buy land to build housing units on.” 

Mr. Thiele said that over the next few months, he will be meeting with people from each of the towns, including builders and real estate professionals, looking to build “a coalition of support.” 

One element Mr. Thiele believes will help bond the coalition together: a universal dislike of traffic. “People being able to live and work in the same community will ease the traffic congestion,” Mr. Thiele said. “And no matter how big your house is, you still have to deal with traffic.”

The East Hampton Village Board heard Friday from Jamie Banks, the executive director of Quiet Communities, a nonprofit that focuses on helping municipalities, homeowners, and landscape businesses transition to quieter electric machines that produce low or no emissions.

Dr. Banks spoke about the ecological and physiological dangers of using gas-powered leaf blowers and other landscape equipment, citing research that showed that consistent gas spillage from refilling the machines had a negative impact on the environment, and that the noise they generate not only caused hearing problems, but may also lead to heart disease, endocrine disorders, and other illnesses. 

“That’s because loud noise causes a stress response in our bodies,” Dr. Banks said. Quiet Communities recently worked with the Town of Southampton to turn the East Quogue Village Green into a park that predominantly uses electric equipment for maintenance. Although her organization is in favor of having towns regulate the use of leaf blowers, Dr. Banks suggested instituting equipment exchanges and other incentives to encourage people to make the switch on their own.

After Dr. Banks’s presentation, Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr. signaled that the board was readying legislation to address the issue. “I think the intent is there that we want to move ahead vis-a-vis the environment and the ecology of our wonderful village,” he said.

East Hampton has a reputation for being progressive and inclusive, but that does not mean it is immune to human-rights and civil-rights problems. And so it was that 25 years ago this coming July, the East Hampton Town Anti-Bias Task Force held its first meeting in the basement of Calvary Baptist Church in East Hampton. Soon, the group was making is presence felt all around town, moving its meeting to the Methodist Church and the East Hampton Day Care Center, too.

The committee was formed to address discrimination based on race, religion, age, disability, gender, and sexual orientation, or marital, familial, or socioeconomic status. Its aim is to promote diversity, unity, and understanding among the various ethic, economic, and religious groups that make up our community. 

Members of the task force say they are determined to tackle bias by practicing what they preach: that is, through mutual understanding, not confrontation.

Two Anti-Bias Task Force board members, Audrey Gaines of East Hampton, who is the committee chairwoman, and Edna Steck of Montauk, believe that everyone is best served through the development of meaningful relationships, rather than heated debate and crisis management. 

They embody the quiet and consistent advocacy they promote, and have spent the greater part of their lives working independently and together to tackle bias on the East End.

“We’ve known each other for about 50 years,” Ms. Gaines said.

“Not quite yet,” Ms. Steck corrected. “But definitely over 45 years.” 

As founding members of the East Hampton Anti-Bias Task Force, they helped the group build and maintain close ties with schools, police, government, houses of worship, and cultural organizations, citizens advisory groups, and not-for-profits.

Meetings are now held at Town Hall on Pantigo Road on the second Wednesday of every month, when the board convenes to discuss initiatives, events, and activities underway or under consideration. Members are appointed by the East Hampton Town Board, and meetings are attended by Sylvia Overby, deputy supervisor of East Hampton, who is the liaison between the town and the task force.

“The advantage of being based in Town Hall is that we keep acquainted with appointed and elected officials,” said Ms. Gaines. “People know us, and we know them. We have their ear if something comes up. They take note, especially when Edna speaks.”

If there is a disadvantage to meeting ­Continued from A1

in Town Hall, it relates to the perception of some residents, particularly immigrants, that showing up at a government building could involve personal risk. “This is not about East Hampton,” Ms. Gaines said. “It is a reaction to what is going on at the national level. People listen to the news.”

Ms. Steck agreed that the recent rise of anti-immigrant rhetoric across the country has changed the nature of the work they do. A new focus of the task force’s efforts has been to revert to former methods. “Because people are more wary than before about stepping forward or contacting us with concerns,” she said, “we have responded by being more proactive in getting the word out, in being visible.”

