Montauk’s New Librarian Shelter Island December 22, 2014 To the Editor: There is a sweet irony now when I see cars passing through Shelter Island with their “Montauk — The End” bumper stickers. Actually you folks are now at the beginning — the beginning of a wonderful new era for your library. Our librarian for seven years, Denise DiPaolo, is now Montauk’s new librarian. In a short time, Denise transformed our quiet country library to the most exciting place, and certainly the cultural center, on Shelter Island. Dozens of kids hang out there after school, do their homework, and generally socialize. Older folk, like me, attend the Friday Night Dialogues, authors’ luncheons, poetry readings — the list of events and programs goes on and on. Our summer residents and their families buzz in and out of our library like bees in a hive. Denise was always in the vanguard of fund-raising, and promoted our library with enthusiasm, fun, and dedication. If you aren’t already, you will soon be brought up to snuff with the latest in library technology and the accompanying hands-on training, so young and old can use all these wonderful new tools that bring us light-years beyond the ancient card catalogs. Your beloved and highly regarded library will be in excellent hands with Denise at the helm. So the next time you Montaukers pass through Shelter Island and make that turn by our library, roll down your window and say, “Thank you, Shelter Island, for giving us Denise.” “You are welcome,” is our sincere but slightly sad reply. We had this rising star shine her light on us for seven years, but now it is your turn. PETER VIELBIG Dinner and a Gift Springs December 28, 2014 Dear Editor, I wish to thank all the volunteers at the Amagansett American Legion for our Christmas dinner. They also delivered many dinners to the homebound citizens. Besides the meal, everyone receives a gift. We are served a great meal and also receive a gift. The volunteers are very caring. They have been doing this for many years. JULIA KAYSER Quality Photography Amagansett December 23, 2014 To the Editor: Catching up with some issues of The Star that went unread (well, mostly unread) over Thanksgiving, I was struck yet again by the high quality of the photography on almost every page. Right now I’m tearing out the photo of the hawk in the birdbath by Doug Kuntz and the windmill with the flaming-red foliage by Dell Cullum (on facing pages from the Nov. 20 issue). And there are always those wonderful shots by Durell Godfrey! And so many others, too. Have you considered publishing a photography book? I would buy one for my coffee table for sure. Happy holidays, ALICE HENRY WHITMORE Plastic Netting East Hampton December 27, 2014 To the Editor: Took a walk on Sammy’s Beach along Hedges Bank this afternoon. There has been considerable effort by homeowners to rebuild their bluffs. The common practice is to lay down plastic or jute netting and plant sea grass through it. Sounds like a plan until one thinks about it. At present there are several of these nets, of considerable size, that have washed down to the water’s edge. Given the history of the area, I would think before too long, due to some storm event, they will all wash into Gardiner’s Bay. Who would approve installing plastic netting in a flood zone just feet from the high water mark and not expect it to end up washing away? I am sure this is not the only area that this is a problem. ERNIE FRENCH A Crime Scene Amagansett December 22, 2014 Dear David, Strange how construction in the delicate dunes is like a crime scene. Sincerely, GEROMA GURNEY Appalling Affront Sagaponack December 22, 2014 Dear Editor: I have been debating for weeks whether to go ahead and rant about the architectural misery that has struck Wainscott. After seeing Preston Phillips’s fine column on the subject in this week’s Southampton Press I just have to bolster it with my comments. First, I must say I was amused and puzzled at the objections to that quite small, attractive, and appropriate building at what some said was the important “gateway to Wainscott,” which is now the offices of Michael Davis Builders. And now am totally stunned and astounded by what those same officials and neighbors have permitted to be built just down the road at the true entrance to the commercial strip. This Wainscott strip is, however, just about the worst looking on the East End and maybe the Island, but the Home Goods building has to be cited as the absolutely worst, insensitive, appallingly designed affront to all who countenance it. It is inconceivable that any architect could have conceived such a horrendous monstrosity and gotten it built. What is worse is that the future tenant must have had some say as to design, and was either oblivious to what its effect would have on their business and the hatred for all concerned with it, which will not go away with time. Where am I coming from? Well, I