Sagaponack Should Snatch Up Sag Harbor Police Department

At the same time that Sag Harbor Village is considering shedding its police department, to the south the Sagaponack Village Board is nearing a vote on creating a new one.

Sag Harbor officials say that shuttering the village’s department and instead contracting with a town police force or the Suffolk County sheriff’s office for police protection will save their taxpayers significant money. Meanwhile, Sagaponack board members say they could save more than $1 million annually by booting the Southampton Town Police Department and forming the new Sagaponack Village Police Department.

Sag Harbor police officers obviously dread the notion of losing their jobs, while Sagaponack Village will be in need of experienced officers with knowledge of the East End.

The solution is obvious: Sag Harbor should sell its police department holdings to Sagaponack, and Sagaponack should assume the police officers’ contracts. It will be an easy transition, and inexpensive—it will just take some spray paint.

Slap white paint over “HARBOR” on the side of the cop cars then stencil on “APONACK,” and “SAG HARBOR POLICE” becomes “SAGAPONACK POLICE.”

The police officers won’t even need new uniforms. Just spread some Wite-Out over Sag Harbor’s clipper ship logo  and draw on Ira Rennert’s face.

The police headquarters itself, a brick building by Flynn+Stott Architects completed in 2006, could be lifted off its foundation on Division Street and rolled down Sagg Road to its new locale adjacent to Sagaponack Village Hall on Montauk Highway. It would be a challenge, but still cheaper than building a new police HQ—and it would free up some valuable real estate in Sag Harbor.

The Sagaponack Village Board held a hearing on Saturday to get feedback from residents. Will the board come around to the idea of buying the Sag Harbor Police Department before some other municipality snatches it up?