Leaves Us in Music
Wainscott
May 2, 2026
Dear David,
It is inspiring, even life-changing, to meet and be blessed to know someone who through will and passion for art comes to this town and within a short time makes a big difference. That sums up the legacy of Michael Yip, who just a few years ago came to East Hampton with his beloved husband, Maestro Michael Palmer, to found the Hamptons Festival of Music.
Michael would be executive director and Maestro Palmer the artistic director. Together they had a remarkable vision: to take an idea and make it blossom in our community into a series of classical music concerts with a full 40-instrument orchestra — something otherwise missing in this art-infused town. They succeeded, with determination and love of artistic excellence, beyond what anyone might have even dreamed.
Every year since 2022, in the days after Labor Day when the town returns to a less-frenetic pace, for three nights, Michael Yip and Maestro Palmer have soothed our souls and lifted our spirits with an outstanding team of world-class musicians invited from orchestras across the country who come together, in remarkably quick order, to rehearse and to play the canon of Beethoven and Mozart and Tchaikovsky and so many others.
Throughout the rest of the year, the Hamptons Festival of Music has brought a series of in-home concerts, chamber music, and vocal performances to a variety of venues, including St. Luke’s Hoie Hall and many schools — for free — in East Hampton and Sagaponack.
Logan Souther serves as associate conductor, adding his own performances at the piano as well, to expand the impact and influence of this remarkable artistic undertaking just four years old.
This dedication to making the special donation of music in local schools directly to young people who might not otherwise have had exposure to such unparalleled fine art is an expression of the broader ways in which the festival has actually changed East Hampton. Michael Yip always welcomed the son of a friend of mine, a young cellist, to attend all the concerts for free.
Michael Yip loved good coffee (among the many business ventures the entrepreneur in him pursued was a coffee shop in his native Canada), consulting with businesses across the globe, making soup for his friends, and fast — very fast! — cars. Besides all that, he loved his husband, family, and friends, and he brought us in East Hampton the gift of music.
Though he recently lost the last battle he fought so valiantly, Michael Yip’s physical passing does not dim all that he leaves us in music and community. We keep him and our gratitude for his generous willingness to create such an awesome experience in our hearts.
DAVID DOTY
Home Care Deficit
Montauk
April 30, 2026
Dear David,
I have found a person to help me at home funded by the outpouring of love and community support that has humbled me. No nurse yet, except for a few unselfish visits by a few professional friends. Because of this I must return to the hospital for basic needs.
I feel compelled to continue to advocate for others who face challenges in finding quality affordable home care in Montauk. It’s just unfair that in a community of wealth and plenty that Montauk is seemingly a “no-go” zone when it comes to home health care. This has been my experience, and many people in Montauk have related similar experiences. I repeat my request that the town board be curious enough to examine the current situation. Almost every person wants to be at home when ill, not in hospital or rehab. But without services vital to that desire, it is often not safe.
We need attention to this matter and some explanation of this home health care deficit in Montauk.
JIM DEVINE
Erasure
East Hampton
April 24, 2026
Dear Editor,
East Hampton must not allow the erasure of Freetown’s history.
In East Hampton, the Neighborhood House (formerly the Settlement House)‚ a recognized historic structure tied to Freetown, a community founded for formerly enslaved people‚ is at risk of destruction.
There are credible concerns that burial grounds may exist on or near the site that have not been fully evaluated. Under New York law, this requires a halt to excavation and a formal investigation. Yet the town board has reportedly dismissed a proper, independent archaeological study as irrelevant and, at its April 22 meeting, refused to move forward with an impartial review not controlled by the developer. Once this history is lost, it cannot be recovered.
I hold a doctorate in bioenvironmental science and am a researcher and community advocate with direct knowledge and documented evidence regarding this site.
Sincerely,
CAROL A. SMITH
History Finds a Way
Amagansett
May 3, 2026
David,
What a delight that my spouse pointed out your “Mast-Head” Promised Land writing this week. I do enjoy reading and rereading our history. It brought about a rounding discussion with my in-laws over family dinner. We talked about the changes to Amagansett, Napeague, the state park, harbor, and the Camping Club.
