Amagansett Locals Upset 7-Eleven Possibility Wasn't Disclosed by Landlord

While some members of the Amagansett Citizens Advisory Committee are worried a t of the former Villa Prince Ristorante, will attract crime and change the look of the neighborhood, much of the concern focused on why the landlords didn't have to disclose who their new tenant was on a building department application.

At the meeting on Monday night, Rona Klopman, the chairwoman of ACAC said, “The town [board] had no idea it was a 7-Eleven.” She asked Councilman Dominick Stanzione, who is the liaison to ACAC, “Shouldn’t it be part of our legal responsibility to, in this town, to ask somebody, ‘what are you going to put in there?’”

When making an application to the building department to make improvements, as are being done at the building at 521 Montauk Highway in Amagansett now, the tenant does not have to be disclosed.

Stanzione pointed out that the legal requirements have been met and said, “We are limited by state law by what we can do in terms of limiting commerce.”

At town board meeting on Tuesday, town attorney John Jilnicki clarified that it's actually case law that prohibits the town from excluding certain business based on features like operating 24 hours a day or just by virtue of being a chain store.

It was not all opposition to the possible 7-Eleven, however. “I can’t think of a cultural, social or legal reason why an American enterprise shouldn’t be allowed if it is legal," said ACAC member Lyle Greenfield. “I think it’s potentially a plus to have it there as opposed to nothing there.”

However, Greenfield did continue, “It would seem unacceptable to a community that an applicant can go forward with something without any revelation as to what it’s going to be. That strikes me as a mistake.”

Britton Bistrian, a member of ACAC, pointed out that it’s often not possible to say what particular business will go into a building since the planning process is “arduous and lengthy.” Twenty-four months is the average time site plan takes in East Hampton, she said, and it’s unlikely that a tenant will hold on throughout the approval process. “It’s just not practical to say that it’s going to be anything other than the use,” she said.

Many of the concerns surrounding the 7-Eleven itself were thoughts that the aesthetic would be garish and too brightly lit. There were also concerns about traffic, noise, DWI incidents rising.  Betty Mazur said, “Establishments that are open 24 hours have a certain reputation for attracting robberies and break-ins.”

There was discussion about what could be done to stop a possible 7-Eleven from opening, but Stanzione was careful to explain that laws can’t be made “ex post facto” and said “I don’t want to conflate what we can do going forward with what we can do specifically with this application.”

One member of the committee pointed out that members of the Sag Harbor Community had similar concerns when the 7-Eleven there first opened. He offered that a lot could be gleaned from speaking to community members in Sag Harbor and looking at statistical information that might portend the type of changes, if any, Amagansett could expect if in fact a 7-Elevens open in the hamlet.

In other news, the committee discussed the two day music festival slated in Amagansett for August, after from to the .

ACAC members voted to again send a letter to the town board asking them to, according to the motion, “rescind the permit for the concert in Amagansett since the promoters have put in an application to hold the concert on the same day at the airport.”

Organizers have said that if the town board approves their application for the airport, it will most likely move it there. However, if the board does not approve the application, the festival will take place at Ocean View Farm.

The motion passed with the support of 9 members, 4 against and 4 abstaining.