On Tuesday February 27 the Southampton Town Board voted unanimously to buy the third of four lots in the Shinnecock Hills owned by developer Robert Romeo. The land will be purchased with $1.7 million from the Community Preservation Fund.
The 4.8 acre lot, along Montauk Highway is part of a 13 acre site believed to be a sacred burial ground by the Shinnecock Indians.
Lisa Votino-Tarrant, an activist for the Shinnecocks' effort to preserve the land says
the purchase "was a huge step in the Town to recognize Shinnecock's oral history and is a huge accomplishment for the Shinnecock Nation."
The town purchased two adjacent waterfront lots owned by the developer last year. The only lot remaining contains an early 20th century house which has been declared an "endangered historic building" by the Preservation League of New York State. Plans for purchase of this lot by Suffolk County are under discussion. Use of the building by Stony Brook University is possible.