It sparked me to look up the brochures that were posted by the Montauk Library when it did a Throwback Thursday last July. The camps located on the “clean placid waters of Napeague Harbor.” It also showed the at-the-time owner and operator names. John A. Craft of Montauk and John Dressen of East Hampton. My mother-in-law made us aware that’s why it’s Crassen Boulevard — the combination of their two last names. Learned something new.
As discussions continued, it sent me down the path to check out some other historical pieces. Such as The Star archives and the Letters to the Editor from Oct. 22, 2015. That’s a gem. Stuart Vorpahl gave a lesson on being a trustee and wrote what all trustees should learn and read. The same rings true today, reading after all is fundamental along with our past history. Many people spoke about what soon would be happening in Montauk. Some sort of bags, with sand. I think I’ve become somewhat familiar with these structures.
Francis Bock wrote out a very interesting specific numbered concern. His number three, and I quote: “The east channel into Napeague Harbor continues to merely trickle from year to year, restricting flow of clean water to and from this important shellfish nursery. This is another disaster waiting to happen.” Another great quote for the then-candidate “Responsible stewardship is expected when we elect town trustees, something that has been lacking for too long.” I’ll remind you I questioned the trustees at a meeting in October 2020 and wanted to know: When is the comprehensive dredge happening?
They were “a couple of years away” almost six years later from that innocent question and over a decade since that quote. History always finds its way back to present day.
Still here,
JOE KARPINSKI
‘See That Guy?’
Amagansett
May 3, 2026
To the Editor:
Last summer in Sag Harbor, a man pointed at me from across the small street that runs into the wharf, and said, “You see that guy? He’s a Jew!” The two women he was addressing immediately charged across the street and began yelling at me with contorted, hateful faces. Shades of Berlin in 1933, right?
Well, there’s some missing information: The man was Mitchell Agoos, and he and the women were Jewish. They seemed completely oblivious to the nuances of the scene they were playing.
I can easily give you the total count of all the antisemitic incidents I have experienced my whole life: There were three. Three. In 1964, a Catholic classmate told me, “Your people killed our Lord.” In 1995, some Baptist colleagues in Texas said the same. Later, in the ‘60s, a bully on a lonely twilight road on Cape Cod had claimed to be able to “smell a Jew a mile away.”
That’s it. This is not an antisemitic country, unless you are paranoid schizophrenic or making stuff up or shamefully using antisemitism as a credit card to charge up leverage.
Another friend of Mr. Agoos’s called me a “demented ghetto Jew,” but I will own that one proudly. And anyway, it made me laugh.
At this point, I have been targeted with much more antisemitism by these Jewish people and by Mr. Agoos himself than the rest of the world.
I flashed today: These are misguided people who think they’re brand ambassadors, but they are ruining the brand.
The gap is not only between those who want to flatten Gaza into real estate and those who cannot bear watching mass murder, but between the Jews of rage and the Jews of heart.
For democracy in East Hampton and everywhere,
JONATHAN WALLACE
Raises Questions
East Hampton Village
May 3, 2026
David,
Thank you for keeping my Main Beach matter top-of-mind. The article’s placement — page three, top right-hand corner — was certainly enviable positioning.
For those who have been following the matter, the village previously claimed that security footage substantiated its position. Yet, in response to my Freedom of Information request, the village advised that the footage had been “recorded over.” Fortunately, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office had retained a copy and provided it to me.
As for Messrs. Gangemi and Walsh’s recent update, there are several important inaccuracies and omissions. I would suggest they review Exhibit 1, Document 28, in the Suffolk County Supreme Court file. In that filing, Lee Bertram, the assistant beach manager, submitted an affidavit with a photograph showing how the Lot 1 entrance is supposed to appear on a normal beach day. The photograph depicts three orange cones: one on each corner and one in the middle.
However, the security video from the day of the incident from two camera angles shows that there was no cone on the lower right-hand side, where one should have been. That missing cone matters.
When Officer Greene inspected my car, there were no dents or scratches. To the extent anyone perceived “jostling” or movement, a far more plausible explanation is that the car went over the plastic conduit covering the cable — precisely the area that should have been protected by the missing cone.
