Mr. Thiele summarized the process to date regarding the Shinnecocks' proposal to build a gaming facility at Westwoods off Newtown Road in Hampton Bays. The town and state took court action to block the construction of the casino, pointing out that tribe is not federally recognized, and a preliminary injunction has been issued, blocking any work until the case is decided in federal court.
The next step, Mr. Thiele explained, is for Southampton Town and New York State to seek a permanent injunction. He said this issue is currently in the pre-trial discovery stage and no action will be taken until U.S. District Court Judge Thomas C. Platt comes back from vacation in September. The judge has said he may decide the issue of the tribe's status, bypassing the normal federal recognition process, which can take a decade, and clear the way for the construction of the casino.
The earliest date for a trial would be close to the end of the year, Mr. Thiele said.
"Ultimately I believe the state and town will succeed," Mr. Thiele said.
Mr. Thiele said he bases this belief on several factors. First, he said, the tribe has to be federally recognized, which it has been trying to accomplish for the past 25 years since its recognition petition was first filed with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Not until Ivy Ong, a casino investor who has bankrolled the tribe's casino plans, came along was the petition completed, and Mr. Thiele said that because of a long waiting list the process could last eight to 10 years.
The second factor is that the Shinnecocks would have to comply with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act for a Class Three gaming facility, which requires the tribe to reach an agreement with the state, Mr. Thiele said. Also up in the air at this point is whether or not the Hampton Bays land is technically reservation land.
"The state and town will fight very hard to get the permanent injunction," Mr. Thiele said. "This is the first step in a very long court battle. Ultimately, I think we're going to win."
Another issue affecting Hampton Bays as well as the entire East End, and something that is close to Mr. Thiele's heart as a Southampton College alumni, is the proposed closure of the school's undergraduate program.
"All of us benefit from having [the college] there," Mr. Thiele said. "It would be a big loss for this area."
Mr. Thiele criticized the decision to move the undergraduate program to the C.W. Post campus, saying it was "made in secret" after incoming freshmen were locked in for the upcoming school year.
"It's unethical," he said. "I guess it explains how the college has been managed throughout the years."
Mr. Thiele said he, Senator Kenneth LaValle, Congressman Tim Bishop, County Legislator Jay Schneiderman and Southampton Town Supervisor Patrick Heaney all agree on one thing—"that the campus should be maintained as a four-year college" and that it not be converted into a shopping center or a home for big box stores.
The hope is that the State University of New York will take over, Mr. Thiele said. He said Long Island University needs approval from the state attorney general to sell the property and it has to be consistent with an educational mission, "which gives SUNY a leg up."
In other business, developer Bill Siegel spoke about his proposed 65-unit senior housing planned development district for property west of the Hampton Bays Car Wash on West Montauk Highway.
Mr. Siegel, a resident and business owner in Hampton Bays for over 20 years with two children in the Hampton Bays School District, is a partner in RTW Associates, which has submitted an application to the town. The plan calls for 65 units on two contiguous parcels that total 8 acres on the north side of Montauk Highway, east of Allomara Road. The land is currently zoned for highway business uses, but the developer has appealed to the Town Board for a zone change to a Planned Development District.
A change of zone from commercial to residential is considered "upzoning," Mr. Siegel said. Benefits of a senior housing complex, Mr. Siegel said, are the elimination of commercial sprawl along Montauk Highway, significantly less impact on traffic, housing alternatives for seniors who want to remain in Hampton Bays, tax ratables and the stimulation of business in the western portion of the hamlet all while not putting any additional students in the schools.
"The benefits are more obvious when you look at the alternatives," Mr. Siegel said.
Under the current zoning, Mr. Siegel said the property could be developed with eight 13,500-square-foot buildings with 350 parking stalls or it could be broken into eight separate lots and developed similar to Mariner Drive in Southampton with buildings between 5,000 and 8,000 square feet and a total of 302 parking stalls.
Mr. Siegel said the units in his proposal are 1,400 square feet with two bedrooms. He said 20 percent, or 13 units, would be set aside for moderate income housing at a cost under $200,000. The others would range between $250,000 and $300,000.
Mr. Siegel pointed out that a large eight- to 10-foot-high berm would be created along Montauk Highway to completely screen the buildings.
Following the presentation, Civic Association President Carl Garvey said he feels Hampton Bays needs something like Mariner Drive in Southampton where tradespeople can operate their businesses. He said if a light industrial site didn't go at that location it would increase pressure on other properties such as the Jackson Avenue lumberyard.
Mr. Garvey questioned whether the developer has established a need for senior housing in the area.
Mr. Siegel assured that a market analysis and needs study was completed and "It looks like there is a tremendous need for those who want to sell their homes, scale down and stay in the community." He said all of the existing complexes have several-year-long waiting lists.
A public hearing on the proposal will be held in the near future, Mr. Siegel said. He said he has already received dozens of letters of support from the community and he welcomes input from the Civic Association.
Mr. Garvey announced that he is not returning to the association as president for another term. He said he accepted the position as a one-year commitment since the job is so labor-intensive and time-consuming. He said that with a full-time job that keeps him in New York City most of the week, he wants to devote any free time he has to his three young children.
The association will need to fill Mr. Garvey's position as well as elect a new board member to replace Kevin McDonald.