What Our Readers' Think: Canoe Place Inn Development Project

On Wednesday, residents voiced mixed reviews during a public hearing on a proposal by Developers Gregg and Mitchell Rechler to renovate the historic Canoe Place Inn while also constructing 40 townhouses on the canal property. 

Residents continue to debate the positive and negatives of the project throughout the week. The following is a round-up of what they had to say on Patch.  Feel free to add to the conversation, by posting a comment below. 

SUMMER Resident: Clean up the CPI area but leave the east side the way it is. I'm sure the condo(houses) won't sell too fast between the railroad, Sunrise Hwy. Montauk Hwy.,Canal Road and the smell from the sewage treatment plant. Steak One has great food, and Tidewaters is a great place for eating, drinking, watching the boats and social gatherings. This is the place most people will remember, not the CPI.

Linda Kabot: Although I would love to see the Canoe Place Inn restored and a great catering facility come to be at that location on the west side of the Shinnecock Canal, I aired concerns at the Town Board Meeting about the "trade-off" being proposed to achieve this: 40 townhouse units on the east side of the Shinnecock Canal, demolishing Tide Runners and the two other waterfront businesses located there. I think this high-density condo-style development has height and aesthetic issues for the historic Shinnecock Canal area.

Save Tide Runners: If the Recholrs truly cared about this community they would spend some time here. Our local waterside restaurants like Tide Runners are very few and very far between. We should keep them standing so we all have someplace to go and enjoy.

nyc511: While it might be nice to have a "restored" CPI, the reality is that it is a "white elephant". The original proposal for the property – a facility akin to Gurney’s in Montauk – might have had a chance of success. But under the current proposal, apart from perhaps a senior prom, few people are going to rent out this massive facility so they could have their special occasion overlooking Brewster's fast food store, the Shell station and the train tracks. 

Jacqueline Sirignano: Restore CPI and transform it into a beautiful bed and breakfast, BUT NOTHING BEYOND THIS! We don't need any more townhouses/condos.

New Guy: Tear it DOWN (CPI).. Save the EAST SIDE.

Joe Burns August 16, 2013 at 11:51 AMA Very Dark day in HB-- I'm Chaining myself to the Kegeators! C'mon Who's with me?!! Tide Runners Can't ever be replaced. What a waste. The Town should have purchased the property with CPF money and re developed Bridge to Bridge, along with the Property on the west side of the canal that was graciously donated to the town.

b August 16, 2013 at 12:03 PMYes perhaps they should have preserved the property. But they didn't. Nor did I hear anyone say they should. Nor would that have left Tide Runners operating because you can't operate a for-profit building on CPF property. Sounds really easy, but it just isn't.