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Members of the newly-formed Bridgehampton Civic Association. KITTY MERRILL
Chafing under the strictures imposed by the Southampton Town Board, last October, members of the Bridgehampton Citizens Advisory Committee rebelled, quitting en masse.
They complained that advisory opinions and resolutions weren’t even acknowledged by town officials and Town Board members sent aides to their meetings instead of attending in person. They said then that they planned to form their own civic association.
At a June 27 meeting, they voted on steps in the process of formalizing a new nonprofit corporation.
Four officers were elected from the founding 14 directors: Pamela Harwood was elected president, Nancy Walter-Yvertes as vice president, Meredith Berkowitz as secretary, and Peter Feder as treasurer.
The remaining founding directors are Julie Burmeister, Kathy Conway, Susan Harrison, Gay Lynch, Carey Millard, Alejandro Saralegui, Peter Sughrue, Bonnie Verbitsky, Tom Watson and Stuart Zuckerman.
Membership in the association is open to all Bridgehampton residential property owners and residents 18 years of age or older who reside in the hamlet for at least five months per year. A Certificate of Incorporation has been registered with New York State, and bylaws were adopted.
The group considered defection for months before actually embarking on their secession, Harwood explained last fall. But the Southampton Town Planning Board’s approval of an application by the Sag Harbor Antique Fire Truck Museum to occupy the space of a former Bridgehampton farm stand in a residential and agricultural area was, she said, announcing the resignation, “the straw that broke the camel’s back for us.”
The new Bridgehampton Civic Association hopes to have greater flexibility than a CAC when it comes to advocating on matters not only before the Town Board but also on applications before the land use boards such as the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals, as well as getting more involved in local beautification and infrastructure projects.
Their recent focus has been on the Planning Board review of Atlantic Golf Club’s proposed employee housing on Scuttle Hole Road and offering s support for the Landmarks and Historic Districts Board’s effort to create a historic district on Main Street in Bridgehampton.
The association also hopes to work to protect historic homes elsewhere in the hamlet, advocating to protect the integrity of the covenants and easements that define and protect agricultural reserves in the hamlet. Concern for the future of the Konner “Gateway” property on Montauk Highway opposite the Bridgehampton Commons is also on their agenda. Traffic safety remains one of the group’s concerns, Harwood said.
The objective of the Bridgehampton Civic Association, as stated in its corporate documents, describe the civic association’s objective: “To promote awareness of and advocate for the quality of life concerns for residents of the hamlet through social, educational, and governmental interaction, including preserving the rural character of Bridgehampton and promoting a good quality of life for all Bridgehampton residents and their neighbors.”