In my view, the absence of that cone raises serious questions about the condition and management of the Lot 1 entrance that day, including the responsibility of the beach managers, Drew Smith and Lee Bertram.
Finally, Ms. Perillo’s suggestion that I am not interested in settlement is misleading. I am interested in settlement but not simply on the village’s terms, and not at the expense of the facts.
I also want to thank the many people who have reached out and asked to see the video. I appreciate their interest and support.
DAVID GANZ
Deprived of a Voice
Montauk
May 4, 2026
Dear Mr. Rattray,
When I re-registered as unaffiliated last year, I thought I’d still have a meaningful vote. How wrong I was! How many others, like me, are effectively deprived of a voice in electing who leads our community?
Everyone and anyone paying attention has known for months that the Democratic Party primary in June is the only vote for East Hampton Town supervisor that matters. How is this good for our community?
The county and town Democratic Party committees have a virtual, practical monopoly on political power in East Hampton. The local Republican Party committee is at best ineffective. The vote in November’s general election is perfunctory.
Nothing about this is good for East Hampton. Election to serve in town government should be nonpartisan, focused instead on character, experience, credibility, and judgement — not by a rump committee that answers to county, state, and national parties.
East Hampton should have an open primary system for local office elections that lets all of us, rather than national party affiliates and political hacks from UpIsland, select the candidates who will lead and serve our town. Let the two highest vote-getters square off in November. Sure, we might end up with the same choice, or we might not. We’d certainly have greater confidence that the outcome was decided through a transparent, democratic process — and isn’t that preferable?
JONATHAN YELLEN
Leadership Principle
East Hampton
May 4, 2026
To the Editor,
In the interest of full disclosure, I support Jerry Larsen for town supervisor and believe he will bring the same commitment to excellence to that office that he has demonstrated as mayor. I offer that transparency because Lou Cortese did not offer any of his own.
Lou Cortese’s letter asks how well we know Jerry Larsen. I’ll answer directly: I have known Jerry for over 40 years, and I know him as a man of uncommon integrity who has dedicated his life to this community, first as a police officer who rose through every rank to become chief of police, then as a local business owner, and now as mayor. That is not the portrait Mr. Cortese painted. But accuracy does not appear to be his objective.
This letter is a political smear campaign dressed as civic concern, and voters deserve to know that. It is not a principled critique of Mayor Larsen’s record; it is an opening salvo on behalf of the incumbent, Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, whom Mayor Larsen is challenging in the June 23 Democratic primary.
Mr. Cortese was appointed to the East Hampton Town Planning Board, a position that gives him both a platform and a direct institutional stake in who leads this town. His wife has served on the East Hampton Democratic Committee, having previously run unopposed and never faced a challenger until now. Mayor Larsen personally recruited a slate of candidates running against her in this primary cycle. I will not name her here, as she should not be held responsible for her husband’s actions. But voters deserve to understand the full picture before weighing his words. Mr. Cortese has a great deal riding on the outcome of this primary — professionally, politically, and personally. This is not civic alarm. It is a bias, failure to disclose conflict of interest, and it should be read as one.
The factual claims about the East Hampton ambulance service, however, cannot go unanswered. I know this issue not from research or rumor, but from direct personal experience. I served as a member of the East Hampton Village Ambulance corps for 10 years in the 1980s and 1990s. During that tenure, I was personally responsible for getting East Hampton certified as a New York State E.M.S. provider. I know exactly how it was structured, and Mr. Cortese has it wrong. I would also note that I remain an exempt member of the East Hampton Village ambulance to this day and continue to volunteer as a driver. I have not left. Neither has the volunteer spirit Mr. Cortese claims was destroyed. It is stronger than ever.
Here is the central fact his letter obscures: The East Hampton Village Ambulance has never billed patients for service. Not under the association, not under Mayor Larsen, not ever. Even The East Hampton Star, which has been a consistent critic of the mayor on this issue, confirmed in its own reporting that the ambulance association has never billed for its services and is funded by local taxes. Mr. Cortese’s core allegation is that Mayor Larsen transformed a free community service into a billing operation designed to benefit wealthy donors at the expense of working residents. This is not a dark truth. It is a fiction.
