Say No to the Box! The Big Box and Chain store threat is increasing in our area. We need to stop this now before we loose our downtown charm. Barnes & Nobel is planning a 30,000 sq. foot store in Bridgehampton. Your town could be next. We need to send a united message to the Southampton Town Board to stop B&N and others from invading the East End. I, along with other business groups, supported the legislation limiting the size of any store to 15,000 sq ft. Big box and chain stores are a threat to all downtown businesses because they draw shoppers away from downtown shopping areas. We are now finding out that this legislation is not enough, on it’s own, to prevent chains and big box stores from targeting the Hamptons. National chains do not support the local community. We don’t need the jobs. Local businesses can’t find the help they need. Big chains do not support local charities and organizations. Dollars spent at chain stores do not stay in the community. Big chains do not use local contractors, accountants, printers, or even banks. Profits made by chains leave the area, never to be spent in our communities again, creating a drain on our local economy. They are calling this mall the Bridgehampton Gateway. It’s planned location is across Montauk Hwy from Bridghampton Commons. A gateway should reflect a community, not detract from it. It should support the local independent businesses that give our communities our charm and uniqueness. We need to protect our local businesses and protect our local communities from over development and retail sprawl. The traffic situation alone should be reason to deny such sprawl. We urge the Town Board and Planning Department to take these facts into consideration when approving applications and not allow chains to dodge around the current legislation, especially when a building project, like this one, requires a change in zone to be approved. We further ask the town to create tighter legislation preventing chains from invading our business community. Other communities across the country have succeeded in this. We should follow their lead. I encourage town officials, local businesses and residents to log on and write to me about these issues. I am collecting information on successful legislation from around the country. Sign up for the latest local independent business news. Bob Beattie

Box Busters! A group of local citizens opposed to the "Big Box". We encourage town officials, local businesses and residents to log on and write to us about these issues. We are collecting information on successful legislation from around the country.