Saving Barcelona Neck and The Grace Estate, East Hampton

Esperanza and Irwin discuss the preservation of Barcelona Neck and The Grace Estate in East Hampton's Northwest Woods. The land was bought for $6.3 million from collector Ben Heller in 1985 after a referendum, the largest and most expensive public land purchase ever undertaken here at the time. The Nature Conservancy contributed $500,000 to the cost. Randall Parsons, who, in his former post as an East Hampton Town councilman, was instrumental in negotiating the purchase described at the time a Town at the crossroads. "There were subdivision applications in on Barcelona Neck [across Northwest Harbor], the Grace Estate, and Hither Hills in Montauk. It was the first time that people really rose up and said this is not what we want" The purchase was made after a prolonged public debate. Opponents argued against borrowing so much money, saying that if the Grace Estate were developed, town zoning laws would sufficiently limit development at far less expense. But fast forward 40 years, and imagine this much acreage with houses, condominiums and...