Politics & Government
Southampton Candidates Explain How They Will Clean-Up Hampton Bays
Which ideas do you think will work?
Hampton Bays residents have long said that they feel dumped on by the Town of Southampton, that they don't get much help when it comes to illegal apartments and cleaning up the hamlet, making it an economically viable community.
Recently, Patch asked Southampton supervisor candidates, Anna-Throne Holst and Linda Kabot, as well as town board candidates, Brad Bender, Frank Zappone, Sanley Glinka and Jeffrey Mansfield, how they would help clean-up Hampton Bays if they are elected. The following is a round-up of what they had to say.
Supervisor Candidate Responses:
Throne-Holst: We will build on what we have started to do: Continue to reorganize and create a more efficient and responsible code enforcement division and continue to increase enforcement action and improve our ability to shut down the slum lords. We will also move forward with the development of good ground park and already have a commitment to repave Montauk Highway before Memorial Day. We will also shepherd the Canoe Place Inn application through a productive hearing process. In addition, we are working on the motel conversion study and with the county's economic office for incentive programs for motels to upgrade and assist them to put together packages to attract tourism as they get upgraded.
Kabot:
The top priority in Hampton Bays is delivering proactive code enforcement to preserve property values and improve quality of life in neighborhoods. If elected, I will marshal the resources of local government to address these important concerns. My platform details numerous strategies to improve code enforcement and can be viewed on my campaign website. These strategies include community–based meetings with the town board functioning as a Quality of Life Court, and redeployment of staff resources to allow for increased attention on this front. There needs to be more vigorous investigation of illegal conversions (such as motels) and adjudication through Justice Court proceedings, and as deemed necessary, Supreme Court proceedings to obtain injunctive relief.
Revitalization of the hamlet business area of Hampton Bays needs to be encouraged and that starts with advocating that the Suffolk County Dept of Public Works complete the repaving of Montauk Highway as a top priority for early 2014. Strategies articulated in the Town’s planning documents for the Hampton Bays business district and Shinnecock Canal area need to take center stage to help encourage investment, economic development, upgrades to facades, enhancement of property values and celebration of civic pride.
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Town Board Candidate Responses:
Bender: Improve the business climate in the hamlet area by working with the business community and county in exploring the opportunity to form a “Business Improvement District”. This will allow the business community to leverage grant monies for needed improvements.
Look to support the hamlet by addressing quality of life issues focusing on enforcement of local codes and judicial process to assure that violator are dealt with swiftly.
Be an involved and responsive full time elected official so that the people of Hampton Bays actually get value from their elected representative.Glinka: I have been president of the HB Chamber of Commerce for the past 11 years. I am devoted to the betterment to this community.
Zappone: I am very familiar with the concerned of the Hampton Bays community. I have worked closely with both the Concerned Citizens of Hampton Bays and the Hampton Bays Civic Association to address significant issues around code enforcement and economic revitalization. Code enforcement issues can and must be addressed. We have started that process by refer organizing the division under the town attorney and moving that division into town hall to improve communications and oversight of the code enforcement division? The result has been significant. We have increased the number of code enforcement actions by 4 times since the reorganization in January of this years. Also, we have increase the fines for both first offenders and the rate at which fines escalate for repeat offenders. This effort has resulted in increased compliance on the part of those issued a violation, and compliance with the law is the ultimate goal. We have also added a new information system to the division, a very import step forward. In law enforcement, and code is law enforcement, information is key to effective operations both in the planning of those operations and in the measure of the impact of those operations. I would continue these efforts. In addition, there must be the political will to hold code enforcement management accountable. This commitment has been lacking. In addition, Hampton Bays has the potential to be the jewel of the Hamptons. The raw ingredients of the 38-acre Good Ground Village Green, a very significant historic district in the western part of the business district and a transportation hub center around the centrally locate LIRR train station make Hampton Bays unique among all Hamptons Hamlet Centers. Join these ingredients with the access to ocean to the south and bay beaches to the north, the recreational boating opportunities associated with the Shinnecock Canal the relative ease of vehicular access through NY 27 and 24 and you have the perfect storm for economic revitalization. Working with state, county and local official, Hampton Bays can and should become a very sought after destination location. Renewed economic vitality will go a long way to addressing both the quality of life issues of concern to the community.
Mansfield: Code Enforcement! Code Enforcement! Code Enforcement! I believe that a lot of HB's problems (illegal living conditions in the area’s homes and seasonal motels, absentee landlords, overcrowding at the local schools and disproportionately high school taxes). We need to strengthening our efforts on code enforcement with creative ways to put more boots on the ground, supplementing code enforcement with assets we already have in other departments, technology upgrades, and freeing the log jam in the adjudication of quality of life cases.
To find out how the candidates feel about the Canoe Place Inn project in Hampton Bays, click here and the East Quogue Hills project, click here.
Find out what's happening in Westhampton-Hampton Bayswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
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