Lengthy Hudson City Suit Makes Town Anxious [Empty on the North Fork]

The plans to construct a Hudson City Savings Bank and adjoining office complex next door to on Route 25 in Mattituck were first proposed to the Southold Town Planning Board in late 2006.

Some of that construction began in late 2009, after an old residential house and the North Fork Beer and Soda Building, which had sat empty on the Main Road cooridor for two years, were demolished. The construction of the 9,500-square-foot two-story building to be used for office space and the 3,241-square foot single-story bank building was expected to be complete by the end of 2010.

Most of the bank building is up but empty, surrounded by construction debris, behind a chain link fence — as it has stood for almost two years now.

Property owner Dan Mooney, who has been in litigation with Hudson City during this long delay, declined to comment on the status of the lawsuit or project at this time. But Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell said that he’s anxious to see the work completed and for the bank to open for business.

“Unfortunately, the town has no insight because we are not a party to the suit,” he said. “We can use the jobs though, and the community of Mattituck should not be forced to look at what has become a real eyesore.”

What are your thoughts? Do you think there should be at least some sort of enforcement to make the property look better while the lawsuit continues? And if not Hudson City, then what should move into that wide open space in the Mattituck business corridor?

Let us know your thoughts below, and take a look at this YouTube video of the initial phase of construction in 2009.