Cut (Plastic) Loose East Hampton October 18, 2014 Dear David: Plastic is everywhere, especially on our beaches and our front yards or the road right in front of our houses. I am on the East Hampton Recycling and Litter Committee for the Town of East Hampton. I was taking a walk a week or so ago on one of our most beautiful beaches with a friend and I could not help myself when I started seeing litter of all kinds, on this one of our many beautiful beaches. So I happen to have a large garbage bag in my car, and I started to pick up garbage on this most beautiful beach, and my friend went on walking without me, occasionally finding something for my bag. I could not help myself. I could not just walk past all this litter and do nothing, especially as I am on the East Hampton Recycling and Litter Committee. My awareness of the dangers and ugliness of all kinds of litter on our beaches and our roads, and my new knowledge of the enormous amount of plastic that we all use and just throw away anywhere it is convenient, without thinking, has really gotten me angry. This is the first Recycling Awareness Month, October, the first of many in the coming years in East Hampton Town. And I am proud of this accomplishment. The items that I came across most often were plastic straws and plastic stirrers. Studies have found that the fifth-most-found item during coastal cleanups are plastic straws and stirrers. Birds and fish eat these plastic straws and get caught up in them, and can choke on them and also die because of them. It is a simple thing to change. So I am asking our community, “Let’s become a ‘strawless’ community, and cut (plastic) loose!” Thank you. ARLINE GIDION Recycling Awareness East Hampton October 20, 2014 Dear David, According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Americans created 264 million tons of trash in 2012, and 165 million tons of it ended up in landfills or incinerators. As our population grows, so does the amount of trash we make, yet we only recycle about a third of the trash that we generate. We can and must do better, because we are leaving our planet to future generations with giant craters filled with decades-old trash, oceans full of plastic, and contaminated air, water, and soil. As a way to help us increase our rate of recycling, East Hampton has designated October as Recycling Awareness Month. Halfway through, we still have plenty of planned activities and educational initiatives underway. The goal of this designation is to raise awareness about the benefits of recycling and to encourage residents, businesses, and schools to increase their rates of recycling in order to help the environment, and also to generate revenue to the town through the sale of recyclables. If we can remove a large portion of recyclable materials from our waste stream and sell this commodity, we can reduce the costs associated with solid waste collection, transport, and disposal, which could reduce costs to the taxpayer. Recycling preserves natural resources, saves landfill space, conserves energy, saves water, reduces air, land, and water pollution, and creates jobs! It is a win-win-win for the community, the planet, and the economy! Tomorrow starting at 1 p.m. is the second tour of the East Hampton Recycling Center, located at 260 Springs-Fireplace Road. Tours are by reservation only, so please reserve your spot by contacting [email protected]. Learn what happens behind the scenes, and how you can become a better recycler! Also, the Sanitation Department has issued a “call for cardboard”! Starting on Oct. 25 and running through the end of the month, we are asking everyone to bring clean, dry, flattened, corrugated cardboard to the East Hampton Recycling Center, and you won’t be charged a fee to enter the facility. Cardboard is in great demand and is a commodity that we should be collecting and recycling rather than adding to landfills or burning in incinerators. Not only will this call for cardboard reduce municipal and environmental costs, it provides the material to make new corrugated cardboard so fewer trees will be used for new cardboard! I’d also like to thank our local schools for joining the Kids Can Recycle contest, which runs through Nov. 7. Schools and school groups are collecting clean aluminum cans, and the group that collects the most cans will win a fabulous prize! Anyone have any recycling or reusing tips to share? Please email them, with photos, to [email protected]. I’d love to learn more and share the tips with our community. Reduce, reuse, recycle, rethink, compost, and repeat! DEB KLUGHERS Chairwoman East Hampton Recycling and Litter Committee Aircraft Exhaust Wainscott October 20, 2014 Dear David: How is it that in this era of concern about global climate change, as well as local environmental issues, our airport gets a free pass? All of the focus is on noise pollution, which has now been proven to be a huge problem. At the same time, nothing is done to restrict the completely unnecessary deluge of carbon emissions from aircraft of every type. By far the biggest source of air pollution in our midst comes from the thousands upon thousands of annual airport operations. Why is the constant dumping of metric tons of aircraft exhaust okay with those who are charged with protecting our environment? BARRY RAEBECK Purpose Is Safety Amagansett October 10, 2014 Dear David, In my view, the primary purpose of the proposed rent registry law is safety, personal and environmental. I have lived in substandard housing, always fearful that faulty wiring could cause a fire. I have lived in overcrowded rental housing where lack of privacy made it hard to do homework and domestic dispute was constant. I have lived in rental housing where the landlord was predatory. I