Sometimes land preservation doesn’t do much for the public, at least visibly. That’s been the case with an old dairy-cattle spread in New York’s Sag Harbor Village called Cilli Farm. This month’s article in the local Express weekly describes the nine acres as “a tangle of brambles, invasive plants and litter”–see the photo taken yesterday. This perhaps was not the intention 25 years ago when Sag Harbor, Southampton Town (in which most of it falls) and Suffolk County went in on saving the long dormant parcel north of the business district from being swallowed up in the real-estate revival that was taking hold in the historic village. Indeed, the onetime Cilli Farm is now surrounded by dense and very pricey homes and a vibrant waterfront. Often a motivation for setting aside open space is simply to retain greenery or vistas for the sake of current or future neighbors. But, if private capture was the primary result, a public expenditure–$1 million in this case—was of questionable value (even if a screaming bargain today). Sometimes preserving land is useful for ground-water protection, particularly on Long Island. But that has not been a central issue here. Nor has historic preservation, even though the Cilli dairy operation was a source of rich memories from Sag Harbor’s mid-20th century—nothing remains of it. It is just idle “park” space, with each level of government waiting on the others to initiate a plan for public use. According to the Express article, two village parks stewards are spearheading an effort to clean up the site, improve access and offer trails to enjoy. The surrounding property owners may or may not like the activity that will bring. At least, however, Cilli Farm will cease to be a local example of the tragedy of the commons. –April 18, 2025
A Sag Harbor Preserve…For Whom?
Tim W. Ferguson 