Letters

The race for New York State Assembly District 1 between Tommy John Schiavoni and Stephen Kiely is critically important for the future of the East End. If you want to manage development out here, pay close attention to this race and look at the people as opposed to the party.

Tommy John Schiavoni lost my trust on February 14, 2023, when he voted not to support the defense of a lawsuit against the Southampton Town Planning Board’s site plan approval of the Lewis Road PRD, formerly known as The Hills. Though the vote was 4-3 in favor, Mr. Schiavoni was the sole Town Board member willing to put the entire Planning Board in harm’s way, because he didn’t like the decision.

You don’t do that to an appointed board. Luckily, the rest of the Town Board quickly and rightfully voted in favor of defending the Planning Board, regardless of whether they agreed or disagreed with the decision. For the record, the lawsuit was quickly thrown out on lack of standing.

Recently, Mr. Schiavoni was the sole vote in favor of the wildly unpopular Liberty Gardens application. He also supports ADU legislation, which will allow 1,000-square-foot accessory dwellings on half-acre parcels, thus subdividing R-20 zoning. I see that as a violation of the surrounding homeowners’ rights. There’s a reasonable expectation that a municipality will adhere to its own zoning. Fair is fair.

Mr. Schiavoni is pushing for Southampton Town to sign a letter of intent to apply for the New York State Pro-Housing Community Program, where the town will receive grant money and commit to housing quotas. The problem with that being that there is no strategic plan for the location and building of units to satisfy the quotas. Oh yeah — the incorporated villages will be excluded, so the other hamlets will be absorbing the density.

I’m voting for Stephen Kiely. He will fight for home rule, not allow New York State to mandate housing quotas, and take a pragmatic approach to addressing attainable housing. Steve supports using the Community Housing Fund for adaptive reuse programs that turn blighted sites into living spaces. He also supports employee housing initiatives and appropriately sized apartment complexes that won’t saturate a hamlet or school district.

Steve Kiely won’t play politics with your zoning. Let’s give him a shot.

Craig Catalanotto

Speonk

Catalanotto is a former member of the Southampton Town Planning Board — Ed.