Taylor Swift's Rhode Island Neighbors Angry Over Construction
Residents living near singer claim her new seawall restricts access to public beach areas.

Super star Taylor Swift in hot water, sparking outrage among her Rhode Island’s neighbors for a building project on her ocean formed property. Dianna is back with this story here this morning.
Hey David. Yeah, well, Taylor Swift may have recently been crowned 2013’s Tennessean of the year, but don't expect Rhode Islanders will be giving her similar accolades anytime soon. The 24-year-old has gotten herself into some hot water over the plans she has for her new multimillion-dollar waterfront property.
Known more for her ballads and breakups. Some say Taylor Swift is causing trouble for some neighbors of her new Rhode Island summer home. Taylor Swift reportedly spent $17 million on this 11,000 square foot historic mansion. Boasting 16 rooms and more than 5 acres, it's located in the exclusive and expensive Watch Hill neighborhood in the town of Westerly.
The pop singer is spending big bucks on improvement to the property, including a seawall, that some locals claim will restrict access to a public beach and impact the quality of surfing.
“I don't think any celebrity should have the right to do that with such a historic area.”
Swift maintains that she has all the required permits for the work and is restoring the wall after it was damaged in hurricane Sandy. But others say huge boulders being placed by construction crews restrict use of the area popular with fishermen and bathers.
“If it does impact it negatively, that’s something that is just going to stick and we won’t be able to surf there.”
The Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission for Rhode Island tells ABC they have “no issues” with the project. And the group that regulates coastal development has told local newspapers it approved the work and it's up to snuff.
And in fact there are some reports this morning that Swift was actually asked to move the boulders by the state of Rhode Island itself. Either way, whether it was originated from state officials or not, it's clear that residents there are very protective of their land.
Boulder gate (yeah). The next scandal.
Diana, thanks.