Once the old Southampton Press office on Windmill Lane comes down, the empty lot next to Rogers Memorial Library will become a dog park. It will look like a parks project. In Mayor William Manger's letter in the Fall 2026 Village News, though, it falls under the heading of improving the environment. The new dog park is one half of a property swap, and the swap exists so the village can build a wastewater system for the business district.
That swap is the clearest example of how this winter's projects fit together. Many of the changes residents will see around the village center over the next few months serve water and power. The rest are repairs left over from a hard summer.
The dog park moves so the leaching pools have room
The mayor's letter explains the order of events. The Town used Community Preservation Fund money to buy the Southampton Press site on Windmill Lane, and the village, as co-owner, "will soon be demolishing the 6,000 square foot office building so that a new dog park can be constructed on that lot immediately next door to the Rogers Memorial Library."
The current dog park then gets a new job. The ground beneath it will be used for "leaching treated water," and the treatment system itself is planned for village-owned property behind the ambulance barn, with underground leaching pools to the north. The mayor wrote that "there will be no odors with the contained system proposed."
The Southampton Press reported the addresses involved. The Express News Group building to be demolished is at 135 Windmill Lane, and the leaching fields would replace the existing dog park at 205 Windmill Lane. The paper noted that the Express News Group, publisher of The Southampton Press, was the building's tenant, not its owner. Its owners, Gavin and Kathryn Menu, endorsed both the sale and the sewer concept.
The goal is spelled out in the newsletter. A wastewater system for the Central Business District is "the best step we can take to help reduce the amount of nitrogen in our groundwater and thereby clean up Lake Agawam." According to the same Southampton Press report, the mayor described the system as a way to cut septic pollution reaching groundwater and the lake.
Agawam Park gets wiring underground
Lake Agawam also explains the work planned for the park beside it. The mayor wrote that "electrical lines will be laid under Agawam Park for the proposed algae harvester and solar array." The wastewater system aims to keep nitrogen out of Lake Agawam. The harvester is aimed at the algae already in it. Both projects lead back to the same body of water at the foot of the village.
The newsletter describes the harvester and solar array as proposed, so this season's work is the wiring underneath.
North of the tracks, the power line comes before the paving
Along the northern roads, the utility work comes first and the new pavement follows. Here is the order the newsletter gives:
- PSEG restarts its power project. The utility is bringing additional electrical power from the substation at West Prospect and North Sea Road to Water Mill.
- The roads get repaved. When PSEG finishes, North Sea, Willow and North Main "will be repaved at PSEG's expense."
- Hill Street gets its second half in 2027. The eastern half was repaved this past summer, and the village plans to repave the western half in 2027.
Flying Point Road is already finished. The newsletter says it received additional drainage, and the entire stretch within the village was repaved. The village also says it "continues to install drainage and paving where needed."
The repainting crews overhead work on their own schedule. The newsletter says the Metropolitan Transportation Authority "will continue the repainting of the Long Island Railroad trestles over North Main Street and North Sea Road." That puts LIRR crews above two of the same roads in line for PSEG-funded repaving.
What changes at street level downtown
Three projects in the commercial core happen above ground. Both come from the newsletter.
| Project | Where | What the village describes |
|---|---|---|
| Pedestrian easement paving | Just north of Hildreth's Department Store, midway on Main Street | Brick paving to replace uneven asphalt, lined up with the crosswalk to the Chase Bank on the east side of the street |
| World War I Monument | Village center | Repairs and restoration, with a contractor chosen through a Request for Proposal process |
| Village Hall | Third floor and rear of the building | Renovation plans with architects Garnett DePasquale for the gutted third floor, plus a new interior fire stair and an improved rear entrance and exit |
The Hildreth's walkway follows a recommendation in the village's Comprehensive Plan "to improve connections between the parking lots and shops." For anyone who parks behind Main Street and walks through to the stores, that means a brick path instead of patched asphalt. Our August look at the two-block core on Jobs Lane and Main Street covered the businesses this walkway connects.
The Village Hall work has a history. The mayor noted that the police department used to occupy the upper floors and moved out twenty-five years ago, which left that space empty. That anniversary is also on the November calendar.
The trees are a repair from the summer
Not everything on the list is planned improvement. The village is "once again" planting 200 new trees this fall and spring, after losing many in the severe storm on the night of July 4. The mayor wrote that this brings the total planted since he took office to 800.
The storm was widely covered. Dan's Papers reported a peak gust of 87 mph in Baiting Hollow, more than 40,000 PSEG customers losing power at first, and a Southampton Town emergency declaration in effect through 9 a.m. on July 10. The Southampton Press put gusts as high as 84 mph and named the Rosko subdivision and Leo's Lane, along with Foster Crossing, among the affected spots in the village. Patch listed Southampton Village among the hardest-hit communities.
The trees going in now are replacements, and they join a summer of new planting at the Southampton Arts Center. The Southampton Press reported that a $3.4 million gift from the Paulson Family Foundation paid for the redesign of the 2.7-acre grounds. The work added a new East Lawn fountain, expanded plantings, more than 50 new trees, and an outdoor performance space designed by landscape architect Chris LaGuardia. The mayor's letter calls the new garden and amphitheater "a tremendous hit" and thanks Alina and John Paulson.
The dates to keep through December
With the lake work, the road sequence and the replanting in mind, these are the dates that affect day-to-day life in the village between now and the end of December.
- Leaf pickup, through December 28. Pickup started November 2. Leaves go in long, neat piles along the edge of the road, not in the roadway, or in paper biodegradable bags only. Plastic bags will no longer be picked up, and mixed piles with grass clippings or pruning are skipped. Paper bags are sold at Village Hall and hardware stores.
- Saturday, November 14, 2 to 3:30 p.m. The Southampton Arts Center hosts an artist tour of East End Collected9 at 25 Jobs Lane, with participating local artists talking about their work.
- Saturday, November 14, 5 p.m. The Southampton History Museum starts its new Distinguished Lecture Series in the Music Room at Rogers Mansion. Archaeologist Richard Veit will present "Unearthing Point Breeze, the Fabled Estate of Stephen Sayre and Joseph Bonaparte." The Southampton Press reported that the lecture is free and reservations are requested.
- November 27 to 29 and December 4 to 5, noon to 5 p.m. The East End Collected9 exhibition at 25 Jobs Lane shows Suffolk County artists working in painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking and ceramics.
- Saturday, November 28. The village will mark twenty-five years of the "new" police building on Windmill Lane, which also houses the Village Court, with a ceremony held before the Parade of Lights and the Christmas tree lighting. Check the Village of Southampton for start times.
The newsletter also says Mayor Manger holds open hours at Village Hall on Tuesday mornings from 10 to 11, for residents with questions about any of these projects. A meeting can also be scheduled through his assistant, Karen Bontempo.
If you own in Southampton Village and want to know how projects like the Windmill Lane swap or the North Sea Road repaving might matter when you sell, Cheryl & Regan are glad to talk it through. Request a personalized market consultation and free home valuation, and we'll look at what is changing near your street.
