Might Be Serious
Westbury
June 7, 2025
To the Editor,
Memorial Day weekend 2025 will be unforgettable. This weekend in Montauk usually marks the beginning of a fabulous summer, but this year would be an exception. We had just shared a grilled meal with a gorgeous sunset as a backdrop -- and then I started to experience bad indigestion, persisting into the night. Finally, at 1 a.m., I realized it might be serious. My husband and I took a ride to the brand-new, recently opened, Stony Brook East Hampton Emergency Department.
We were promptly registered and whisked away to an exam room. Bloodwork, E.K.G., chest X-rays, C.T. scan, all administered within an hour. The kindness of the doctor cannot be exaggerated. He explained each step, calming my anxiety. My gall bladder was the culprit, and I would need to be transferred. Should I go to a hospital located closer to home down Island or Stony Brook Southampton Hospital? The pain ruled, and I was swiftly transported in an East Hampton ambulance, with an engaging emergency medical technician, to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital. My stay included five days, being discharged minus a gall bladder.
I'm forever grateful for the entire devoted community of medical professionals who were there for me. All I encountered were professional and kind. My pain was controlled, and my needs were promptly met. I highly recommend both Stony Brook East Hampton Emergency Department and Stony Brook Southampton Hospital. I thank you all for my good health and the ability to enjoy summer!
Warm regards,
LISA DIDYK
Power of Inspiration
Amagansett
June 5, 2025
Dear East Hampton Star,
Amagansett School makes it into your paper quite a bit. I wanted to share a story to highlight a different perspective on our community.
I have two children at Amagansett School: a son in fifth grade and a daughter in kindergarten. When my son, John Michael, was in second grade, his inspiring teacher, Kelly Hren, encouraged him to write a letter to his favorite author. John Michael chose to write a letter to Jeff Kinney, the best-selling author of the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" books. Anyone who knows my son knows he's either throwing a ball, catching a ball, hitting a ball, shooting a ball -- or reading a book. Being only 7 at the time, he truly believed his hero, Jeff Kinney, would write him back. He checked in with Ms. Hren daily, but no response arrived.
Then, last month, three years after John Michael penned his letter, he received a response.
John Michael was ecstatic. He was all lit up inside. I cried when I read the letter. The best part was John Michael running into school the next day to tell Ms. Hren, who yelped and said she "had goosebumps!" She promptly found a picture of a tiny, second-grade John Michael holding a copy of a "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" and she was able to track down John Michael's initial letter that started it all.
Watching Kelly Hren and fellow teacher Kristin MacPherson (who was also a second-grade teacher that year) share in John Michael's joy was pure magic. I couldn't tell which one was the most excited!
How wonderful -- and vital -- that Amagansett has built a community of leaders and teachers who inspire and facilitate this kind of experience! John Michael will never forget it; a core memory has been locked. He started writing his own comics again.
Around this same time, the superintendent, Michael Rodgers, arranged for the school to get a visit from the co-chief executive officer of Archie comics. Between that visit and the Jeff Kinney letter, my boy can't stop writing and drawing and creating new ideas. I have to take the pencil out of his hand most nights to make him go to sleep!
Never underestimate the power of inspiration, encouragement, leadership, and connection. Writers and teachers change the world.
Amagansett school is a dynamic community where learning is very much alive -- and even thrilling. Both of my children are lucky to learn and grow and flourish under the leadership of these teachers, this administration, and this board.
Thank you,
TRACEY TOOMEY MCQUADE
Imagine If
East Hampton
June 9, 2025
Dear Mr. Editor,
Hope all is well at The Star. I am sorry to read that you are still having boat trouble, which leads me to ask why you went over to Connecticut in the first place. I am starting to think Cerberus is some type of a derelict craft!
I had awaited the June 5 edition for several months. I hoped/expected at least one editorial piece on D-Day with gratitude. Did you forget, with your constant, never-ending Trump-and-associates bashing? Did you forget the largest invasion ever from sea and air to free Europe from the Nazis' chokehold?
Better yet, could you imagine if that effort was lost and you could not spew forth your gibberish? Very sad that a boomer forgot one of the most important days of the 20th century.