have been neighbor to sewage systems meant for a few, pushed over the brink in service to too many. I have been neighbor to a young master of the universe peeing on my hedge. I have relocated a young lady from my car in my driveway, having no idea where her share rental house was. I was a landlord for almost 30 years in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen. The only rent regulation that I took issue with was “whitewashing” the boiler room. I asked the inspector if “whitewash” wasn’t lye, and was he planning to dine there. I got a pass. All good things, DIANA WALKER Affordable Housing East Hampton October 19, 2014 Dear David, I am a beneficiary of East Hampton’s affordable housing program. I live in Whalebone Woods, in a house on property which is mostly owned by the town. My neighbors have similar arrangements. On one side of me is a manager of a chain store in the Bridgehampton mall. A county law enforcement officer and his family live beside her. A waiter in a local restaurant and a nurse employed by the county live on the other side of me. Directly across the street is a worker for a local building supply company and his family; beside them a young fisherman and his sister, a star student and athlete at East Hampton High School. Their father, a chef at the Ross School, died recently. Without their house they’d probably have to leave the East End and take with them the contribution their skills and work ethic offer us. A short distance up the street from us is Whalebone Village, part of a federally funded affordable apartment network that strives to fill an even more daunting need — housing for the landscapers, restaurant workers, nannies, housecleaners, store salespeople, supermarket checkout clerks, and their families, plus seniors and people with disabilities who have earned the right to remain in East Hampton near their friends and loved ones. Despite the addition of Windmill Village II, Accabonac Apartments, and St. Michael’s apartments during the past 20 years, we are falling farther and farther behind, as soaring home and rental prices exclude more and more of our year-round residents. The waiting list for these apartments now totals more than 700. The 49 apartments proposed for the area north of the highway near Stephen Hand’s Path will help to ease this burden. East Hampton’s affordable rental and home ownership programs are a plus for the entire town. They keep workers here, thus stabilizing labor costs. The workers spend most of their income here, thereby contributing to the town economy. And we are all, homeowners and apartment renters alike, taxpayers. Apartment dwellers pay income taxes and 30 percent of their income for rent; the homeowners and Whalebone Village pay school and property taxes at the full rate. Property tax rates for homeowners on my street are triple those in the hamlet of Wainscott, where the median house value, $3 million, is about 20 times the sale value of our homes to us. But I hear few complaints. The tax rate in Springs is nearly double that of ours. Affordable housing is a win-win for us all. RICHARD ROSENTHAL No Questions Asked Plainview October 20, 2014 To the Editor: The conclusion I draw from “Kindergarten Series Nixed” last week is that there’s something seriously wrong with the administration of the East Hampton School District when, as they say, “the left hand doesn’t know what the right is doing.” This yearlong series of articles had previously been approved last spring by both Richard Burns, the district superintendent, and Beth Doyle, the John M. Marshall Elementary School principal, before the first “The Class of 2027 Is On Its Way” installment appeared in the Oct. 2 Star and the school board president, J.P. Foster, objected to it and withdrew the district’s cooperation, which the series depended upon. Mr. Foster blamed this turnabout on “a lack of communication.” But what does that mean? Communication between whom and whom? Did the principal and superintendent keep their monthslong agreement with The Star a secret from the board? Or was the board duly informed, but too busy not interviewing candidates for its open seat to pay attention to this preplanned project? Who dropped the ball, and who is at fault for this sudden change in policy? I wonder if the board knew the series was coming, but nevertheless neglected to take the time to debate its “privacy” ramifications in a timely manner (even though the parents of at least 14 of the 18 children in the kindergarten class being profiled had given the reporter, Amanda M. Fairbanks, their permission for their children to be named and written about). In the Star’s Oct. 9 story “Sans Interviews, Board Fills Seat,” Mr. Foster expressed some impatience with his “It’s taken a lot of our time, and derails you from what’s the business at hand.” As did the board members Liz Pucci (“I’d like to get it over with”) and Jackie Lowey (“You want to move along and get business done. That’s where you want to be”). Yet the board apparently did not spend enough time discussing the business of this upcoming newspaper series spotlighting their district during their May, June, July, August, and September meetings. Not to imply that other districts’ boards of education are perfect. The “Addressing Long Absences” article reports the Montauk School Board’s hesitation to approve making the upcoming June middle school graduation an outdoor ceremony because of the $10,000 cost of a tent, which “would be ‘mandatory’ for an outdoor event.” Now I don’t know why a tent would be “mandatory,” but I do know that I’ve attended many lovely June graduations held on the front lawn of the Oyster Bay High School, which never utilized or needed a $10 — much less a $10,000 — tent. The Star’s lead story