The broader narrative of an autocratic seizure of an independent institution is equally without foundation. When I served on that ambulance corps and when I secured New York State certification, every vehicle, every piece of equipment, every drug on board, all insurance, and all liability coverage came from the village. We were dispatched by the village’s 911 public safety answering point. We operated as agents of the village on every call we ran. The association’s members, like those of the fire department, were approved by the village board. There was no independent institution for Mayor Larsen to seize, there was a volunteer corps that had always operated within and on behalf of village government, regardless of what name appeared on a particular document.
The State of New York ultimately affirmed that view. The ambulance service certificate was returned to the village because officials concluded it had been misplaced in the association’s name to begin with. When the association challenged this in court, a Suffolk County Supreme Court judge ruled against them, found they had not followed their own bylaws, and ordered the organization dissolved. That is not Goliath crushing David. That is a legal process vindicating what Mayor Larsen had said from the start.
One additional fact Mr. Cortese chose to omit: The integration of paid paramedics and E.M.T.s alongside volunteers, the change he frames as a mayoral power grab, did not originate with Jerry Larsen’s election as mayor. It began when he served as chief of police. Here is what that decision means in human terms: It saves lives. There are people alive in this community today because a paid paramedic arrived before and worked alongside dedicated volunteers, faster and better equipped than either could have managed alone. That is not autocracy. That is what good government and emergency management looks like and it is the only metric that matters.
The vast majority of calls in East Hampton are still answered by volunteers. The small number of paid paramedics and E.M.T.s now integrated into the department exist not to replace that volunteer tradition, but to strengthen it by ensuring the most serious calls receive the highest level of care as rapidly as possible. A volunteer still serves as chief of the E.M.S. department today, just as volunteers lead our local fire departments. The portrait Mr. Cortese paints of a gutted, municipalized service is unrecognizable to those of us who are actually still showing up.
I speak to this with some authority. Beyond my years on the East Hampton ambulance, I spent 22 years in New York City government, where I had direct responsibility for the merger of New York City E.M.S. and the Fire Department of New York, the creation of the best, largest, and most-complex municipal emergency response agency in the world, bringing together two major paid departments into a unified, seamless system. The leadership principle that drove that merger is the same one Mayor Larsen has applied here: Build the best possible system to get the right help to the right person in the least amount of time. In East Hampton, that means honoring and preserving volunteerism while adding the professional depth needed to save lives.
Jerry Larsen did not become a cop, rise to chief, or run for mayor to enrich himself or reward political allies. He did it because public safety is his life’s work and East Hampton is his home. Mr. Cortese promises more brushstrokes in the coming weeks. I would encourage voters to consider carefully who is holding the brush and what they stand to gain.
BRADFORD E. BILLET
Would Be Remiss
East Hampton
May 1, 2026
Dear David,
I am writing in response to a very angry letter written to you by a misinformed constituent. As chief of East Hampton emergency medical services and former member and ex-chief of the East Hampton Village Ambulance, I feel I would be remiss if I didn’t tell Lou Cortese the truth.
Many members of East Hampton Ambulance took umbrage at Jerry Larsen winning the race for mayor. That resentment led to a group of members neglecting our mission statement in order to petition and fight Jerry at every move he made. They went off the charts and actually undermined the community’s trust in our ability to render care.
Jerry never took over our association. Our certificate of need was registered incorrectly with the state and needed to be corrected. (Sag Harbor had the same problem many years ago and just corrected the name and moved on with their mission.)
In our case, a number of dissenters used that needed correction to feed their dislike for the new mayor. No one took us over. East Hampton Village Ambulance Association members who disagreed with the new administration opted to try and disrupt the organization and when that didn’t work, they left the association. In response, the members who didn’t dissent became East Hampton E.M.S. so that we could focus on our mission statement to serve our community. At no time were lifeguards summoned to help us. At no time were we unable to fulfill our goal of helping the community in their time of need.
As for his reference to paid staff, all the East End ambulance companies have had paid first responders for over 10 years. We decided, as a coalition, that having a paid medic and emergency medical technician, who would be stationed at our headquarters, would help us get to our patients quicker.