used to own the quiet and nicely designed SRK pool company next door. Should have bought Plitt when I had the chance. But decided dealing with East Hampton as a builder was just not for me. So I focused on Southampton Town and believe (some may and will argue — so be it) that my family has built, along with the Parrish Art Museum, just about the nicest architectural additions to Montauk Highway out here. Urban Archaeology and Ateliers by James Merrell Architects and Sylvan Haus by Blaze Makoid have half a dozen awards and LEED Gold certifications. Our next project in Bridgehampton will be by the brilliant and sensitive Aurelie Paradisio, established in 2012 after designing with Tod Williams, Billie Tsien, and Charles Gwathmey. The idea is to choose the Roarks of the profession and have little or no input or interference and rely on them to make art. I end with the statement that Peter Keating was and is the worst there is or can be, and only Ellsworth Toohey would use and approve of him and what he does to destroy architecture! LOUIS MEISEL Important Hearings Springs December 22, 2014 To the Editor: As we head into the new year with hopeful thoughts of fellowship and peace on earth‚ we have to remember that the inexorable wheels of government move on. The East Hampton Town Board is scheduling important public hearings for Jan. 15 and Feb. 5. A hearing on a management and stewardship plan for the community preservation fund will be held on the 15th, and hearings on affordable housing plans will be held on both Jan. 15 and Feb. 5. Those concerned with the allocation of resources for both preservation and population would be well advised to keep a lookout as to what is proposed. Till then, I wish all a healthy and happy new year. TOM KNOBEL Truck Legislation Springs December 23, 2014 To the Editor: The latest proposed truck legislation is a slap in the face to Springs residents. We have been complaining about the commercialization of residential property for several years by those who have brought dump trucks, box trucks, construction equipment, and large commercial landscaping trailers to their homes in residential areas. In effect, the latest proposal will protect uniformly affluent areas of town, which have far less of these abuses, with a clear, legally enforceable definition of a “light truck,” the only class of trucks our zoning code permits in residential areas. However, the newest proposal gives an amnesty to those who have been abusing the light-truck provision and would allow them to keep noncompliant larger trucks, up to 14,500 pounds (gross vehicle weight rating), for as long as they own their property and the right to replace those medium and large trucks while they live at that property. Because a large concentration of the abuses of the light-truck law are concentrated in Springs, the law will protect those areas with far less abuses while creating a second-class status for Springs. Further, the new proposed legislation liberalizes the current law on storage of trailers, from one open single-axle trailer to include double-axle closed trailers. This more permissive clause effectively degrades the zoning of every residential property in East Hampton Town. Wherever you live, one of these large commercial trailers could be parked next door and it will now be legitimate. And if you have the misfortune to live next door to a 14,500-pound truck — well, too bad for you! Although Supervisor Cantwell and Councilman Overton had many meetings with community members on both sides of the issue, this proposal is not a compromise, and we are outraged by its one-sidedness. The idea that these large trucks are a pre-existing, nonconforming condition is wrong. The zoning restriction goes back decades. Light trucks, pickups, vans, small work and utility vehicles, boats and recreational trailers have long been part of the Springs landscape but dump trucks and box trucks have not. The commercialization of Springs is a more recent phenomena, brought about by lax code enforcement. Law-abiding citizens should not be punished while contractors and landscapers are given a protected status above and beyond the law at everyone else’s expense. The current zoning allowing light trucks on residential lots has been in existence for decades. People bought their homes based in part on these zoning protections, and for years the law was effective. The East Hampton Business Alliance estimates that about 85 percent of contractors already keep their medium and heavy trucks, trailers, and equipment on commercial lots. Several years ago code enforcement suggested that the current law needed more definition for the purpose of taking complaints to court — not change, but clarity. What should have been a quick fix has become this ill-conceived degrading of our residential zoning. We all know what light trucks are. Just walk into Buzz Chew and they will clearly explain that