was “Headed to Prison for Route 114 Crash,” and both the guy going to prison (William C. Hurley) and the judge (Justice Fernando Camacho) who’s sending him there make the East Hampton School Board members seem like saints to me. The 62-year-old man who chose to drive his pickup truck while drunk crashed into a car carrying a mother (Dr. Elizabeth Krimendahl) and her 6-year-old son, Thadeus, who then had to have both his skull and his eye socket reconstructed. Even if all of his pain eventually goes away, who knows if his nightmares ever will? Despite the fact that the pickup’s driver pleaded guilty to seven criminal charges, including three felonies, he has been leniently sentenced to a mere two years in prison, and he probably won’t even serve all 24 of those months. So, in effect, he’ll be serving less than eight months each for the three felonies he committed. To me, this is not sufficient justice for what he inexcusably did. Unfortunately, the penalties enacted by our dysfunctional New York State Legislature in Albany are totally inadequate deterrents and punishments for people who knowingly and deliberately break our important traffic safety laws, which are often matters of life and death. The maximum sentences allowed by law for the defendant’s seven crimes would add up to about 10 years if they would be (fairly) served consecutively, but because Judge Camacho chose to allow Mr. H. to serve them concurrently, he will get away with an insufficient two years. Concurrent sentences are the court system’s legal equivalent of retail stores’ “Buy one and get one free” sales. While those are desirable for cash-strapped consumers, the idea of “Commit one crime, and get one ‘free’ (of penalty)” is never a good idea for a nation of laws. Of course, Judge Camacho had the prerogative of requiring Mr. H. to serve the sentences for each of his charges consecutively, but he apparently had more sympathy for Mr. H. and his family than for Dr. Krimendahl and her son. Judge Camacho told her “I pray for you,” but he ought to save his prayers for those drivers, passengers, and pedestrians who will have to share the public roads with Mr. H. again starting two years from now. To Mr. H., Judge Camacho said “Good luck,” but I’d prefer that luck be with those same potential victims of Mr. H. once he gets out of prison. After all, who can guarantee that he won’t drive drunk again? And if he does, and if he ends up killing someone that time, will Judge Camacho consider himself an accomplice, an accessory before the fact, or at least an enabler? I would. Two other Star stories highlight other injustices in our East End courts. In “Spy Camera Landlord Sentenced,” we learned that despite the fact that Donald J. Torr has pleaded guilty to 23 (!) criminal charges, including 9 “endangering the welfare of a child,” plus 14 (!) felonies, and in spite of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office recommending a sentence of 21/2 to 8 years in prison, State Supreme Court Justice Barbara R. Kahn inexplicably gave this landlord, who used cameras to spy on tenants who were paying him $6,500 for the privilege, a slap-on-the-wrist non-sentence of 5 years’ probation, which is another way of saying “You can break our child welfare laws with virtual impunity from any real punishment.” In “Local Woman Is Charged,” we learn about two women who have each been charged with aggravated D.W.I. because their sky-high blood-alcohol levels were, respectively, .22 and .23, almost three times the legal level, and higher than the .18 standard that raises the legal seriousness of the crime to aggravated. Personally, I myself am “aggravated” and appalled that these two women, who are clearly menaces to every man, woman, or child they encounter during their drunken drives, were both released, and are now free to drink and drive again any time they choose, endangering everyone in their paths. One of them was released for a mere $1,500 bail, even though her license had already been suspended in May after an arrest on Shelter Island on a charge of driving while intoxicated. The other woman, despite turning “onto Route 114 in East Hampton without yielding to an oncoming school bus, almost causing a collision,” was “released . . . without bail, with a nod to her ties in the community.” But she already had those same exact ties before she almost crashed into that school bus, which might have killed some children, so why should those “ties” get her a get-out-of-jail-free card? This is not a game of Monopoly, and judges should not be playing with the lives of our children! So I can’t help wondering why East Hampton Town Justice Steven Tekulsky made it so easy for these two lawbreakers to get back on our roads. I don’t believe that when Thomas Jefferson wrote about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in our Declaration of Independence he intended for judges to act as if the liberty of a lawbreaker should trump the life of a law-abider. The Star’s sports section provides admirable coverage of local school sports, and the paper carries a number of general columns — but no specifically sports-centric column. So I’m wondering if The Star would consider running a weekly column of my “Short Sports Thoughts” — a potpourri of observations and questions about professional sports and all the societal issues they touch upon? In the hopes that you might, I’ll be sending you some samples from the past week so you can peruse them. Finally, given The Star’s wonderfully liberal (generous in amount, not politically) letters policy, I think I’d like to move to the East Hampton area. Because I’d be happy to live in one of the very fine homes shown in your real estate advertisers’ full-page ads, but could not afford most of them, I’m