“We used to meet in random locations. Church basements, libraries. And now we’ve been getting back to that,” Ms. Gaines said. “We’ve been going into the communities directly. We take our talking points, our script. We want them to know who we are and what we do.”

While general meetings are public, the task force meets privately to review and respond to reports of specific bias-related incidents from individuals. “Complaints are handled in special sessions,” Ms. Gaines said. “We listen, consider the facts, then make referrals to organizations best suited to help.”

“That’s important for people to understand,” Ms. Steck said. “The Town Hall meetings are open to the public, and everyone is welcome, but the complaint process is confidential. We do not ask about residency status. We do not judge. Our job is to make sure that people who feel they have been discriminated against are heard and that they are provided with the right information and directed to the right resources.”

As far as the future of the East Hampton Town Anti-Bias Task Force is concerned, the two longtime board members have exactly the same hopes and dreams they had when they joined the group a quarter-century ago.

“No one should be treated poorly,” Ms. Steck said. “Everyone has the right to be treated with dignity, regardless of their status, preferences, or circumstances. We want to continue to help people in our area appreciate the importance of this right.”

The East Hampton Town Trustees received a 10-year dredging permit for Georgica Pond from the United States Army Corps of Engineers on Tuesday. The permit will allow 15,000 cubic yards of sand to be removed from the pond each year. “That will keep it deeper, cooler, and less susceptible to harmful algal blooms,” said Sara Davison, the executive director of the Friends of Georgica Pond Foundation, a group of residents that is working to improve the pond’s health. 

The dredged sand will then be used to replenish beaches. 

The town’s previous 10-year permit expired in 2015, which forced the town trustees to reapply annually for dredging permits, resulting in bureaucratic delays that often prevented proper maintenance of the pond. That “could have spelled disaster for the future of Georgica Pond,” said Senator Charles Schumer in a statement announcing the approval of the permit. 

Senator Schumer worked with the town trustees to get the Army Corps to issue the permit in time for dredging to take place before April 1, which is when the federally protected piping plovers begin to nest on the beach there. 

The pond is typically opened to the ocean in the spring and the fall, but last year, the spring opening did not take place because of weather conditions and an early arrival of the protected shorebirds.

Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman attended the Bridgehampton Citizens Advisory Committee meeting on Monday evening to further his campaign to obtain an historic designation for the hamlet’s business district. 

“I want to work with you at making this happen,” Mr. Schneiderman told the large turnout of residents assembled in a conference room at the Bridgehampton National Bank. 

Mr. Schneiderman made the case that the designation — whether achieved through local measures or by getting the district listed on the state and national registers of historic places — would help protect the integrity of Bridgehampton and, therefore, be good for both businesses and homeowners.

During Mr. Schneiderman’s two-term tenure as East Hampton Town supervisor, from 2000 to 2004, he played an integral part in the successful effort to have a portion of the hamlet of Amagansett registered as a historic district. To receive that designation from the New York State Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places, a site or district must be declared “significant in the history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture of New York and the nation.”

Although Mr. Schneiderman predicted that Bridgehampton property values would go up if the designation were established, because it would safeguard the “special feeling” of the place, one downside to the change would be the inevitable building restrictions — geared toward protecting a district’s historic character — that would follow. 

The response to Mr. Schneiderman’s proposal from the Bridgehampton Citizens Advisory Committee was extremely positive. “During the last 25 or so years, we have undergone an incredible transition from a rural farming hamlet to a landscape of McMansion subdivisions and tear-downs replaced with out-of-scale houses,” said Pamela Harwood, the C.A.C.’s chairwoman. “The notion of creating appropriate models and guidelines going forward is welcome, as is saving Bridgehampton Main Street.” 

But Phil Mannino, who on Wednesday evening was working the host’s station at World Pie on Main Street, which is owned by his son Michael, had a differing opinion. “I think it’s a little heavy-handed,” said Mr. Mannino, who is in favor of residential restrictions but worried that the historic designation would mean ceding control over business decisions, like whether or not to replace the restaurant’s windows. “I pay taxes so I’d like to be able to run my business the way I want.”

