"Before you add a meandering concrete scar to that beautiful patch of green, I think you should wait and see if it's really necessary." Village resident Joe Louchheim said that to the Sagaponack Village Board on October 21, according to 27east. He was talking about a proposed sidewalk on the east side of Sagg Main Street. At the same meeting, about a different plan, Mayor Bill Tillotson said, "I think the public is going to find them objectionable." He meant six new utility poles.
These are two separate items with the same problem. Each one is the follow-up to an earlier fix. The General Store came back and drew so many cars that Sagg Main needs a redesign. The cell tower went up and still left gaps, so now a carrier wants more equipment across the village. In both cases the board has to decide how much new hardware Sagaponack will accept to fix the fix. The next round comes at the board meeting on Wednesday, November 18.
The Store That Brought the Cars Back
The Sagaponack General Store reopened on April 16, 2025, after sitting closed since 2020. Mindy Gray bought it in 2021 and oversaw a full renovation. Architect Frank Greenwald designed it. The East Hampton Star reported that the original 1878 building was moved 15 feet back from Sagg Main Street and given a new porch and addition. Inside it splits into three parts: a candy and soft-serve entrance, a coffee and food counter, and the restored post office with its own door.
Gray told the Star the idea came during Covid: "if this store doesn't exist, Sagaponack just becomes a collection of houses." Southforker listed what the store sells: coffee, baked goods, sandwiches, soups, salads, local produce, ice cream, groceries and everyday necessities.
It worked. In its September report, 27east called parking and traffic around the store "the hottest topic of the summer in Sagaponack Village both this year and last year." Neighbors brought complaints to the board in July and August, and one resident across the street said store customers had parked in front of her driveway.
Two Drafts for One Block of Sagg Main
Two versions of the fix are now on the table. Henry Weisburg, who lives near the store, presented the first at the September 16 meeting. The village's engineering firm, L.K. McLean Associates, presented its own draft on October 21.
| Weisburg proposal, September 16 | L.K. McLean draft, October 21 | |
|---|---|---|
| Southwest of the store | Remove the seven spaces and replace them with sidewalk, set off by plantings and block curbing | Extend the west-side sidewalk past the store down to Sagg Lake Lane |
| West side, north of the store | Cut parallel parking to five painted spaces and remove the split-rail fence | Parallel parking only |
| East side | Replace the zoned-off area above the angled spaces with grass and curbing | Add three diagonal spaces and a new sidewalk |
| Post office | Six spaces reserved for post office visitors | Not described in the reported draft |
| Lane divider | Replace the orange bollards with white ones half their size | Not described in the reported draft |
Weisburg explained his focus on the southbound side by saying there is "much more southbound traffic than northbound traffic." There, two parking areas that work differently meet the exit from the store's private lot. He also said the split-rail fence on the west side sits on public land, not store property, and that it makes drivers think they can't open their doors, so they park closer to the road.
In October, Weisburg called the village's eastern sidewalk "unattractive." He said it would add "a further urban look to this stretch of street which we don't need" and that the three new east-side spaces had "no justification at all." Louchheim suggested building the extended west sidewalk first and watching how people use it before adding anything on the east side, since, as he put it, "there's never been much foot traffic on the east side of the street."
The board's views differed too. Trustee Carrie Thayer Crowley backed replacing the southwest spaces with sidewalk. Trustee William Barbour argued that "you can't fix poor driving" and that the village should not keep reworking the parking. Tillotson pointed to practical limits of planted curbs: "The village doesn't have a parks department to add that planting and stuff." He said plantings would need irrigation, and he raised questions about drainage.
Nothing has been adopted. The store-area parking was listed as old business on both the September 16 and October 21 agendas.
A Tower Built to End the Dropped Call
The tower decision followed the same pattern. In February 2024, the village signed a 55-year lease with Homeland Towers, a Connecticut company, to build a monopole on village land behind Village Hall. 27east reported that the lease is expected to bring the village more than $6 million over its life, with income rising as more carriers sign on.
The East Hampton Star described the planned tower as 100 feet tall, possibly 107 feet with emergency communications equipment. Verizon, AT&T, Dish Network and T-Mobile were all expected tenants. The board held a public hearing in February 2024, and in March voted to waive its own setback rule for the project. Neighbors objected to how close it would be to homes and to its fall zone. By October 2024, the Star reported, construction was underway.
The promised service did not follow. In a later report headlined "Promise of Better Cell Service Is Still Just That in Sagaponack," 27east described the tower as visible from Montauk Highway and still not providing reliable service "for most residents and those who travel through the area." Tillotson said, "We were told it would be functioning last year." At the time, Homeland Towers said Verizon had not finished its post-activation testing and adjustments. The company also said AT&T was expected within six months and T-Mobile had not yet confirmed.
Fourteen Small Cells, Six of Them on New Poles
On October 21, Verizon came back with a supplement to the tower. According to 27east, the request includes:
- Fourteen small cell facilities around the village. Each is an antenna plus a second unit mounted on a pole. Verizon presented them as a supplement to the tower, aimed at gaps it does not reach.
- Eight on existing poles. The board indicated it would accept these most easily.
- Six on new poles. Some of these would sit on the opposite side of the street from existing poles. The board was most hesitant about this part.
- More coverage toward the ocean. Matthew Claro of Verizon said the company's equipment on the tower is "completely exhausted from a Verizon Wireless standpoint 100 percent," and that the small cells would take load off the tower and extend coverage closer to the ocean.
Village Attorney Brian Egan raised two points. The first is precedent: approving Verizon's request would put the board in "a tough spot not to grant that same relief to other carriers" on the tower. The second is the tower itself: "the signal seems not to be achieving what the original pitch to the public was." He and the mayor said their preference is that any approved small cells go only on existing poles.
The Board's Common Answer
Taken together, the two discussions show the village applying one standard. On Sagg Main, residents thanked the board for acting and then argued over each added stretch of curb and sidewalk. On cell service, the board told Verizon it would rather reuse poles that already stand than plant new ones. In both cases the fix is broadly welcome, and the debate is over how much new hardware it adds.
That is likely what decides the November 18 meeting, starting with how many of Verizon's six new poles survive the hearing. The parking plan carries its own version of the question, since the east-side sidewalk and its three diagonal spaces drew the sharpest objections, and Weisburg's planted edge would need upkeep from a village without a parks department.
Wednesday, November 18
The board voted unanimously to hold the Verizon public hearing at its next meeting, on Wednesday, November 18. The October 21 agenda also lists a second item set for that date: a proposal to subdivide 43.507 acres at 451 Daniels Lane into four residential lots plus an agricultural reserve. It was adjourned to November 18 because no new material had been submitted. Agendas are posted at the village's Agenda Center.
For anyone who drives Sagg Main to the post office or loses a call near the ocean, the hearing is the scheduled chance to tell the board which poles and which curbs they would accept.
Questions like these, from a sidewalk on a public verge to a pole across the street, shape how a Sagaponack property looks and feels from the road. If you'd like to talk through how village decisions like these bear on a particular lane or parcel, Deborah Srb is glad to share what she knows, discreetly and in detail. Work With Deborah.