hoping that either The Star would buy one of them for me in lieu of a letter-writer’s or columnist’s salary, or that one of your advertisers would donate (and I’d be willing to accept their donation with no questions asked) one of their advertised homes to me and my wife. I would be amenable to accepting any of the homes shown in your Oct. 16 issue, including any of the eight Sotheby’s houses shown on page A14, the five Saunders houses on page A2, the two Town & Country houses on pages B2 and D10, or the seven Brown Harris Stevens houses on pages B5 and B6. If no such donated houses are forthcoming, maybe Star readers who have enjoyed my first two letters to the editor would chip in enough money to make the purchase? For which I would be so grateful that I would write extra good for them in all future editions of The East Hampton Star! RICHARD SIEGELMAN Two Years’ Hard Time East Hampton October 20, 2014 Dear David, The article on the sentencing of Bill Hurley went far toward telling the human toll of lapses in judgment. The poor Krimendahls, innocent victims for a second time, and the obvious unrelenting agony and anger of a parent who cannot protect her child. More needs to be said in praise of the man who made the mistake. That July morning I visited Bill Hurley’s establishment for my weekly staples, water and beer. At 10 a.m. Bill was already looking exhausted. He had arrived at 5:30 a.m. because two employees had left with short notice and he had a responsibility to his clientele and the business. All should know that Bill’s long-time employee, the gentle giant erome Jefferson, had passed after a strong fight with cancer. All should know that Bill Hurley, making money on thin margins, kept Jerome on the payroll when he no longer worked, ’til his death. It gave Jerome his due dignity and it reminded Bill of the temporal way of life. Little was said in the article of Billy’s broken neck and the metal halo he wore after the accident. What mattered to Bill was simple. He hurt two innocent people, and he was consumed with remorse and contrition. Exhausted, he fell asleep on the way home, aided by alcohol. For this, a man never in trouble with the law is doing two years’ hard time. The people’s money is wasted. Bill’s conscience has been, is, and will be doing hard time. Perhaps his time in jail will liberate him, and perhaps his time in jail will permit the victims to let him go. This hard-working slob does not deserve the long-term recrimination of the victims, and the victims need to turn the page. We’ll miss you, Wilber. Stay safe and God speed your time away. Thanks for the lesson in decency and integrity. Very truly yours, WILLIAM J. FLEMING Rights of Fishermen Springs October 17, 2014 Dear Editor; Reading what Reg Cornelia wrote in The Star this week I took it for the partisan letter it is, he urging a vote for Lee Zeldin, the Republican candidate for Congress. That’s what we should expect from him. He’s the vice chairman of the local Republican club, I understand. But what bothered me was his statement that Congressman Tim Bishop has paid only lip service to the plight of the commercial fisherman by tying him to the overwhelming load of paperwork and regulation the fishermen face. I’m not sure where Mr. Cornelia got his information, but as a lifelong commercial fisherman, president of the East Hampton Baymen’s Association, and longtime activist for the rights of fishermen, he never asked me or any fisherman I know about anything. Perhaps he got his information from ex-fisherman associates of his. But I need to agree with Mr. Cornelia that Congressman Bishop hasn’t done enough for us. However, as far as I can determine, Senator Zeldin has done nothing. After all, New York State kicks us just as hard as the feds. There’s some time till Election Day, so perhaps Mr. Cornelia can ask Mr. Zeldin for his thoughts on this single question on our behalf. There was a program called “research set-aside” that fishermen, using their quota, contributed money to, that was earmarked for research in the commercial fisheries. Yes, very complicated. That program has now been closed, but money is still needed for research. So, because 80 percent of all the seafood in the U.S. is imported, how would Mr. Zeldin feel about a small tax levy of, say, half a percent or 1 percent of all imported seafood sales over 100 pounds, to the consumer? That is, at the grocery store, restaurant, or seafood store. No international tariff involved. And all money going to fisheries research. If Mr. Zeldin is more than the conservative antitax, antispend zealot he claims himself to be he might agree or even have a better idea. We should know, and Mr. Cornelia should ask. Politicians tend to paint themselves as akin to the salt of the earth, caring and concerned. In East Hampton that’s the Bonackers, and they are fishermen. I would hope both Mr. Zeldin and Mr. Cornelia know we’re greater than a campaign prop. BRAD LOEWEN A Friend in Washington Montauk October 20, 2014 Dear Editor, In 2008, Tim Bishop and his excellent staff helped my late husband and me with a problem we were having. I called the office knowing no one and was shocked at the immediate and thorough support I received. Since then, I’ve met several other people who have had a similar experience. It’s very moving to discover we have a congressman in Washington representing us. The other day, I overheard someone repeat that old, tired story about an ethics “problem” linked to Tim Bishop. I did my homework and discovered that after finding no wrongdoing, the Department of Justice closed its inquiry. So can we please put that one to bed? If you want a congressman fighting for the middle class, for the environment, for balanced immigration reform, and