Business & Tech

Plans For 7-Eleven in Amagansett Jumpstarted After 3 Years

Do you think a 7-Eleven should be built in Amagansett?

Calling it a situation similar to the film "Groundhog Day," at least one Amagansett resident turned out at Thursday's East Hampton Town board meeting to decry plans for a new 7-Eleven that are coming to life again after three years.

"I'm here to talk about the 7-Eleven," Amagansett resident Rona Klopman said.

In 2011, she said, there were "rumors in Amagansett that the 7-Eleven was coming." At the time, a different board was in place. "None of you were here then," she said. "It's like 'Groundhog Day,' like the movie, and it's three years later."

Klopman said at a meeting years ago, former Councilwoman Julia Prince suggested the town might want to evaluate site plan triggers; she also suggested an anti-franchise code for the town. 

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Amagansett Betty Mazur said she and fellow neighbors have stood before the board for years to protect their hamlet. "We have come up here to fight many battles to keep Amagansett as special as it is," she said.

On Thursday, Mazur said, Amagansett is once again "under the gun," as a report in the media indicated that plans for the 7-Eleven were "moving quickly ahead."

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Mazer said the town's building inspector had issued a permit for a "convenience store" at the parcel. "I fear the erosion of what the hamlet still has, a semi-rural character," she said. Despite bad weather, building has continued in recent months, she said. "I'm here simply to express my frustration because I don't know at this point what can be done. It's just frustrating to see it happening, and happening so quickly."

East Hampton Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell said the building inspector moved ahead only after speaking with the town attorney. He said the matter was still under review in the town and it could be possible that future review could be necessary.

In 2011, angry residents also protested plans by Richard Principi to open a 7-Eleven at his parcel, family owned for over 30 years, located at 521 Montauk Highway.

Mazur, a member of the Amagansett Citizens Advisory Committee, said at the time that convenience stores would change the bucolic nature of the area. 

Principi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


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