Just think, if you and your cohorts (in letters) could funnel all that negative energy into a positive flow, you could actually do something about the proliferation of hedge rows, destruction of local houses designed by Norman Jaffe and the like, clear-cutting like the town did for the new senior center (have you seen it?), unwanted and excessive jet and helicopter noise, excessive short-term summer rentals.
You might want to quiz your editorial pinheads in a little D-Day history. See if any can name the five beaches in Normandy? Doubtful.
Last week one of your left-wing kooks in the letters section wrote, "currently held in special camps or have been deported without court hearings or legal representation." One would have to explain to me how a person who ignores our immigration system is entitled to use our judicial system.
Best regards and yours to command,
JEFFREY PLITT
Dog Diapers
East Hampton
June 8, 2025
Dear East Hampton Star that shines for all,
I think it's time to require dogs to wear a diaper on the beach. I visit the bay often and not once have I visited without seeing multiple sand encrusted Baby Ruth-shape turds. While at Barnes Hole beach today, a dog pissed on the beach chair my mate was sitting in.
This beach has become a feces-filled sandbox. Doggies run unleashed, let go by their owners. And the owners do not pick up the feces. And even if they did, you and I, our children, and everyone else would be sitting in a giant feces receptacle while we think we are sitting on an exclusive private beach. We are delusional.
Require all animals year round to wear a diaper at any beach. Have the snack bars display and sell an assortment of sizes. And require them to wear a set of rubber pants like an infant: They cannot control their urine and feces either.
Thank you,
PETER LONGO
Equitable Solution
East Hampton
June 9, 2025
Dear David,
I am writing in response to Julius Pasternak's letter of last week where he laments the East Hampton Town Board's seeming indifference to the problem of excessive noise for Wainscott residents created by air traffic at the airport. Mr. Pasternak cites hearing 115 helicopters on Memorial Day from noon to 7 p.m. How can we continue to deny that this is an invasion of the rights of a minority to fly into the Hamptons over the rights of residents for peace and safety in their homes?
Like so many town issues, this is not a local squabble. It aligns with a larger trend in our nation that regards some people's rights as more sacrosanct than others. Too bad East Hampton can't show the nation how people are able to function as a community and combat injustice and inspire trust in our democratic system.
I know the East Hampton Airport is a complicated issue, but the egregious level of noise that spoils life for so many of our neighbors tells us [that] plainly something is wrong. When Peter Van Scoyoc was supervisor, I recall reading in The Star that there had been over 140,000 local complaints about airport noise. What is it going to take to get this under control? I hope The Star can allot the necessary resources to advocate for an equitable solution, rally support among readers, and again apply pressure to our town government to stand up for the basic needs of its own residents.
Sincerely,
REV. CANDACE WHITMAN
Free-Throw Shooting
Plainview
June 9, 2025
To the Editor,
A new law will soon have colleges and universities each paying $20.5 million to student-athletes currently playing games they love on their schools' sports teams, while mere students who attend for learning and education can ask their parents for an allowance.
My 1992 "American Heritage Dictionary" defines college as "an institution of higher learning offering courses [not teams] in particular fields [not athletic fields]".
My 2007 World Book Encyclopedia defines universities as "schools that continue a person's education which prepares people for careers such as doctors, engineers, lawyers and teachers; in doing so a college education enables individuals to participate with greater understanding of community affairs, and outside the normal routine of classes and study, athletics are one of many extra-curricular activities offered."
Why not spend that $20.5 million per college to admit more students in order to raise the level of knowledge and intelligence of the 250 million voters who choose our presidents?
But, since the new law will also be paying $2.7 billion to former players who were never paid for their athletic efforts, I hereby propose that Harpur College and the State University at Binghamton pay me $1,000 per basket for my 39-of-40 free-throw shooting that won me consecutive intramural finals championships way back in 1964 and 1965.
RICHARD SIEGELMAN
Supercontinent
Amagansett
June 8, 2025
To the Editor,
I had a riveting conversation with our oldest the other morning. I was made aware that the majority of continents were once together. Yes, of course, Pangaea. We then discussed tectonic plates, earthquakes, and movement. A hypothesis was drafted that one day the supercontinent will meet again.