pickups and small vans are light trucks, dump trucks and box trucks are medium or heavy-duty trucks. This proposal gives no support to Springs’s Safe Routes to School program. This proposal gives no help to homeowners who had these unattractive commercial trucks move into their neighborhoods. This proposal discriminates against Springs and other areas of town with a “truck problem.” This proposal rewards those who got away with violating the intent and spirit of our residential zoning code for their own personal benefit, not for the good of the community. This proposal will adversely affect property values in Springs. This proposal will legitimize all the inappropriate dump trucks and box trucks that Springs residents have been complaining about. This proposal will cement in place the second-class status of our community. The town board needs to go back to the drawing board on this one. Can you just imagine what would happen if the dump trucks and large landscaping trailers found homes in the areas where they do most of their work? I can hear the screaming all the way over here in Springs. I rest my case. CAROL BUDA We Stand Alone Springs December 29, 2014 Dear Mr. Rattray, I have read your editorial in The Star (“Carts Before Horses,” Dec. 25) and feel compelled to respond. For many months we have been attempting to address the issue of the “light” truck in East Hampton Town. We have researched many of the towns in Suffolk County, only to find that we stand alone with no limits on truck parking in residentially zoned areas. The allowed weight for a fully loaded truck (known as the G.V.W.R.) stands at 10,000 pounds in other towns. Upon presenting these findings to our board a proposal was offered to allow a 12,000-pound G.V.W.R. limit for vehicles parked in residential areas. Box trucks, dump trucks, trailers, and landscaping vehicles and equipment would be restricted to commercially zoned areas. Pickup trucks and recreational vehicles would be permitted. The law states that running a business out of residential property is prohibited. Some contractors in East Hampton both operate their businesses illegally and park their commercial vehicles at their homes — or properties that they have bought in which to house their staff — and are adamant about their right to do so. They believe that since they have always been unrestricted, they should be allowed to do whatever they wish. Why is this inconsiderate attitude not addressed by our town? Why are our legislators responding favorably to threatening behavior exhibited at town and citizens advisory committee meetings? The town has countered our proposal by granting parking of one 14,500-pound G.V.W.R. on residentially owned properties for licensed home contractors. A license costs $100, hardly a prohibitive amount of money to register any business. Town proposal recommends screening of such vehicles at 75-percent coverage and the type of screening is left up to the contractor, thus making effective code virtually unenforceable. Also permitted would be an unlimited number of pickup trucks and cars, two boats, an open or closed 18-foot-long trailer, and recreational vehicles. Can you imagine this sight on a half-acre piece of residential property? A 14,500-pound truck is a very large dump truck. I have never seen such commercial vehicles legally parked in residential areas of any town unless contracted to work on a project. Why should we allow this to exist in East Hampton when it is considered illegal in every other town in Suffolk County? Our town legislators have to date been extremely sympathetic to the needs of businesspeople. Let us remind our legislators that we too are sympathetic to their needs. We are all working people who have placed our largest investment into our homes. It is irresponsible and unfair to the community to relegate residential area parking favorable to a very small population and disregard the needs of the entire populace. Communities at large need a structural framework in which to operate well. Lacking rules produces havoc, like that with which we are presently faced. It is time to face and ameliorate the issues at hand. As you suggested, “meet the letter of the law” but not at the “expense of other residents and attractive neighborhoods.” Thank you very much for your support. CONNIE LOPARDO Confused and Confusing Springs December 24, 2014 Dear Editor: I feel I must speak to your editorial “Carts Before Horses.” What we have here is a zoning problem. Code enforcement has been so weak and so impotent that tradesmen and commercial interests have entrenched themselves in residentially zoned areas. They have parked their trucks, their trailers, their boats, and their cars on their half-acre or less of paradise (I speak for Springs), but this is an East Hampton Town, and, to a lesser extent, Village issue. The situation is most apparent in Springs. We are overpopulated. We have