At no point did Jerry try and control us. He actually drove the ambulance for us for the first year when we needed some extra drivers. He has always given us anything we needed for our community or members. He is a very thoughtful and approachable man who takes his leadership very seriously. He stood by us and helped us in any way we needed as we worked tirelessly to recruit and train new members, with clear intent to do their best to serve their neighbors. We are our own empowered organization under the village, as we have always been.
I am grateful for all the help Jerry and his staff have given to us. At no time has the village neglected to get us anything we need to help us help our community.
I will miss working with Jerry as he leaves his leadership role at the village. I hope he will be able to take his forward-thinking, well-honed skills to the town. The town needs a change.
Thank you,
MARY ELLEN MCGUIRE
The Alleged Demise
East Hampton
May 4, 2026
Dear Editor,
I would like to respond to the letter to the editor of April 27, “Likes Control,” written by Lou Cortese. I don’t know Mr. Cortese, I’ve never met him, and I don’t know where he received his information regarding the East Hampton Village Emergency Medical Service, but I would like to clarify all the fabrications stated in his letter.
My first impression of Mr. Cortese is that he comes across as the last person in the telephone game who received the final communication that did not even come close to the original thought that was spoken at the start of the game. Then after believing in the transformed story, a story that happened three years ago, he decides to educate the community with a letter that is nothing more than his version of an event that he was never part of.
He states that a “sledgehammer was taken to the ambulance” when Mayor Larsen first became mayor and then continues with a false statement regarding a transfer of the ambulance operating certificate and the authority the village has over the department of E.M.S.
At that time the State Department of Health reviewed its files and history of the ownership of the ambulance service certificate. They corrected the name of the certificate holder to reflect the original and true owner, the Village of East Hampton. The corrected certificate was issued by the Department of Health on Sept. 15, 2022. Both of these documents are clear in their designation of authority over matters affecting the health and welfare of village residents and their role in oversight of the ambulance as a department within the village government.
Additionally, the East Hampton Village is authorized to provide general ambulance services pursuant to Section 122-B General Municipal Law. This law specifically authorizes the village to provide an emergency medical service for the community. And it is the Department of Health that issues the formal certificate which grants East Hampton Village the ability to provide specific health care services.
It was the Department of Health that corrected the name of the certificate holder to reflect the original and true owner, being the Village of East Hampton. The service was not imploded from the inside by a crazed control freak, nor was community service disrupted in any way. There was a change of name on the ambulance operating certificate. No sledgehammer, no controlling takeover, just a simple and legal correction.
He goes on to say that before the alleged demise of E.M.S., the ambulance had been quietly serving its community. That is one statement I agree with. The volunteer association was built by neighbors who asked nothing in return while helping their neighbors in their time of need, and yes, we are currently still serving in the same spirit of public service.
The Department of Health has strict requirements for E.M.S. certification and ambulance staffing, so the statement that “village lifeguards were pressed into service” was quite impossible. I myself, the chief of the department at the time, was never a paid village employee, as stated in the letter, but a home-grown volunteer since I joined in 1986.
There was also no “David and Goliath” scenario. The only Goliath in this story was the Department of Health. The members who chose to fight the change of name on a certificate and then challenge the village authority over the ambulance went down a path that they could never legally win.
In an effort to resolve concerns and questions regarding the establishment of a department of E.M.S., all ambulance members were given ample opportunity to come and speak with Mayor Larsen and other village officials. The operational objectives of the ambulance were never altered, and the community mission never changed. The ambulance municipal identity remained as the department of E.M.S., and the title on our department of health certificate maintained that fact.
In conclusion, there was never an “autocratic control” and elimination of the volunteers, no “sledgehammer” demise to the ambulance, no “paid chief,” no secret meetings. It appears that the only secret meetings, and attempts to control, have taken place in “dark shadows” within the small-town gossip circles which Mr. Cortese has been engaged in. I would highly recommend, before submitting your next letter to the editor, that he strongly consider the use of a fact checker to proofread his work.