We shifted to the dinosaurs and the asteroid that ended their time on Earth. Yes, the Chicxulub crater is located in the Yucatan peninsula. That was met with, "I'm glad we weren't around for that." I agreed.
Though we are in for solar cycle 25 to hit in July. The fact we changed climate zones in 2010 from a 6 to 7. Some say in a decade we'll be a climate like West Virginia. Hurricane season as we know should be active this year due to the warm winter and most likely this might be the year. Then again, every year could be "the year."
Until that moment occurs, the conversation had drifted back to which mermaids and unicorns were going to be played with this weekend. A pleasant return from the young curiosity that could have just as well shifted into a deep dive into the space-time continuum. Since it was the 41st anniversary of "Ghostbusters," at least we got to chuckle at Slimer and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.
Still here,
JOE KARPINSKI
Would Be Nothing
East Hampton Village
June 6, 2025
Dear East Hampton Star,
I've been wanting to write a lot of what's in this letter for some time. The story "Rattled by Sanctuary Designation" (June 5) has given me an opening.
To begin with, though East Hampton may not be a designated sanctuary jurisdiction officially, the heroic declaration that our local law enforcement and other government officials would not assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement in unlawfully persecuting immigrants (whether legal or not) has put us squarely in the Department of Homeland Security's current definition of the term, it would seem. At least that's my, admittedly inexpert, reading. It also means that delisted or not, we are on D.H.S.'s radar for whatever reason, and I think we should brace for trouble. I have a hypothesis about why we have been singled out, but I have no concrete evidence so I will hold my tongue for the time being.
I've been a bit troubled ever since President Trump mentioned "Fiddler on the Roof" as one of his three favorite musicals. Since my father, Sheldon Harnick, wrote the lyrics to the show, I feel I need to speak a little on his behalf. I really don't think the president even knows the show other than by name. If he does, he has no understanding of what it's really about. To keep things as brief as possible, it is about people who have been tossed around from place to place for millenniums, finding a home in one place to be booted out to the next with little or no warning and often at the point of a gun. The show famously ends with a pogrom, an order from the czar of Russia for the Jews of Anatevka to vacate the shtetl or risk being shot.
Much the same thing is happening with immigrants -- especially legal ones -- being snatched off the street and being disappeared. The only reason ICE has not enacted its own version of a pogrom is that they know it wouldn't be tolerated. It's easier to disappear people one by one than have whole communities herded into buses and deported. That's not to say they haven't done this or won't in future.
My father would initially have been flattered, as he always was, when someone expressed a liking for something he helped to create. Yet he would be appalled at how little President Trump actually understands "Fiddler." You could argue that the president is probably thinking of the song "If I Were a Rich Man," arguably the most famous song in the show, yet if you really listen to the song, its not so much about being rich but rather about being happy, which is not necessarily the same thing.
The song was inspired by Sholem Aleichem's essay "If I Were a Rothschild" in which Aleichem fantasizes about being rich and powerful. What struck me when I finally read it was that it's actually about wanting to bring world peace. Aleichem felt that if he could give people enough money, especially governments, they would stop oppressing people in general, not just Jews. Add to this that Sholem Aleichem and my father both had a strong sense of moral justice and you realize that the song is not about megalomania but just about wishing to be able to live comfortably and happily. That's what all of us really want.
I know this is getting long but I just wanted to beat the old drum that this country would be nothing without immigrants. With the exception of Native Americans, every one of us living in the United States can trace our roots back to immigrants within the past 400 years or so. This country was built by immigrants and we rely on immigrants as a foundation of our continued existence. I applaud our police and village and town officials and hope they will continue to stand up to the big bullies currently residing in Washington, D.C., especially the one in the White House.
Thanks for reading and apologies for this being a bit long.
Sincerely,
MATT HARNICK
Enjoyed Parsing
Amagansett
June 5, 2025
To the Editor:
As always, The Star last week contained some quotes I enjoyed parsing, in Christopher Gangemi's "Rattled by Sanctuary Designation." Kathee Burke-Gonzalez: "The Town of East Hampton is not defying federal immigration law." The village's First Citizen: "Our policy is to cooperate with law enforcement."