the least expensive real estate north of the highway, with small single-family homes on small lots. We are a very diverse community and a bit blue-collar — light blue if you count all of the second-home owners in the hamlet. We also have many absentee landlords renting their homes to myriad persons, we have an overcrowded school, high taxes, and — trust me on this — the current attitude is and has been for years, “I can do whatever I damn well please, no one is going to stop me.” And for the most part, no one does. The town board has been writing and rewriting a new unenforceable truck law for months. Residents in East Hampton should be able to expect, like other residential communities on Long Island, protection from commercial interests. We have areas of agricultural zoning, waterfront zoning, commercial zoning, mixed zoning, etc. etc. There are reasons for this. We have zoning law to differentiate the land usage and to protect all of the many and varied interests. It seems to me that some on this board are eager to blur the lines, and make exceptions. Acceptable with current law is a home occupation in a residential home — not a construction business with all of its visible accoutrements. What they have come up with is absurd gobbledygook of their own making and totally unenforceable. I have suggested in my rambunctious rants that maybe input from a credible nonpartisan independent party would be helpful. We seem to have found a lot of knowledgeable, hard-working, reasonable resident citizen advisers when dealing with the airport issue. Finally, we have a board listening and thinking differently about the airport, and that’s a good thing. It took years. We are all breathing a bit easier about that issue. We know certain town board members love their trucks — we get that and no one finds fault with that. It is the fleets of parked trucks, unlimited pickups, large box trucks, vans, and flatbeds, the unlimited vehicles, the trailers (opened and closed), and the parking of vehicles over what was once a lawn and/or in nearby woods that is offensive, excessive, noisy, and not residential. These vehicles belong in a commercial zone. These vehicles need a garage. We should not have to look at them. We should not have to hear them. We should not have to live with them. We need a hamlet study for Springs in particular and East Hampton in general. It might be a good idea to get some outside disinterested persons to clearly define residential law in the community, and create a law the community understands and finds fair as to what is and is not allowed next door or down the street from your home. I would listen to a group of wise impartial men on the subject. Maybe we can find three wise men — or women. What is being proposed is confused and confusing and unacceptable. It sanctions and, yes, encourages violators, and protects those who are already breaking the law. Code enforcement has not done the job. We have a conflicting and vague law that cannot be enforced. What is being proposed is no better. As a resident, I can tell you with certainty that in the last 20 years there has been an invasion of commercial home contractors on residential properties where I live. It’s a way of life for some, and they expect it. Indeed, they aggressively demand it. Thank you and I wish everyone wisdom, patience, and good health for the new year. BETSY RUTH Airport Home Rule East Hampton December 26 2014 Dear David, A week from this day, Jan. 1, the Town of East Hampton will be free at last! Free from the tangled grip of the Federal Aviation Administration grant assurances prohibiting its right to operate a safe airport that does not place an undue aircraft noise burden on the non-flying public, local economy, and wildlife so dependent upon our peaceful environment. Before Jan. 1, the town’s contractual obligations to the F.A.A. created a legal prohibition to regulate aircraft noise. These obligations, known as grant assurances, essentially abrogated our right to self-government by superseding our local laws and regulations, running roughshod over decades of careful land planning and preservation, and imposing on thousands, many millions of single-event noise impacts every year. But the day has finally arrived. And, after spending two decades as an aircraft noise abatement advocate, I never thought I’d see it. The Town of East Hampton is now free to exert its rights as proprietor to protect the public from unhealthy, disturbing aircraft noise by imposing access limits to East Hampton Airport. Finally, the town is free to protect the public from aircraft noise. The extraordinary efforts of Supervisor Cantwell and the town board, led most ably by Councilwoman Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, is providing, at long last, accurate assessments of airport revenue potential in order to maintain the airport’s financial self-sustainability, thereby eschewing