most particularly for his constituents in need, vote for Tim Bishop. Please, get out there and do it! You never know when you might be the person who needs a friend in Washington. Sincerely, LAURA STEIN Tim Delivers Springs October 18, 2014 Dear David, The statement that sums up all that is most troubling and sad in politics and public affairs is that “perception is reality.” Perceptions can be created in many nefarious ways, limited only by your advertising budget and your truthfulness. Reality is, like the word says, what’s real. In our local congressional race the Republicans are trying to create a totally false perception, distorted and darkly Photoshopped, of our honest and effective Congressional Representative Tim Bishop. The reality is that Congressman Tim Bishop has been a great representative for our area. Don’t fall for the right-wing smears. Tim delivers for our local areas. He is experienced and smart and has acquired enough seniority in Congress to get things done. He is doing great work getting our area its fair share of federal funding for dredging and shoreline protection. The next two years are going to be critical in our local erosion-control efforts, and we need Tim’s experience and effectiveness working for us in Washington. The reality is that Tim Bishop is good for the environment and gets things done. His re-election is vital to the goal of putting a lot of good clean sand on our beaches. His opponent’s record on the environment is limited but all bad. Not what we need in East Hampton. This is an important election and your vote is important. Please vote for Tim Bishop for Congress. BILL TAYLOR The Real Choice Montauk October 20, 2014 To the Editor I made a beeline to the Montauk Firehouse on Sunday to meet Lee Zeldin for the first time. He and Tim Bishop were participating in an event that was billed as a “forum, not a debate.” I assume Tim Bishop, our congressman for the last 12 years, needs no introduction. Mr. Zeldin, on the other hand, is known to most of us only by the frequent media buys that pop up in the most unlikely places. On the Weather Channel? Lee Zeldin is an amiable-appearing young man who introduced himself as a strong supporter of veterans and acknowledged that the shores of Long Island required millions of yards of sand to fight back against the Atlantic Ocean. However, as the afternoon progressed and he fielded questions from the audience, it became very clear that Mr. Zeldin is pretty good at describing problems, but is woefully short on solutions. He believes the government can be run without taxes, and can fund necessary budget items by tracking down Medicaid cheats who use their ill-gotten wealth to buy lap-dances and gamble. Huh? Lee thinks we should continue to run Guantanamo, at a cost of approximately $2.7 million per year for each detainee. Tim Bishop pointed out that transferring these prisoners to on-shore maximum security prisons would cost approximately $70,000 per prisoner. Seems like a better idea than chasing down lap-dance fans. So, as the afternoon waned, and Mr. Zeldin repeated tired, discredited untruths about Mr. Bishop, and tried to evade questions from the East Hampton residents who were in the audience, relying on imported upIslanders to feed him talking points, we were able to reaffirm our faith in Tim Bishop, who has been such a staunch advocate for the East End, whose wealth of experience and understanding of how government really runs, makes him the real choice for East Hampton. Please do not forget to vote! This one is extremely important to the East End, and Mr. Zeldin is being funded by wealthy, outside, ultraconservative interests who do not have our well-being at heart. Sincerely, JANET Van SICKLE Beacon of Hope East Hampton October 20, 2014 Dear Mr. Rattray, Barack Obama, Tim Bishop; Tim Bishop, Barack Obama: two politicians entwined around each other. Where one stops the other begins and there is no space in between. Ebola, I.S.I.S., Obamacare, Benghazi, border chaos, I.R.S. scandals, the war on veterans and religious freedom, 90 million Americans out of work and no longer looking for employment, 50 million Americans on food stamps — I could go on. But, all of these are the result of an incompetent, incoherent, and corrupt Democrat administration. If you are content with a world spinning out of control with terrorism and sickness amid American’s decline, then vote once again for Tim Bishop a foot soldier for the policies of this incoherent and corrupt administration. If, however, you are like many, many voters in the First Congressional District who are desperate for a change from this madness, cast your vote for Lee Zeldin. Lee Zeldin is an impressive and accomplished young man who was elected to the New York State Senate in 2010. Graduating cum laude from the State University of New York Albany, he went on to earn his law degree from Albany Law School, passing the New York State Bar at 23, making him the youngest attorney at that time in New York State. Mr. Zeldin served in Iraq with the 82nd Airborne Division, trained as a paratrooper and served in a variety of positions including military intelligence officer, federal prosecutor, and military magistrate. At present, Lee’s military rank is a major, and he serves in the Army Reserve. In his young tenure as a New York State senator, Mr. Zeldin’s accomplishments include repealing the saltwater fishing license fee, spearheading the effort to start the repeal of the M.T.A. payroll tax, and writing a law that protects our beloved fallen soldiers and their families from protests at military burials. Voters need to ask themselves if Tim Bishop’s 12-year-long tenure has had a positive effect on their lives. In particular, in the last four years, has his