The Southampton Press Letters to the editor Hands Full I attended the public hear- ing at Southampton Town Hall for the massive Gate- way planned development district shopping center proposed for Bridgehamp- ton. The one thing that was evident from the start was what a mess ex-Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst has left behind her. The string of inappropriate PDDs and a zone change that Anna in- itiated and then flew the coop is daunting. Our new supervisor and Town Board have their hands full trying to put things right. The problem is that Ms. Throne-Holst was wed- ded to overdevelopment and seemed committed to changing the appearance of Southampton Town into that of Nassau County. She didn’t seem able to see that the real value of Southamp- ton was its smaller-scale, rural character. That her campaign donations from developers grew astronom- ically seemed to carry the day. Now, here we are. The mas- sive Gateway PDD at Bridge- hampton is proposed to be situated on 13 acres just across Montauk Highway from the already-existing very large Bridgehampton Commons shopping center. It is so large that, it in con- junction with the existing shopping center across the highway, they could be deemed their own urban center. Forget Gateway to Bridgehampton—this loca- tion, if approved, should be given its own hamlet name. The startling thing that I gleaned at the hearing is that this PDD was the brainchild of Supervisor Anna and her planning staff. That’s right—our tax dollars and our Town Hall personnel were used to put this commercial pro- ject together. Kyle Collins, the town planner, made the presentation and answered the questions on this PDD at the hearing. A big question is: Is this ap- propriate? Should our town officials be put in the posi- tion of voting on their own project? So, where do we go from here? The PDD legislation is still in place. The Gate- way PDD, The Hills PDD, and Tuckahoe Center zone change are looming over us. And the fate of Southamp- ton Town as we know it is very uncertain. It is all up to our new super- visor and new members of the Town Board. We should give them all the support we can, and hope that they do the right thing. Frederick Havemeyer Bridgehampton