Our village, Sag Harbor, N.Y., is a community of rare and irreplaceable character—a historic whaling town with a thriving Main Street anchored by locally owned shops, restaurants, and galleries. This varied and vibrant mix is the very reason people choose to live here, visit here, shop here, and invest here.

The unchecked proliferation of formulaic stores and restaurants--businesses that can be found in dozens of other towns and shopping malls anywhere--poses an existential threat to Sag Harbor’s distinctive identity and economic vitality. With new chain stores opening here every season, Main Street is already at risk.

We, the residents, property owners, visitors, and concerned citizens of Sag Harbor, urge the Mayor and Village Board of Trustees to enact legislation that prohibits or significantly limits the number of chain retailers or food service establishments permitted to operate within the Village Business and Office districts—the area centered on our historic Main Street. 

Sign here to add your voice to ours, and help stop Main Street from becoming Chain Street!

We respectfully call upon the Mayor and Village Board to: 

1. Draft and adopt an ordinance defining “formula retail” or “chain establishment” consistent with proven models used in other small communities to limit the number of chain establishments permitted in the Village Business and Office Districts.
2. Engage the community in a transparent public process before any formula retail legislation is finalized. 

All of us--residents and visitors, merchants and landlords--have a stake in preserving the unique quality of Main Street. Please help spread the word.