service in Congress made them feel safer, more secure and prosperous, and more confident about their and their children’s future? I think we all know the answer to that question is no. Blaming Tim Bishop for all the chaos and madness in the world today would be as dishonest as the claims being made by Democrats about Mr. Zeldin. But what is honest is that Mr. Bishop has been, and continues to be, a major supporter for, and participant in, the policies that have resulted in one of the most chaotic and destructive times in our country. Lee Zeldin will serve the people of the First Congressional District with the distinction, dedication, and courage he has already shown as a decorated combat veteran and successful state senator. He will be an independent, strong voice for the people of the First Congressional District. He will bring to the Congress integrity, common sense, and intelligence, where he will help to make our country once again the greatest beacon of hope for his young daughters, for your family and mine, and for the whole world. I urge you to vote for Major Lee Zeldin for the United States Congress, on Nov. 4, Election Day. Sincerely, CAROLE CAMPOLO Needs of the People East Hampton October 20, 2014 Dear David: I attended the debate between Congressman Bishop and his opponent, Lee Zeldin, sponsored by the Concerned Citizens of Montauk on Sunday. During the question-and-answer segment I asked Mr. Zeldin if he would vote to restore the cuts in funding that the Republican-controlled Congress had made to the World Health Organization, the Veterans Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control. I have read that veterans are not getting the services they are entitled to because of this cutback in funding, and that the W.H.O. and the C.D.C. have not been able to respond to the Ebola crisis in the way that they would choose to because of lack of funds. Sadly, Mr. Zeldin responded with what I characterize as a rant, by saying that the government could save money by better addressing Medicare and Medicaid fraud. Certainly the government should do everything it can to uncover fraud, and I believe it does the best it can. This is no answer to the pressing problems of the Veterans Administration in properly treating veterans and the desperate need to deal with the Ebola crisis. Sadly, the mantra of the far right is less government is always better. The reality is that we need government to deal with the aforementioned problems. When Mr. Zeldin finished his answer I said to him, “Sir, you have not answered my question.” This angered him but did not result in his committing to vote, if elected, to restore the vital funding of which I speak. Congressman Bishop has demonstrated his commitment to the necessity of the federal government’s involvement in restoring our beaches in Montauk, and providing a satellite Veterans Administration facility closer to East Hampton so that vets do not have to travel all the way to Northport, to name two that directly affect people in East Hampton. His commitment to the needs of the people, as opposed to absolute party loyalty, was also demonstrated when he voted with the Republican majority and against President Obama for a bill that extended individual insurance contracts for those who wanted to do so. We need a congressman who cares about us and not about the interests promoted by the Tea Party and the multibillionaire Koch brothers. DAVID J. WEINSTEIN A Leading Voice East Hampton October 18, 2014 Dear David: Let’s get the record straight before Nov. 4. Congressman Tim Bishop has long been a leading voice in Congress for environmental protection and wise use of our precious natural resources, while his opponent, Lee Zeldin, was given the worst environmental score of any state senator in New York! Mr. Bishop supports universal background checks to keep communities safe from gun violence. Mr. Zeldin supports ultraconservative Tea Party agendas on guns. While Mr. Bishop will guarantee the preservation of Social Security, his opponent, Lee Zeldin, supports privatization, which would end the guarantee of Social Security as it is now, for older Americans. Mr. Bishop is pro-choice and gives a woman the right to make decisions about her own body and life. Lee Zeldin is antichoice and opposes a woman’s right to choose, even in cases of rape or incest. Lastly, and importantly, the Department of Justice has closed the investigation of Mr. Bishop and cleared him of any wrongdoing of the accusation that he demanded payoff from a constituent, who denied the whole incident! Congressman Bishop helped to open a medical facility for veterans in Riverhead so they wouldn’t have to travel upIsland for health care. Congressman Bishop has proved himself to be an outstanding congressman who has served the community well. Yours truly, NAOMI SALZ The writer is a member of the East Hampton Democratic Committee. Ed. Voice of Reason Amagansett October 20, 2014 Dear David, There are now 13 days until Nov. 4, Election Day. To those who live and vote here in New York’s First Congressional District, it is brilliantly clear which of the two candidates for Congress is the most qualified. The debate on Sunday sponsored by C.C.O.M. showed the sharp contrast. (If you missed it, call LTV at 537-2777 ext. 114 for date and time to view it.) Lee Zeldin presented as smiley, smooth-speaking, sadly shallow, and short on details and knowledge. He was adept in not answering questions posed by the public and became angry when called on this. Tim Bishop exemplified experience and maturity. He was specific in his responses and knowledgeable in every area that the job of congressman requires. As he explained how he negotiated with his colleagues on both sides of the aisle to craft necessary