Amagansett Main Street could get new lampposts and lighting as part of a long-discussed nighttime illumination redesign. Or not. Given that the conversation has gone on for about seven years, it would be too optimistic of anyone to assume the back-and-forth over design and placement will be resolved any time soon.
At present, Amagansett’s streetlights are mounted at the tops of roughly 20-foot-high aluminum poles. In places, trees block the light from reaching sidewalks and the road surface. There are complaints about glare, as well as too much light going up into the sky.
A State Department of Transportation plan to replace the bulbs alone was paused about four years ago. Attending a meeting of the hamlet’s citizens advisory committee, then-Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc said that new lampposts might cost about $10,000 each. Two years later, a consultant told the town that installing about 50 “historical style” LED-topped lampposts would cost about $1.3 million. About a year after that, the same consultant was back to talk more about the project after delays attributed to the state and PSEG Long Island. Study costs ran to more than $87,000 by summer 2025.
The concept has been for new lampposts to be placed on Main Street from Indian Wells Highway to about Meeting House Lane on both sides, continuing on the westbound side all the way to Abram’s Landing Road, paid for by property owners in an Ama- gansett lighting tax district. There was general acceptance of the plan about a plan, except for one resident who seemed vehemently opposed, concerned about light shining into houses’ windows at night. Now, the matter will be revisited yet again, at a public forum Monday at 6 p.m. at the Amagansett Library.
Far too much time has gone by in this entire process. This points to the problems inherent in the East Hampton Town Board’s habit of punting what would otherwise be solvable issues to out-of-town engineering consultants and then to the various hamlet advisory committees. Meanwhile, costs rise, and people become more invested in the process than the outcome. It is a recipe for getting nothing done. This is yet another instance in which the town board needs to take the lead.