While I would expect no less from the First Citizen (whose Flock license plate readers are undoubtedly doing their part to keep the village safe from immigrants), here's what the town supervisor could have said: "We will obey state and federal law, as we are required. But we will not support this unhinged administration in its lawless attacks on the American people, including immigrants."
This putatively Democratic local government, so visible when it comes to mini-mansions and expensive, useless local projects, is not only colorless but invisible when it comes to matters of policy and morality, or in fact, any precept (or even expression, however insincere) that would make them other than DINOs (Democrats in name only).
Speaking as we were of the unhinged, David Saxe and Mitchell Agoos, who mention my name six times in their letter last week (a record), have well earned my favorite type of response: quoting their own words. On April 10, they wrote to The Star: "If so-called innocent Gazans must suffer because of the ruthless way they are used as pawns and shields by Hamas, well, that is the unfortunate scourge of war."
More trivially, last week they called my signature phrase a "silly shibboleth," which the Oxford English Dictionary defines as "a custom, principle, or belief distinguishing a particular class or group of people, especially a long-standing one regarded as outmoded or no longer important." Ha.
For democracy in East Hampton,
JONATHAN WALLACE
Wore Masks
Montauk
June 9, 2025
Dear David,
In American history the only law-and-order anti-immigrant group that wore masks were members of the Ku Klux Klan. Obviously, "the more things change, the more they remain the same." (Kurt Vonnegut).
Cheers,
BRIAN POPE
Lovebirds
Springs
June 8, 2025
Dearest Letters,
"Love Story," the movie starring Ali MacGraw and Ryan O'Neal, would not have been a love story without drama, explosive drama: Ali MacGraw's character, Jenny, becomes terminally ill, and the perfect love affair slowly evaporates.
Fast-forward to June 2025: The love story of Elon Musk and Donald Trump, perfect as it seemed, reminds me of "Love Story," with too many eerie similarities: Oliver Barrett IV, heir of an old money, East Coast, White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (Trump), and Jennifer ("Jenny") Cavilleri, a quick-witted, working-class college student (Musk) seemed too oddly matched, became lovebirds, but because of outside influences, such as Teslas being burned, Lil X's attention, the Department of Government Efficiency, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, something needed to publicly defuse these bedfellows, something explosive, out of the box, unexpected.
And my theory: Enter a reality-TV strategy known as staged, a.k.a., faked. Both camps, Musk's and Trump's, brainstormed a way to deflect attention from all the media's obsessive attention and staged their breakup. (Did Josh Gates of "Expedition Unknown" just happen to stumble upon Jesus's sandals near that cave's opening?)
And to those who yearn for a speedy reconciliation, remember:
Love is patient, love is kind,
Love means never having to say you're sorry.
FRANK VESPE
Dereliction of Duty
East Hampton
June 5, 2025
To the Editor:
I was profoundly disturbed to learn that Representatives Mike Flood (Republican, Nebraska) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (Republican, Georgia) openly admitted to voting for the so-called Big Beautiful Bill without having read it in its entirety. Even more alarming was their acknowledgment that they were unaware the bill contained provisions harmful to their own constituents. This revelation is not only troubling, it is unacceptable. It begs the question: How many other lawmakers cast their votes without fully understanding the bill's scope and consequences?
To legislate on matters affecting millions of Americans without thorough scrutiny is a dereliction of duty. Worse still is the brazen admission of such negligence.
I hope that Representative Nick LaLota read the bill carefully, but it would be instructive to know how can he justify supporting legislation that disproportionately disadvantages the poor while enriching the wealthy.
Our elected officials must be held to the highest standards of accountability. That begins with a fundamental expectation: they must read and understand the legislation before casting their votes. Anything less is unacceptable.
Sincerely,
ANDREW VAN PRAAG
Dismantles Foundations
East Hampton
June 9, 2025
To the Editor:
As our nation stands at a crossroads, it is imperative to recognize the dangers posed by our manipulative president, who cloaks self-serving ambitions in the language of "reform." Trump touts his Big Beautiful Bill as a bold step toward government efficiency and accountability, but a closer examination reveals a calculated move to concentrate unprecedented power in the hands of the executive, undermining the very checks and balances that safeguard our democracy.
