Longtime Gibson Lane beachgoers erupted in applause last week when the Sagaponack Village Board announced that Southampton Town parking permits will continue to be valid when the village takes over maintenance of the beach next summer.
The permit cost will remain the same for town residents, Trustee Mark Landis confirmed after the Sept. 18 meeting, as town residents may continue to use the standard permit.
While the parking permit rules will not change, Sagaponack will be responsible for things like trash pickup.
“I thank you all for listening to the constituents and being willing to work for the community,” Nancy Alderman said at the board meeting, adding, “I’d like you to acknowledge that it’s because of the uproar from the community.”
While the room was packed on Sept. 18, many who signed up to speak before the meeting chose to opt out upon hearing the news.
Jill Musnicki of Sag Harbor said a few days later that she was “very happy.” In a text message, Ms. Musnicki drew comparisons to Dunehampton, an unsuccessful attempt in 2003 to form a beachfront village between Southampton Village and Wainscott.
Ironically, she said, Sagaponack was incorporated in 2005 to prevent Dunehampton from “becoming a reality” and taking away public access to the beach.
Mark Schiavoni of Sag Harbor has been going to Gibson Lane Beach since he was 17. Prior to the announcement that town parking permits would still be valid, Mr. Schiavoni said on an East Hampton Star Instagram post that he has “less and less reasons to even stay here anymore.”
“That’s great,” he said in a phone call after hearing the news, “Honestly, that’s a victory. That’s exactly what I was hoping for.”
Gibson Lane is a quiet beach with no lifeguards, he said, compared to Sagg Main, where beachgoers must walk a “quarter mile” if they don’t want someone “playing 50 Cent at full volume” next to them.
“You have the solitude I desire when I go to the ocean,” Mr. Schiavoni said of Gibson Lane. “I go to the ocean to get away from the craziness, not to sit next to it or be in the middle of it.”
As for the jurisdictional change, Mr. Schiavoni agrees with the village that the beach has not seen much maintenance from the town, particularly with seaweed piling up, so he understands the motivation for Sagaponack to take over.
“I’m happy that I’ll still have access to my favorite beach,” he added. “It seems like the wiser minds prevailed this time.” At the end of the phone call, Mr. Schiavoni added that “it’s nice to see people can actually make a change by speaking out.”
For years, Southampton Town maintained the beach as part of an intermunicipal agreement between Sagaponack and the town, even though the beach was under village jurisdiction.
Prior to the vote, Mayor Bill Tillotson received “numerous complaints” about trash pickup on the beach. One resident, he said, began to provide trash pickup two years ago at his own expense during the off-season, when the town did not provide garbage receptacles.
“That’s the kind of action that somebody who really loves the beach does,” Mayor Tillotson said prior to the announcement last week.
The village voted this summer for the option to take over its maintenance. Per the agreement with the town, the vote had to occur prior to Aug. 1 to take effect next summer. Since any change remained optional, the village had flexibility moving forward.
When news of the vote gained traction in early September, town residents, particularly in Sag Harbor, began to fear they’d lose access to a beach many had been going to since childhood.
Beachgoers then voiced their discontent on social media and created a website, gibsonbeach2025.com, which urged Southampton Town residents to attend the board meeting last week and send emails to the village.
Beach parking, Mayor Tillotson said, is one of the easiest ways for a village to gain revenue for maintenance. Sagaponack received many emails after the vote from both residents and nonresidents. Over all, he said, any change to parking was deemed unpopular.
Some matters are still up for discussion, such as a portable restroom and a bike rack. At the most recent meeting, Trustee Carrie Thayer-Crowley expressed opposition to the restroom, describing it as “ugly.”
The Sept. 18 meeting — which also addressed concerns about the proposed cellphone tower in Sagaponack — drew a packed crowd, with some residents forced to stand in the back, and another few dozen on a Zoom call.