Add this to Jay-Z’s 99 problems. 

The rapper and businessman, whose 2004 song by the same name was ranked number two in Rolling Stone magazine’s top 100 songs of the 2000s, was recently targeted by President Trump on Twitter; he left Sunday’s Grammy Awards ceremony empty-handed despite eight nominations, and he and his wife, the singer Beyoncé Knowles, publicly acknowledged marital discord on their respective albums “4:44” and “Lemonade.” 

So the potential loss of the vista from the East Hampton house for which they paid a reported $25.9 million last year might seem minor by comparison. Nevertheless, the couple have hired an attorney to voice their objections to a neighbor’s plan to build a house and pool that they fear could block the couple’s view of an open field from their house at 81 Briar Patch Road. 

The neighbor is Ana Meier, and she needs variances from the East Hampton Village Zoning Board of Appeals for a pool and an 8,325-square-foot house she hopes to build at 18 Jones Creek Lane. Ms. Meier is a furniture designer; the house was designed by her father, the noted architect Richard Meier, who lives nearby.

His was one of several lots created when a prior owner subdivided Fulling Mill Farm, which once stretched from Georgica and Briar Patch Roads to Georgica Pond. When the subdivision was created, the Nature Conservancy was the beneficiary of a 20-plus-acre parcel, now known as the Fulling Mill Farm Preserve. Mr. Meier purchased 18 Jones Creek Lane in 1972 and subsequently transferred it to his daughter. The preserve abuts both Ms. Meier’s property and that owned by Jay-Z and Beyoncé.

A private covenant restricted development within 80 feet of the preserve until 2022, but the Nature Conservancy waived the restriction, according to Ms. Meier’s attorney, Leonard Ackerman, allowing Ms. Meier to build closer to the preserve and farther from the ecologically stressed pond.

At a Jan. 12 hearing on her application, Mr. Ackerman told the zoning board that in balancing Ms. Meier’s needs with the board’s mandate to preserve the character of the neighborhood and protect adjacent property owners from adverse impact, his client’s application should be approved.

Ms. Meier needs variances to allow the pool to be just under 29 feet from the rear-yard setback, about 11 feet shy of the code’s requirement, and to allow the house to include an 18-foot-long enclosed breezeway that will be four feet wide. The code requires that such a feature be at least half as wide as it is long. 

Richard Warren of Inter-Science Research Associates, an environmental and land-use consultant also representing Ms. Meier, submitted recent photographs showing a row of Leyland cypress trees planted between Ms. Meier’s property and 81 Briar Patch Road. “Only two small windows” on that house face Ms. Meier’s property, Mr. Warren said, and “the trees almost go up to the ridge of the house.” The photos show, he said, that there has been a “recent, but substantial” effort “to create some privacy” between the properties. He pointed out that under the code, the swimming pool could be built closer to 81 Briar Patch Road, but that would create “more railroad development,” contrary to the architect’s vision. 

Frank Newbold, the board’s chairman, acknowledged that the swimming pool’s proposed location is “farther from the neighbor who’s concerned about their privacy, and also farther from the pond.” Despite the code requirements for breezeways, compliance in this instance would require building an additional 90 square feet, Mr. Newbold said. “It seems counterintuitive that better zoning is served by building something bigger.” 

Nica Strunk, an attorney speaking on behalf of 81 Briar Patch L.L.C. and Noam Gottesman, a businessman and former hedge fund manager who owns 61 Briar Patch Lane, argued that the house and pool could be designed so as not to require variance relief, which should be the board’s preference. 

She agreed with Mr. Ackerman that the private covenant on the nature preserve is outside the zoning board’s purview. However, she pointed out that “the open field essentially extends into this 80 feet that was to be preserved until 2022. The large portion of the house is within that 80 feet. I question whether that is the right design for this property. I also question whether the house needs to be as big as it is.” 