F.A.A. grant money and the surrender of home rule those encumbrances bring. This landmark event also creates a historic opportunity for the noise-affected and local aviators to go forward together, as members of the same community, in support of a safe, well-maintained local airport for recreational use, one that no longer imposes unbearable burdens all over the East End. The peaceful countryside is a big part of what East End residents cherish about our unique community. We tax ourselves to provide funding to counter intense development pressure so we can preserve open space, farmland, and other historic and scenic vistas that are a proud part of our identity and sense of place. Our quiet agrarian and maritime character, built from independent, resilient endeavor, is a heritage we cherish, pay dearly to preserve, and are, at long last, free to control. I wish you, your family, and The Star’s readers a healthy, happy, safe and peaceful holiday season. Most sincerely, KATHLEEN CUNNINGHAM Quiet Skies Coalition Better Night Lighting Springs December 29, 2014 Dear David, The amendments to the lighting code that have been proposed by the East Hampton Village Design Review Board will provide better vision at night and will use energy wisely for the purposes intended. There is nothing unsafe about dark-sky lighting techniques. Everything proposed in these amendments will meet the recommendations of professionals who set lighting standards throughout the country. And, they are based on common sense. My hope is that the village board will accept the recommendations of the D.R.B., the planning board, and reviewed by the village attorney, at the hearing on Jan. 15, 11 a.m. As a trained lighting designer, I am available to provide information to anyone (for free) who may need assistance or information about better night lighting. SUSAN HARDER New York State Representative International Dark Sky Association Out of Control Southampton December 18, 2014 David, I agree with Mr. Raebeck’s proposed airport restrictions. Next, let’s put a roadblock at the canal bridge and restrict idiots and assholes because they are out of control as well. BOOBIN MINETREE A Place to Live East Hampton December 26, 2014 To the Editor: The New York Times recently ran an editorial on Gov. Chris Christie’s refusal to accept Supreme Court decisions regarding affordable housing in Mount Laurel, N.J. Despite the court’s ruling Christie refuses to implement the law. He is adamantly anti-affordable housing and he makes no bones about it. No duplicity, phony morality, or disingenuous support. With Christie you know where you stand, whether you like it or not. In East Hampton it’s not quite so simple. While every politician is pro-affordable housing when they are campaigning, most seem to fall by the wayside when asked to step up and be counted. The elitist sensibility is never more obvious and disturbing when faced with hard-core issues that affect the town’s neediest. They fabricate school studies, whine about tax increases, wonder where “these people” might shop in their hamlets. (Where does anyone shop in East Hampton?) The reactions are reflexive and never fail to surface. The reflex serves to separate the concept from the families that are served. It’s a bad idea to give 48 families a stable living situation where they can flourish in a difficult world. Who really deserves this opportunity, even though it has always been a piece of the American dream? But there is a face, real faces that do exist. A former town councilman and his mother, a judge’s mother, a former Republican political analyst, and more, all have had the good fortune of our affordable housing programs. They are as much a part of the town as the people who buy mansions on the ocean for use in the summer. In fact, much more so, because they helped build this town into what it is and haven’t just arrived by helicopter. So we separate out the affordable housing that is a function of market conditions, which concentrate people with less money in areas where they can afford to live, from government-provided housing, which exists to remedy the inequities in the markets. Given that our market has no affordable capacity we are dependent on the intervention of our government. Dependent on the will and persistence of elected officials whose primary constituencies are comparable to the elitist residents of Mount Laurel. Do they have the capacity to do more than make the trains run on time? Can they overcome the reflex to genuflect before the elitist groups that feed them piles of garbage that they claim to be real and attempt to validate? In one of the richest communities in the world, a place to live for the people who live and work here should be a no-brainer for our local pols — if they wanted to put their minds to the task. NEIL HAUSIG
Published 4 years ago
Last updated 4 years ago
Letters to the Editor: 01.01.15
December 30, 2014