legislation, I was struck by Tim’s understanding of the human element, of people. He stated that in his time in office he had learned that anger is the most debilitating of emotions, that it leads to contempt and disdain toward the opposition and, as a result, blocks any meaningful discussion or action. “I am not a party to that,” he said, a statement that was obvious to the audience in Montauk and to his constituents who have seen him in action. Congressman Tim Bishop’s vast wealth of knowledge of the office and the issues, his proven record of concern for and service to his constituents in this congressional district, his steady and stable disposition — calm and mature —make him the most qualified candidate to vote for on Nov. 4. We do need Bishop’s voice of reason in Congress. You will find Tim Bishop’s name on the ballot in Column 16, all the way over to the right, in Rows A (Democratic Party), D (Working Families), and E (Independence). Most sincerely, BETTY MAZUR An Unexpected Ally Amagansett October 19, 2014 Dear David: A funny thing happened to me as I sat on a bench in Brooklyn’s beautiful Prospect Park, reading last Friday’s New York Times. It was the last day of a busy week in the city, capped off with an evening with my grandson. There it was, in black and white, the clear, unambiguous support of David Brooks, no Democrat is he, for our Congressman Tim Bishop. Let’s just look at some of the pithy advice he gives to the electorate when deciding who to support in the political arena. He calls for a candidate who understands the need, at times, to settle for “a messy compromise,” (a no-no in Lee Zeldin’s party), a candidate who “exhibits neighborliness, courtesy and the ability to listen” (an amazingly accurate description of Tim Bishop), and lastly he favors “the competent old hand to the naive outsider.” (Remember Tim’s 12 years in office and the senior committee positions he holds, and that will be lost with a newcomer.) Seriously, there are many important reasons for re-electing Tim Bishop, as contrasted with his opponent, which have been outlined over the course of the campaign. A vote for Lee Zeldin is a vote to further strengthen the most outrageous legislative body in the democratic group of nations. In country after country, even in China, the paralysis of the American Congress is described as a joke and has been used by many as a reason to show that our form of democracy simply does not work. While I welcome David Brooks as an unexpected ally in the upcoming election, he has cited only one of many reasons to get to the polls next month and re-elect a true representative of the people, Tim Bishop. IRVING HIRSCHBERG He Can and Will Springs October 20, 2014 Dear David, I consider myself a lucky woman, because I have a rare campaign button that says “Elect Tim Bishop.” I met Tim early in his political career, and let me tell you, I have never wavered in my support for this man, unique among elected officials because of his direct answers to any questions you ask him — so unlike his opponent, who never gives you an answer to any question anyone asks him. Also because I am a recipient of the kind of help that Tim’s office gives to his constituents. When surged by the Long Island Power Authority in its careless repairing of electrical lines after Sandy, costing me the loss of everything electrical in my house from largest (stove) to the smallest (lightbulbs), I appealed to him. His office was able to reverse LIPA’s refusal to pay. There are so many individual stories like mine, from veterans to seniors. You have a problem, chances are he can if possible and will help you. Look how hard he has worked on the Montauk sand-replenishing issue and the PSEG bury-the-lines project, both times working with complicated federal agencies to benefit East Hampton. We on the East End are in need of his re-election, not just because he is a local boy from our sister town of Southampton, the grandson of a potato farmer who dug in our blessed earth to harvest that special Long Island potato, but also because he is for women’s rights and for the rights of all of us — even for the rights of those who disagree. With the federal deficits and the unemployment rates the lowest in the years since the crash of 2008, I urge you all to get out on Nov. 4 to vote for Tim Bishop, who votes and works for us. I know all veterans know what I am talking about. Sincerely, PHYLLIS ITALIANO A Local Team Player Amagansett October 20, 2014 Dear David, This past Friday evening I was fortunate to catch the village green meeting on Channel 20 (LTV). Congressman Tim Bishop, East Hampton Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell, Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst, State Legislator Fred Thiele, and County Legislator Jay Schneiderman all took part in answering questions presented by the moderator, the chairman of the board of LTV, Robert Strada. What impressed me the most was comments made regarding communication between them all and accessibility to each other. They all considered themselves part of a local team that works together. What better way to have government at work then teamwork. At a time when Congress seems to be stuck in a rut, there is Congressman Tim Bishop interacting daily with local government officials in order to make life better for East Enders. On Sunday I attended the debate at the Montauk Firehouse. The contrast between Tim Bishop and his opponent was startling. Tim is knowledgeable about the East End, smart, and loved by all the politicians he deals with. His opponent sounded like a Sarah Palin clone, not providing answers to questions and espousing what he had been prepped to say. Not a person you’d want to represent this area. When you go into the