The proposed house will be 616 square feet under the maximum allowable floor area, Mr. Newbold said, while the proposed lot coverage is 6,589 feet less than the maximum allowed. 

“Okay,” Ms. Strunk answered, but the swimming pool’s proposed location “is essentially where my client’s view of the open field has been.” The plantings notwithstanding, “I don’t think there’s any kind of barrier that would completely screen this pool from my client’s view.” There are other conforming locations for it, she insisted. 

She also complained about the “railroad-type design” of the house, suggesting that it was closer to two separate dwellings joined by “this very minimal connection,” the breezeway. “I question whether that is the most appropriate design,” she said. “Perhaps that is the purpose of the zoning code, to avoid that kind of strung-out configuration of a house.”

“But just be aware,” Mr. Newbold said, “if they double the size of the corridor, they would not require a variance.” The applicant’s stated goal is “to build as minimal as possible,” he said, “It’s also probably good to point out the house was designed by Richard Meier. . . . It was not a casually conceived structure.” 

“My concern is my client’s perspective,” Ms. Strunk answered. From the second floor of their house? asked John McGuirk, another board member, pointing out the height of the cypress trees. “I believe the guest house certainly is not fully screened by these plantings,” Ms. Strunk said. The trees, Mr. McGuirk said, “are going to keep growing.” Chris Minardi, his colleague, agreed. “Blocking the view of a pool, which is at ground level, is easy to do with a tree,” he said. 

Ms. Strunk persisted. “If it is feasible to do this without a variance, that needs to be demonstrated, and I don’t think that has been demonstrated.” 

The board was unmoved, and voted to close the hearing. A determination will be announced at a future meeting; the board will reconvene on Feb. 9.

An outcry over implementation of Suffolk County’s Shellfish Aquaculture Lease Program in Gardiner’s Bay and Peconic Bay, in which parcels are leased for private, commercial shellfish cultivation, is getting louder. 

Last summer, residents who live along Gardiner’s Bay and members of the Devon Yacht Club expressed unhappiness about a changing seascape as floating oyster farms began to appear offshore from Promised Land to Devon, extending to the Napeague Harbor inlet. Last month, the yacht club filed a lawsuit in State Supreme Court seeking to bar leaseholders situated near the club from undertaking or continuing any action related to oyster farming at lease sites granted by the county’s Aquaculture Lease Board in July, or engaging in any other activity that would interfere with sailing. 

Now, two property owners on Cranberry Hole Road have launched a campaign to alert and unite their neighbors in opposition to the program, which was established after New York State ceded title to approximately 100,000 acres of bottomland to Suffolk County in 2004, and authorized the county to implement an aquaculture lease program for the region. 

“As residents of Cranberry Hole Road we are writing to inform you of a situation that has the potential to negatively impact our ability to use and enjoy the bay, our water views, and the value of our properties,” Michael Patrick and Philip Burkhardt, who are neighbors, wrote in a letter to residents on Monday. While floating oyster cages have been installed in just two lease sites to date, they wrote, a full implementation of the program would render more than 300 acres of the bay off-limits to recreational users. 

County officials published legal notices about the program, they wrote, but “did not seek input from affected homeowners directly and clearly did not consider the concerns of property owners and other recreational users of the water.”

“It wasn’t until I saw an article in The Star that talked about the size of it, potentially,” that the extent of the program became apparent, Mr. Burkhardt, a boater, kayaker, and stand-up paddleboarder, said yesterday. “The first was out to the northeast, then all of a sudden on the northwest area of the bay, you’re looking at that, saying, ‘What’s going on?’ ”

“We had seen boats doing stuff over the summer,” said Mr. Patrick, who swims, canoes, and kayaks in the bay, “but had no idea what was going on.” 

The problem, said Mr. Burkhardt, is that “this focuses a lot of traffic right along the shore. As a boater, a much more limited space concerns me.” 

“There’s got to be a safety issue here,” Mr. Patrick agreed. “I don’t think that was adequately considered.” 