Sincerely,
MARY MOTT
Chief
East Hampton Village Emergency Medical Service
Would Be Honored
East Hampton
May 4, 2026
To the Editor,
My name is Jennifer Wilson, and I am running in the June primary for the Democratic committee in District 17 in East Hampton.
I was born and raised in East Hampton, and I was lucky to raise my daughters here. I believe deeply in this community and the local hard-working residents. My roots run strong. My parents owned the village Toy Shop, and both were schoolteachers in Sag Harbor. My father was an ocean lifeguard for East Hampton Village, as were my brothers and both of my daughters. I grew up understanding how special East Hampton is and the importance of hard work, business ownership, education, and giving back.
Today, as a business owner, I carry those values forward. Giving back has always been part of who I am. In 2016, I started a field trip program to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum for East Hampton High School juniors, and because of that, approximately 250 students every year have the opportunity to experience and learn from that important moment in our history.
I am running because I believe Town Hall can and should be managed more effectively. We need better planning, stronger oversight, and leadership that truly puts our community first. Projects like the development on Three Mile Harbor Road should have been designed more thoughtfully, with a clear focus on serving East Hampton residents who genuinely need affordable housing. The same goes for the failed $30 million senior center. These are decisions that affect all of us, and they should be done right.
Like many families here, my daughters are trying to stay in the community they grew up in, but finding housing is increasingly difficult. This isn’t just my family’s challenge — it’s something so many local families are facing, and it needs real attention and real solutions.
I am not a career politician, but I bring real-world experience, a strong work ethic, and a lifelong commitment to East Hampton. I care deeply about protecting what makes this community so special while ensuring it remains a place where families can live, work, and thrive for generations to come.
I would be honored to earn your support.
JENNIFER WILSON
—
Ms. Wilson is one of a group of candidates for the East Hampton Democratic Committee backing East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen in the June 23 Democratic Primary. Ed.
Ongoing Challenges
Wainscott
May 3, 2026
Dear Editor,
My name is Deena Zenger, and I am a candidate for the Democratic Committee in East Hampton.
As a lifelong resident with family roots in this community dating back to the 1800s, I bring both a deep appreciation for our history and a strong commitment to our future. My great-grandfather owned a hardware store and gas station on Newtown Lane, and my great-aunt, Dr. Doris Zenger, served as the area’s only pediatrician for many years.
I am the founder and owner of The Country School in Wainscott, and the proud parent of four children who were educated in East Hampton schools, as was I. Through both my professional and personal experiences, I have developed a meaningful understanding of the needs of local families.
Over the years, I have seen our community face ongoing challenges, including the need for affordable housing for working families, consistent professionalism within our Building Department, a dedicated senior citizens center, and the importance of maintaining reasonable property taxes.
While I am not a current committee member and am new to elected politics, I have taken the initiative to engage directly with voters — successfully gathering the required support from Democratic neighbors in District 17 to earn a place on the ballot on June 23. I believe that effective governing requires practical leadership, and my more than 35 years of experience running a business has prepared me to make thoughtful, responsible decisions.
Elections should offer voters meaningful choice. A healthy democratic process depends on open participation and the opportunity to select from qualified candidates.
I care deeply about this community and am committed to working collaboratively to ensure East Hampton continues to be a place where families can live, work, and thrive. I would be honored to earn your support.
Warmest regards,
DEENA ZENGER
—
Ms. Zenger is one of a group of candidates for the East Hampton Democratic Committee backing East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen in the June 23 Democratic Primary. Ed.
Kathee Shows Up
East Hampton
May 3, 2026
Dear David,
I read Bill Akin’s letter to The Star from last week and I agree with him — June 23 of this year is a very important day. Due to the fact that the Republican Party is not fielding a candidate for East Hampton Town supervisor, whoever wins the Democratic primary on June 23 will likely be the next supervisor.
I am lucky in that I have had the opportunity to work closely with both the current village administration and the town administration over the past 10 years or so. I have seen how both municipalities operate and how they are governed, from the top down.
Having worked with both the town and the village, I find the transparency and balance of the town much easier to work with. While I am grateful to have worked on successful projects with both, in the village, there is no clear line between the village and the East Hampton Village Foundation, so it is difficult to have a firm understanding of what the processes are (especially for events). Different people seem to get different answers.