Critics of the bill have focused on its predicted increase in the national debt to pay for tax cuts biased toward the rich and the forced departure of millions of our most vulnerable citizens from Medicaid and food assistance, But there is other very serious mischief afoot in the bill's provisions. This is not reform but a brazen power grab! By eroding the mechanisms that hold the executive accountable, Trump's "beautiful" bill dismantles the foundations of our constitutional system under the guise of "progress."
A few examples, the bill restricts federal courts' ability to enforce contempt citations against government officials who violate court orders unless the plaintiffs post a bond, a costly procedure, failing which the executive branch can simply ignore injunctions against their acts without consequence, a fundamental blow to the rule of law.
And it requires a salary surcharge from newly hired federal employees who want to retain the usual Civil Service protections or, failing payment of such, imposes on them an "at will" status, making them vulnerable to dismissal at any time for any reason. This extortion would end a century of Civil Service reform designed to assure a nonpartisan federal work force, and sets the stage for a Civil Service potentially manned by people loyal to the president, not necessarily to the nation.
Equally concerning is Trump's manipulative assault on public education, which he now frames as an effort to combat antisemitism. This is a cynical ploy! Instead of addressing the real roots of hate, Trump's policies target diversity programs and critical-thinking curriculums, stifling open discussion and academic freedom. By conflating educational reform with the fight against antisemitism, he seeks to silence dissent and further polarize our communities. For instance, his administration's push to ban certain books and restrict classroom discussions about race and history does nothing to protect Jewish students; rather, it undermines the very principles of inclusion and understanding that are essential to combating bigotry.
Trump's pattern is clear: He manipulates public fears and distorts noble causes to advance his own interests. We must not be deceived by rhetoric that masks authoritarian intent. Our democracy depends on an informed citizenry willing to call out such deception and defend the institutions that protect our freedoms.
Sincerely,
NORBERT WEISSBERG
Too Much to Ask?
Amagansett
June 9, 2025
Dear Mr. Rattray,
I think I know exactly how you feel and it's painful, isn't it? I feel it, too. Conflicted. Torn inside. Caught between two opposing desires. The first: a desire to see our country succeed, move forward as the world's leading advocate for democracy, human rights, and opportunity. I want to see us help bring about peace in Ukraine and in the Israeli-Palestinian war. I want to see our borders secured, but also those who've been living here peacefully and contributing to their communities to be treated with dignity and shown a path to legal status in the U.S. I want us to honor our allies around the world and encourage the fair trade that has fostered stronger relationships through mutual gain for decades. I want to see the world join us in celebrating America's 250th anniversary, our semiquincentennial (that's a lot of syllables) or quarter millennium. Is that too much to ask for our great nation?
And my conflicting desire? I want to see Donald Trump fail. The name-calling baby-boss who wants statehood for Canada ("They've been ripping us off for years!), acquisition of Greenland, to rename the Gulf of Mexico. Who drops tariff threats like drone bombs, playing the world's markets like a puppeteer. Who regularly ignores court orders. Who crippled the funding of the Agency for International Development. Who fully engages in a schoolyard war of words with the infantile billionaire who funded his campaign and now calls for his impeachment. Who's enabled Immigration and Customs Enforcement to enter communities and create a sense of dread and fear that deportation -- to God knows where -- might be imminent, without recourse or alternative. (How could Ming Li Hui, known as Carol in her small Missouri town, have been taken away to a distant detention center after living and working peacefully for 20 years, becoming a beloved member of the community, and raising three children, and now face deportation to Hong Kong? Thanks to the overwhelming support of her community and thousands of others around the country, she's back in Kennett, Mo. again, though she'll still be required to meet with immigration authorities later this month.) Exhausting.
So, why the "conflict"? I mean, obviously I choose to see our country succeed. But should that success be achieved on any of my above-cited wish list, Trump will take credit for it. Maybe deserved, I don't know. I'll acknowledge when the time comes. Till then, I'll try to focus on the good of the nation, look forward to our big 250th anniversary (our bicentennial was pretty awesome), and look forward to the midterm elections. Maybe we can bring some balance back to the federal level.
Conflicted,
LYLE GREENFIELD