Once those interested have signed on to the campaign to have their concerns heard, Mr. Patrick and Mr. Burkhardt plan to send a letter to County Legislator Bridget Fleming, East Hampton Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc, State Senator Kenneth P. LaValle, and Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. outlining those concerns. 

A draft of the letter refers to the hazards they say will result from a fully implemented aquaculture lease program. “Users of paddleboards, kayaks, sailboats, and power boats that tow water skiers, wakeboarders, etc., will be forced out much farther from shore, beyond these leases, and into the channel, which is very dangerous due to both strong tidal current and heavy power boat traffic,” it reads. “Moving closer to shore is not an option for many users due to shoaling, fish trap nets, lack of wind, and a desire to not conflict with bathers along the bay beaches.” Aesthetic considerations are also an issue, the letter states, with the “highly unattractive” floats and cages potentially impacting property values. 

Bayfront residents are not opposed to oyster cultivation, the letter states, and support efforts that would improve water quality (bivalves such as oysters, hard clams, and scallops filter the water as they feed, which helps to mitigate an overabundance of nutrients that promote algal blooms such as brown tide, which can kill shellfish and finfish). But they ask that the existing and proposed lease sites be relocated to areas that will not impede use of the bay by recreational boaters and property owners. As currently implemented, the program “is taking away a public resource used by hundreds for the benefits of a few private operators,” the letter reads. 

The notice was sent to as many of their neighbors’ email addresses as they could find, Mr. Patrick and Mr. Burkhardt said, and they plan a hard-copy package for the rest. “So far, we’re getting positive responses,” Mr. Patrick said. “We know there’s a lawsuit, but we thought it was important to get some politicians involved here. It appears there wasn’t the type of exchanges and conversation you ought to have.” 

Dorian Dale, the county’s director of sustainability and chief recovery officer, who serves on the aquaculture lease program’s board, said yesterday, “It’s good that people are engaged.” He added, however, that residents “would be well advised to do as much research on the program as they can, and get beyond the reflexive responses we have come to expect from folks in proximity to these kinds of issues.”

Mr. Patrick and Mr. Burkhardt hope that their neighbors will let them know by tomorrow if they will support the campaign.

Connectivity and resiliency were the buzzwords in a presentation of updated hamlet-study plans that drew a capacity crowd to East Hampton Town Hall on Tuesday, with an overarching message that future development and redevelopment, consistently adhering to a coherent master plan, represent an opportunity to create a town that is greater than the sum of its parts.

The consultants engaged by the town board to conduct studies and make recommendations for the commercial districts of Wainscott, East Hampton, Springs, Amagansett, and the downtown and harbor areas of Montauk proposed dramatic changes for Montauk, including a coastal retreat in the face of sea level rise. 

In the downtown area, a multi-phase relocation of businesses landward from vulnerable breach areas would be accomplished through voluntary buyout programs, the identification of suitable areas for relocation, and adoption of a transfer-of-development-rights ordinance. Beaches and dunes would be restored to buffer against rising seas, and relocation would fill the downtown area’s vacant spaces.

Throughout the town, the consultants suggested strategically located roundabouts to improve traffic flow, bicycle and pedestrian pathways, walkable village centers, and second-story affordable housing, all of which they said would allow preservation of the respective hamlets’ historical and scenic character. 

In the Montauk harbor area, it was proposed that the loop at the north end of West Lake Drive be abandoned as a roadway and a portion converted to a naturalized shoreline. The town and Army Corps of Engineers would develop a plan to combat erosion of the beach adjacent to the west jetty. Coastal landscape buffers would be created and bulkheads raised and fortified against rising seas. 

These changes, the consultants said, would allow a continued reaping of the economic benefits derived from the town’s status as an internationally known tourist destination while also making it environmentally resilient. 

Peter Flinker of Dodson and Flinker, a Massachusetts consulting firm, and Lisa Liquori, of Fine Arts and Sciences and a former town planning director, presented their findings in the latest step in a multi-year process to guide future development. Feedback from the hamlets’ citizens advisory committees and individual correspondence, both received subsequent to the presentation of draft plans in June, helped to inform the updated recommendations, they said. Each hamlet plan is intended to dovetail with recommendations in the town’s comprehensive plan as well as with adopted plans and policies covering the likes of wastewater management, housing, water quality, coastal management, and energy. 