I have seen Gen. Douglas MacArthur quoted as saying, “A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.” To me, this describes Kathee Burke-Gonzalez and not Jerry Larsen.
Kathee has been involved in the community for many decades — first as an involved mom in church groups, then as a school board member and eventually president (Springs), then as a town council member, and finally, since 2023, as our town supervisor. Each role has given her the tools that she has needed to become an effective leader. Her confidence, her courage, and her compassion are all on display at each and every town board meeting.
It’s not just at board meetings that Kathee’s leadership is evident. Kathee shows up. And by that, I mean she shows up for her community at events that matter to them. I’ve seen her selling candy in the high school for the Booster Club. I’ve seen her at fund-raisers for nearly every nonprofit.
Kathee is not one to just show up to cut a ribbon (although she does that too!) or lead a parade. She volunteers to help out at events, shows up to farmers markets and races and at vigils and protests to support the most vulnerable amongt us. I organize a lot of events out here, and I go to a good number as well, and Kathee is pretty much always there. I don’t think I have seen Jerry at an event (except for Santa arriving by helicopter) in years.
The fact that Kathee shows up for her community while running the town is even more impressive. Managing a municipality the size of East Hampton Town is more than a full-time job — a fact that I don’t know Jerry recognizes.
While the village is 4.7 square miles and has approximately 1,300 year-round residents, East Hampton Town encompasses 75 square miles (approximately 16 times the area of the village) and has approximately 29,000 year-round residents. The difference is staggering. The difference in size means more employees (and their unions), more departments, more citizens advisory committees, more appointed boards, and many, many more opinions. Montauk is different from Amagansett is different from Springs is different from Wainscott . . . the town includes all of these hamlets plus part of Sag Harbor!
Kathee’s proven record of careful consideration and collaboration with her fellow board members makes this an easy choice for me. Her town board has a long list of accomplishments, whereas I looked back on Jerry’s campaign from 2020 and it doesn’t seem as though any of his 2020 “promises” have been completed: No new sewer system for the village. The power lines along Cooper and McGuirk and Gould Streets are still there. Parallel parking along Main Street and Newtown Lane is still there. There is no shuttle bus from long-term parking to Main Street for employees.
I do love the concerts at Main Beach, but hosting weekly musical events in the summer does not make you qualified to be town supervisor.
Every Democratic voter should do their research prior to the primary on June 23 — and a great way to get a sense of the candidates and how they will govern is to watch the live-streamed debate on May 13 on the LTV website (ltveh.org). I also encourage everyone to listen in to or show up to a town board meeting or a village board meeting to hear what’s being discussed.
JENNIFER FOWKES
Gets Things Done
Montauk
May 1, 2026
To the Editor,
I write to echo the recent letters to The Star from my fellow Montauk residents Lou Cortese, Bill Akin, and Joe Gaviola, all of whom expressed strong appreciation for our current town leadership for the many successful projects that have sustained and supported our hamlet. I wholeheartedly agree.
Kathee Burke-Gonzalez has been a genuine champion for Montauk. She has worked hard to secure state and federal funding for projects that matter to year-round residents — investments that strengthen our infrastructure, support our cultural institutions, and preserve the well-being of our community.
Through my involvement at the Montauk Playhouse Community Center, I have seen firsthand how large community projects depend on having the right advocates at the table. The town’s partnership in completing the Playhouse is a testament to the supervisor, who understands our hamlet’s needs, does the hard work, and gets things done.
At the Playhouse ribbon cutting, it was announced that New York State will provide $2.2 million to mitigate severe fire risks along the Napeague stretch caused by dead, beetle-infested pine trees — another example of real results for our community.
Montauk faces challenges as we work to hold on to the values and character of our hard-working community that has always welcomed those who love and appreciate this very special place. We need continued support and experienced, responsive, and honest leadership in Town Hall — not imposters.
Please support Kathee Burke-Gonzalez and the current slate of East Hampton Town Democratic Committee member candidates in the June 23 primary.
