Library director Dennis Fabiszak. “People are pissed off. This really is village politics at their worst. (doug kuntz)
East Hampton Village’s quiet library is providing the hamlet’s loudest controversy.
In a decision that some are ripping as elitist and exclusionary, the tony village’s zoning board last week rejected a bid to expand the enclave’s tiny Main Street building by roughly 6,000 square feet.
Livid library officials say the board rejected the project to avoid having children from less sparkling areas of East Hampton Town pour into an inviting new facility.
“The old guard is scared that the Latino kids and their parents from Springs are going to invade their precious downtown area,” said one seething library source. “It’s really that simple.”
Supporters point out that the expansion, which would provide 10,000 more books and additional amenities, would be privately funded without any taxpayer burden.
“A few politically influential people in the village want the library to serve only village residents,” the library said in a statement. “That’s what they mean by village preservation. They believe the people from outside the village should be excluded from the library.”
Expansion proponents had made 35 grueling appearances before the board to sell their plan, starting in 2003.
With their dreams of a new facility scuttled, the library board quickly organized an Aug. 13th public referendum on the expansion issue. All registered voters in the local school districts served by the library can weigh in.
If the vote demonstrates a high level of support, the library board plans to sue the zoning board to reverse the controversial decision.
“I think we are going to get a lot of support,” said library director Dennis Fabiszak. “People are pissed off. This really is village politics at their worst.”
Zoning board members did not return a call for comment.
In its decision, the board argues that it had concerns over the environmental impact of adding to the existing library.
The board had suggested that any expansion would be more appropriate in Springs, a section of East Hampton Town well outside the village’s downtown.
Fabiszak said that effective libraries are most effective when placed in a central location.
“We’ll see what the public thinks when they have an opportunity to vote on this,” he said.