The consultants encouraged the formation of hamlet business associations, emphasizing that public-private cooperation would be important in achieving goals like connectivity, including of parking lots that would serve multiple businesses and public institutions. 

The town would likely need additional staff to implement the recommendations and required funding and follow-up study efforts, Ms. Liquori said, citing the necessary coordination with outside agencies. Alternatively, Mr. Flinker said, the citizens advisory committees might perform that function.

Councilwoman Sylvia Overby, the deputy supervisor, said yesterday that the board’s next move should be a work session to consider the presentation, with officials from the Planning Department on hand. A review under the State Environmental Quality Review Act would follow, and the plan would be refined with further public comment. A public hearing could happen by summer’s end, she said. 

Montauk

Along with the recommendations detailed above, Mr. Flinker said that the goal should be to preserve the best aspects of the downtown, harbor, and train station areas while making them more resilient to sea level rise. 

Recommendations for downtown included on-street parking changes and the use of flood-prone areas for parking, one-way traffic on some streets, designated taxi stands, a shared-use path on Main Street, and roundabouts at the eastern end of Old Montauk Highway and the intersection of Main Street and South Essex Street. Year-round housing should be added in second-story apartments, the consultants said, and seasonal work force housing encouraged via adoption of a seasonal housing overlay district. 

At the harbor, a roundabout at the intersection of Flamingo Avenue and West Lake Drive was proposed, as was a pedestrian walkway along the waterfront. 

Wainscott 

Recommendations for the town’s westernmost hamlet include a consolidation of existing parking lots and vacant parcels into a cohesive parking area, allowing fewer curb cuts. Connected sidewalks and paths, and consistent landscaping, would unite the commercial district, they said. 

A roundabout would replace the traffic light at the intersection of Main Street and Wainscott Northwest Road, improving flow, they said. The consultants envision parallel on-street parking, continuous sidewalks, and new street trees, along with raised medians. 

A home improvement zoning district should be created to facilitate relocation of incompatible uses, and the town should work with and explain the benefits of relocation, planners said.

They also suggested the town work with the owner of the former Wainscott Sand and Gravel property and the public to develop a plan for the site. Proposed uses include recreation and open space, home improvement and other businesses, relocated commercial-industrial uses, a solar farm, a shared parking lot, and modest affordable housing, though they acknowledged that the citizens committee, school district, and property owner all expressed reservations about the latter idea. 

A community wastewater system should be evaluated as part of the watershed management plan for Georgica Pond and redevelopment of the former sand mine property, they said. 

East Hampton

The consultants offered analyses and suggestions for North Main Street, Pantigo Road, and the sand mine at Springs-Fireplace Road, which is to cease operations within the next few decades. The study has identified the latter location as one of the largest developable areas in the town and a candidate for subdivision with commercial-industrial and residential parcels. 

The town should facilitate work force housing, adding second story apartments in commercial and limited business overlay zones and encourage affordable apartments in residential zones close to commercial areas, the consultants said, as well as advanced wastewater treatment. The creation of mixed-use work force housing on the former Stern’s property on Pantigo Road should also be encouraged, they said, and opportunities exist to create second-story apartments on North Main Street and Pantigo Road.

A new commercial special vehicle permit use should be created and suitable areas for contractors to keep heavy vehicles identified to alleviate noise and disruption in residential areas. Once developed, such vehicles might be kept at the sand mine site. 

On North Main Street, home to the East Hampton Historical Farm Museum and to which the Dominy clock and woodworking shops are to be returned, development should reflect small-town scale, historical character, and pedestrian orientation, the consultants said. 

Property owners on Pantigo Road should be encouraged and incentivized to consolidate parking and reduce existing curb cuts in present and future development. The intersection with Skimhampton Road should be realigned, they said. The standalone emergency room to be operated by Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, for which the town will lease property off Pantigo Road, represents an opportunity to improve traffic circulation, the consultants said.

