East Hampton Workforce Housing Proposal Sparks Debate

A push for zoning change to pave the way for a condominium development billed as workforce housing solution drew opposition from residents urging the Town of East Hampton to block the move.

A bevy of critics spoke out against the proposal and submitted a petition with nearly 3,000 signatures opposing the proposed zoning change that would be a first step for a developer to build 79 housing units at 52 Three Harbor Road and 33 West Drive during an East Hampton Town Board meeting on Dec. 9. Brown Harris Stevens has the two parcels totaling nearly seven acres listed for $5.6 million and the developers reportedly withdrew from the contract to purchase.

“Attempting to change zoning on any particular slice of East Hampton land is an affront to all local residents whose families have toiled away generation after generation to make East Hampton what it is,” said Diane Niggles, whose family runs the neighboring 10th-generation Round Swap Farm.

The developer, Kirby Marcantonio, sought an affordable housing overlay designation in order to build 19 more units than the 60-unit cap allowed under town law. A high-tech septic system was proposed to handle the sewage from the development. But now Marcantonio and his partners appear to be back to the drawing board.

“If that’s not the spot, maybe we could find something else,” he told The New York Post. “We’ll try.”