Southampton Village says not so fast after wrecking ball treatment OK'd for 'historic' home
Only a glimpse of the home Orest Bliss owns on Meadow Lane in Southampton Village can be seen from the roadway. Credit: Tom Lambui
A judge has ruled in favor of a Southampton homeowner who wants to demolish his oceanfront residence, but the controversy will continue after village officials appealed the decision to try to save the Norman Jaffe-designed house from the wrecking ball.
State Supreme Court Judge Christopher Modelewski said in a March 1 decision the Village of Southampton's Board of Architectural Review and Historic Preservation must issue homeowner Orest Bliss a certificate of appropriateness that will pave the way for the home’s demolition.
The ruling followed a monthslong controversy over the future of the four-decade old house at 88 Meadow Lane in the village's historic district. Village officials have argued the home shouldn't be knocked down because it is historic and a prime example of the legacy of Jaffe, a renowned architect, on Long Island's East End.
Bliss filed the lawsuit against village officials in early 2022 after the board denied the request for a certificate of appropriateness — a requirement for demolition in the historic district. The homeowner has sought to demolish the angular residence as part of a plan to sell the property.
East Hampton attorney Brian Matthews, who represents the board and village in the lawsuit, filed a notice of appeal on March 3 that he said will stave off demolition for now. The judge had ordered the board to issue the certificate within 10 days.
"We fundamentally disagree with the judge’s opinion, both on his interpretation of the law and his interpretation about the manner in which the application was reviewed,” Matthews told Newsday.
But Bliss’ Southampton attorney, John Bennett, said he’s confident the judge’s decision “will withstand any sort of appeal.”
The decision criticized the board for singling out what's known as the Bliss House for preservation after granting demolition permits for two other Jaffe-designed homes on the same street nearly two decades apart.
Those homes, the judge noted, also didn't undergo a significant renovation — under plans from a different architect — as the Bliss House did in 2000. He wrote that the other two homes “would be of greater preservation value than the Bliss home.”
But Matthews said he believed the board adequately addressed the differences. In one example from court papers, the board said some of its predecessors in 2001 allowed demolition in error.
“The law does not require a board to continue an error forward,” the attorney added.
The judge's ruling also concluded the village board was “predisposed to a denial” because it relied on a report that noted Jaffe expert Alastair Gordon, a critic and cultural historian, wrote at its request.
Jaffe, of Bridgehampton, died in 1993 after apparently drowning during a morning swim.
In court documents, Bliss argued the home never was listed as contributing to the historic district, which was designed largely for the preservation of homes built in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries.
The village granted building permits for the Bliss house in 1978. At the time, some Southampton officials considered Jaffe’s modernist design “radical.” Bliss agreed to a covenant requiring landscaping to largely shield the home from view and today it remains mostly hidden both from the road and beach.
A judge has ruled in favor of a Southampton homeowner who wants to demolish his oceanfront residence, but the controversy will continue after village officials appealed the decision to try to save the Norman Jaffe-designed house from the wrecking ball.
State Supreme Court Judge Christopher Modelewski said in a March 1 decision the Village of Southampton's Board of Architectural Review and Historic Preservation must issue homeowner Orest Bliss a certificate of appropriateness that will pave the way for the home’s demolition.
The ruling followed a monthslong controversy over the future of the four-decade old house at 88 Meadow Lane in the village's historic district. Village officials have argued the home shouldn't be knocked down because it is historic and a prime example of the legacy of Jaffe, a renowned architect, on Long Island's East End.
Bliss filed the lawsuit against village officials in early 2022 after the board denied the request for a certificate of appropriateness — a requirement for demolition in the historic district. The homeowner has sought to demolish the angular residence as part of a plan to sell the property.
East Hampton attorney Brian Matthews, who represents the board and village in the lawsuit, filed a notice of appeal on March 3 that he said will stave off demolition for now. The judge had ordered the board to issue the certificate within 10 days.
"We fundamentally disagree with the judge’s opinion, both on his interpretation of the law and his interpretation about the manner in which the application was reviewed,” Matthews told Newsday.
But Bliss’ Southampton attorney, John Bennett, said he’s confident the judge’s decision “will withstand any sort of appeal.”
The decision criticized the board for singling out what's known as the Bliss House for preservation after granting demolition permits for two other Jaffe-designed homes on the same street nearly two decades apart.
Those homes, the judge noted, also didn't undergo a significant renovation — under plans from a different architect — as the Bliss House did in 2000. He wrote that the other two homes “would be of greater preservation value than the Bliss home.”
But Matthews said he believed the board adequately addressed the differences. In one example from court papers, the board said some of its predecessors in 2001 allowed demolition in error.
“The law does not require a board to continue an error forward,” the attorney added.
The judge's ruling also concluded the village board was “predisposed to a denial” because it relied on a report that noted Jaffe expert Alastair Gordon, a critic and cultural historian, wrote at its request.
Jaffe, of Bridgehampton, died in 1993 after apparently drowning during a morning swim.
In court documents, Bliss argued the home never was listed as contributing to the historic district, which was designed largely for the preservation of homes built in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries.
The village granted building permits for the Bliss house in 1978. At the time, some Southampton officials considered Jaffe’s modernist design “radical.” Bliss agreed to a covenant requiring landscaping to largely shield the home from view and today it remains mostly hidden both from the road and beach.
Joe Werkmeister covers the towns of Southampton, East Hampton and Shelter Island. He is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and previously worked as the editor of two North Fork community newspapers.