Springs

Commercial vehicle parking use is also important for Springs, the consultants said, to relieve residential areas while accommodating the construction trade industry and independent contractors. 

The Fort Pond Boulevard area has the potential for development over time, and the consultants recommended creation of overlay districts and design guidelines emphasizing its neighborhood character. Bicycle and pedestrian routes should be established there. 

The consultants also envisioned a maritime walking district, a continuous waterfront path crossing public and private land, and suggested the town dock as a waterfront promenade and public park. The Paumonok Path might be linked with the head of Three Mile Harbor, they said. 

Traffic calming and bicycle and pedestrian routes for Springs-Fireplace Road and Three Mile Harbor Road should be considered, along with safe routes to the ocean and bay beaches, scenic areas, and other destinations. Sidewalks on Springs-Fireplace Road should be extended, the Suffolk County Transit bus route improved, and the shuttle bus services that have worked well in East Hampton and Montauk should serve Springs as well, the consultants said. 

Amagansett

Maintaining Amagansett’s scenic, rural, historical, small-town charm, and walkability, along with the farmland north of its commercial center, are the priorities in this hamlet, the consultants said. The hamlet’s municipal parking lot must accommodate more vehicles without encroaching on the farmland bordering it, and time limits would better manage demand. A raised walkway through the lot was suggested. 

Stores on Main Street might be adapted to accommodate second-story apartments while also creating a more cohesive streetscape, though that would require costly advanced sewage treatment, and the hamlet’s citizens advisory committee was cool to the suggestion.

The eastern edge of the hamlet is far more open to potential development, the consultants said, proposing a single district rather than a set of disparate lots, with parking consolidated behind buildings. A new interior roadway, pedestrian plazas and walkways, and new mixed-use structures close to Montauk Highway were proposed, as was a shared-use path along Montauk Highway for bicyclists and pedestrians, and connections to the ocean beach along and within existing roads. 

The Long Island Rail Road station’s parking lot must be reconfigured and expanded, with possible time limits implemented, and the nearby Long Island Power Authority substation better landscaped, they said. 

Residents will have time to digest the proposals, Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc said at the presentation’s conclusion. “This is going to be an ongoing conversation with the public,” he said, adding that the proposals represent “a great opportunity to improve our quality of life.” 

The town is “a popular place,” he said. “We know our infrastructure barely gets by” through the annual summer influx. “Through this,” he said, “we can address transportation needs, parking, circulation,” as well as wastewater, environmental stewardship, and economic opportunities. 

The presentation, Ms. Overby said yesterday, was “the first time we got to see how we can individualize” each hamlet. “I don’t think everything we saw is going to take hold,” she said, “but certainly, there were good ideas and examples of how we can really get details for each hamlet and keep each as identifiable as possible.”

Zeldin Challengers Meet Tuesday

Perry Gershon and Brendon Henry, two of the Democrats hoping to unseat Representative Lee Zeldin in November, will share their views at a forum on Tuesday in Bridgehampton. The third and final forum in a series sponsored by Progressive East End Reformers, it will take place at 6:30 p.m. at Bridgehampton National Bank.

Mr. Gershon, who lives in East Hampton, was one of the first Zeldin challengers to declare his candidacy. A businessman with a background in commercial real estate, he has noted that he has a considerable war chest. Mr. Henry, who hails from Center Moriches, is a bartender who studied political science. 

Also in the running for the Democratic nomination are Suffolk County Legislator Kate Browning of Shirley, former legislator Vivian Viloria-Fisher of East Setauket, Elaine DiMasi of Ronkonkoma, and David Pechefsky, a Patchogue native. 

Previous PEER forums featured Mr. Pechefsky and Ms. Viloria-Fisher on Jan. 9 and Ms. Browning and Ms. DiMasi on Jan. 23. Past forums were streamed live on PEER’s Facebook page, and Tuesday’s will be as well. 