voting booth on Tuesday, Nov. 4, remember that Tim Bishop is one of the rare political people who is responsive to his constituents, getting answers to problems, as well as being a local team player. We need to make every effort to secure a victory for Tim on Nov. 4. Let’s make it happen! Sincerely, RONA KLOPMAN Bury Benghazi Springs October 9, 2014 Dear David, Republicans all over the country are desperate to win the November elections. They are now using the ISIS and the Ebola crisis against President Obama and the Democrats. They are trying to instill fear into the American people to sway their votes their way. The latest Republican propaganda information on ISIS is that they will be coming to the U.S. through Mexico. Republicans are pure fearmongers. The Benghazi chronicles have been stored for the 2016 elections. However, we all know that four loyal, high-paid Americans were murdered there. But these professionals knew the high risks involved, especially going to a country without a solid government. The Republicans keep on repeating this tragedy to make Hillary Clinton the responsible one since it happened under her watch. Well, I don’t want the Republican fools to forget what happened under the Bush-Cheney watch in Iraq. In their search for weapons of mass destruction, over 4,000 young American men and women sacrificed their lives for nothing. Republicans should bury the Benghazi incident once and for all. There is no comparison between the deaths of four loyal Americans in Benghazi to the deaths of 4,000-plus young American men and women in Iraq. Let’s get rid of the Republican warmongers and vote Democratic on Nov. 4. JOE LOMBARDI Lauded and Applauded East Hampton October 15, 2014 Dear Editor, President Obama will go down in history as a president who changed America in significant ways. Not only as the first black president, but during his administration we got health reform, and we got significant financial reform, and we are getting environmental action. It’s not everything some would have wanted, but it’s more than anyone else has done for decades. Not Clinton and certainly not Bush has had the impact for change that Obama has had. Those who call him names or decry his years in office as destructive are basically off base. Most of these redundant critics have suspect motives and absent factual support. He is no more a prevaricator or surreptitious or closed a president than others who preceded him. All presidents have tried to protect and strengthen the executive branch of government and make it the most influential. It is a natural instinct for them as they defend against the attacks of their political opposition and the legislative branch seeking to weaken the office and gain power itself. It is axiomatic that all presidents have made mistakes. Most have had negative press from time to time, and their agendas have been opposed frequently. It comes with the office. Unfortunately, Obama has also had the additional burden of racism to overcome, racism that still exists in this country. However, I think he has done an admirable job of deflecting and minimizing its effect on his actions. There are myriad factors that impose huge burdens on any president, especially President Obama. Even now, today, with the threat of the Ebola virus upon us, it has come to our attention that Congress’s obsession with indiscriminate budget cuts has affected our health system, with hundreds of thousands of dollars cut from the Centers for Disease Control and other huge cuts to the National Institute of Health, both of which interfered with treatment of Ebola and research into producing a vaccine. Obama is a thoughtful, intelligent man, not subject to rash actions, especially such actions that would place the country in foreign engagements that would cost the nation economically and would put our armed forces in harm’s way when not protecting our national interests. He should be, and will be, lauded and applauded in years to come. RICHARD P. HIGER We Must Wake Up Amagansett October 17, 2014 To the Editor, Cataloging the ISIS and Ebola issues within our government is not only frightful but pitiful and totally unnecessary, unfortunately happening within the 21st century. Our United States, a powerful past ally of World War II and its outcome. Otherwise if the war went in favor of the fascist Nazis, the U.S.A. would be speaking German rather than our native tongue. We must wake up and practice vigilance and complete honesty. That is extremely questionable as it stands presently. This administration is inept and acts with complete complacency, something that is completely unacceptable to our country of such an apex status. We do not want a repeat of the black death of 12th-century Europe. I hope globally we band together as an alliance of unity, and hope that our present government and its twisted ideology comes to an end in 2016 to move forward to a more hopeful and substantial world. Because this present government is disastrous! Sincerely, LINDA PRINCE Cause of All War Sag Harbor October 17, 2014 Dear David, The root cause of all war is fear, getting out is never clear. For more than 13 years we lived it and breathed it. War has its own agenda. C.I.A. study says arming rebels seldom works. We trained Iraqis for seven years and failed. Very costly. Turkey denies reports of a deal for use in their fight against the Islamic State. Admiral John Kirby said this will take a long-term effort. Who is the enemy? President Obama won’t send troops, but war has its own logic. Will Syria be Obama’s Vietnam? For me to discuss ISIS is stupid and unworthy, intellectually and militarily. In peace, LARRY DARCEY
Published 4 years ago
Last updated 4 years ago
Letters to the Editor: 10.23.14
October 22, 2014