Browning’s Campaign Cash

Kate Browning, a Suffolk County legislator who is seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge Representative Lee Zeldin, has raised over $300,000 for that effort, her campaign announced on Jan. 31. 

In the fourth quarter of 2017, Ms. Browning raised more than $160,000 to add to the $140,000 already in hand, according to her campaign. The money comes from more than 500 individual donations, including from Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Representative Steny Hoyer, State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., Legislator Rob Calarco, and Riverhead Town Supervisor Laura Jens-Smith. Ms. Browning also received contributions from the Oil and Heat Institute of Long Island, the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, the Communications Workers of America, and Local 46 of the Metallic Lathers and Reinforcing Ironworkers union.

The East Hampton Town Board approved a management and stewardship plan for properties acquired with the community preservation fund at its meeting last Thursday, a plan that includes an estimated $850,000 for the restoration of studios on Neck Path in Springs that once belonged to the Abstract Expressionist painters James Brooks and Charlotte Park. 

Also in this year’s management and stewardship plan are the demolition of the barn that was built on otherwise vacant property at 555 Montauk Highway in Amagansett as well as the former Star Room nightclub in Wainscott. 

Scott Wilson, the town’s director of land acquisition and management, told the board that 379 parcels have been acquired to date, with 9 more in contract, representing 2,194 acres. 

Last year, the town entered into a licensing agreement with a nonprofit organization called Peconic Historic Preservation to manage the Brooks-Park holding, which it had acquired with C.P.F. money in 2012. The purchase was initially for the preservation of open space, with demolition of the buildings planned. Interest subsequently developed in preserving and restoring the house and artists’ studios, and Peconic Historic Preservation has been licensed to use the property for artistic programs, such as exhibitions, readings, and musical, theatrical, and dance performances. 

Robert Strada, a co-founder and executive director of Peconic Historic Preservation, praised the board for allocating money for the Brooks-Park site, which received historical designation in 2014. “It’s a site that is desperately in need of repair and restoration,” Mr. Strada said, explaining the artists’ importance, their friendship with the more well-known artists Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner, and their contribution to New York’s status at midcentury as the center of the art world. 

Charlotte Park's "Untitled (50-49)" from about 1955

Mr. Strada referred to Duck Creek Farm, a Springs property now owned by the town, which had been owned by the painter John Little, a contemporary of Brooks, Park, Pollock, and Krasner, which is operated as a community arts center under Peconic Historic Preservation. The studio at Duck Creek Farm was the first historic restoration project completed with oversight by a town property committee established in 2014 by then-Councilman Peter Van Scoyoc, who is now the supervisor. “We have these licensing agreements in which we are seeing to it that the community gets the biggest benefit out of the town’s investment in these properties,” Mr. Strada said. 

“Peconic Historic Preservation doesn’t see these as stand-alone C.P.F. projects,” he said. “We see the synergy of it all. . . . I envision all of these — those that benefit from C.P.F. dollars and those that don’t — being part of that greater collaborative spirit.” Those in the business of art “will easily see all of these through their long lens,” he said, “but at some point we’ll have the community see it the same way, that they’re all part of a very important part of East Hampton history.” 

Zach Cohen of the town’s nature preserve committee spoke of multi-use opportunities that he said would arise from the management and stewardship plan. His committee, and the East Hampton Trails Preservation Society, have started mapping potential trails connecting town-owned properties, and are “hoping to participate when there’s a final management plan for the property,” he said. 

Also at the meeting, the board heard that demolition was planned for the small building adjacent to the Merrill Lake Sanctuary on Accabonac Harbor at 888 Springs-Fireplace Road, which the town had acquired. In addition, Mr. Wilson asked that the board approve the acquisition of 90 Gerard Drive in Springs, a half-acre parcel that he said contains extensive tidal wetlands that are significant for wetland habitat and flood control. In its assessment, the Planning Department said Gerard Drive was “one of the most environmentally sensitive areas within the town, with nearly all of its vacant parcels “strong candidates for public acquisition.”