Sincerely,
RICH IACONO
Deserves Better
East Hampton
May 4, 2026
To the Editor:
There is growing frustration in this country with leaders who believe the rules do not apply to them, leaders who bend the truth, dismiss facts, and put their own interests ahead of the public.
At the national level, we are seeing policies that favor the wealthy while reducing support for working families: cuts to health care, child care, and food assistance, alongside significant tax advantages for those at the top. That is not responsible leadership; it erodes trust. What is troubling is that this same disregard for fairness is showing up here in East Hampton.
In the current local election, Jerry Larsen’s actions challenge the integrity of the democratic process. When a candidate, after losing a party nomination, seeks to load the Democratic committee with his loyalists, it raises serious concerns about respect for the rules that ensure fair elections.
East Hampton deserves better. Voters deserve leaders who follow the rules, compete honestly, and focus on the needs of the community — not personal ambition.
The Democratic primary on June 23 is an opportunity to stand up for integrity, accountability, and fair play. Vote for Kathee Burke-Gonzalez.
JEREMIAH T. MULLIGAN
Ethical Questions
Montauk
May 4, 2026
To the Editor,
Last week, I wrote a letter to The Star where I began to paint a picture of Jerry Larsen aimed at those of you who may not be fully aware of his political persona or how he governs as mayor of East Hampton Village. It described his dismantling of the village’s volunteer ambulance service. In it I made one reference to the dismantling being similar to the reckless elimination campaign that the Department of Governmental Efficiency, or DOGE, unleashed at the beginning of Trump’s current term.
The topic of this letter, the East Hampton Village Foundation, also has a close comparison to another unsavory Trump initiative, the White House ballroom.
It’s not coincidental that these similarities come up between Trump and Mr. Larsen. They both share an autocratic mode of governing, which purports to serve the wider community but in fact panders exclusively to those who in turn are willing to serve the needs of the autocrat. That is a plausible assessment of how the Village Foundation ostensibly established to serve the public, runs the risk for favoritism and special treatment to its donors by the mayor.
On its face, the foundation might not be a bad idea. Its stated purpose is public community engagement and funding village projects. However, it was created at the request of Mayor Jerry Larsen and because it is tied closely to village priorities and intertwined with top village government officials, and in fact actually headquartered in Village Hall, it can create a public perception problem even if the nonprofit is formally separate.
When private money supports public projects, and when there is no transparency as to who is donating and how much they’re donating, it raises key ethical questions as to whether donor relationships can shape decisions involving permits, contracts, enforcement, appointments, or priority-setting.
I want to make it clear that I haven’t found any evidence of illegal pay-for-play activities between donors or foundation board members and village government officials, including Jerry Larsen. I am simply pointing out the obvious: The potential is there for donors who also have village business before officials, such as contracts, zoning decisions, or permits to be granted favorable treatment.
When a private foundation funds public projects, and the mayor and the village administrator sit in official capacities on its board, citizens can reasonably worry that money might buy influence, even if it seems that no one has done anything unlawful. The risk is not just direct quid pro quo; it is also the appearance that donors are cultivating favor with the officials who approve village actions.
The combination of donor-funded public projects, business-owner board members, and mayoral involvement creates a classic appearance of impropriety risk. Even without proof of favoritism in hand, the structure could make us all wonder whether contributors or board members received informal access or softer treatment from village officials.
Trump’s White House ballroom funding and Jerry Larsen’s Village Foundation raise the same basic ethics problem: Private money is being used to support public-facing spaces and public projects, while Trump and Mr. Larsen, who respectively control the public decisions remain closely connected to the funding structure. In both cases, donors can plausibly expect that generosity may improve their standing with decision-makers, even if no explicit bargain exists.
Let’s not contaminate the Town of East Hampton with Trumplike shenanigans by electing a mini-Trump to that position.
Vote for transparency, honesty, and for a supervisor who works for all of the varied constituencies in our community. Vote for Kathee Burke-Gonzalez on June 23.
LOU CORTESE
Truly Sad
Montauk
April 30, 2026
Dear David,
I have to express my concern with the lack of strategy and thought involved with the current “short excursion” with Iran that Bone Spur Trump, his not very articulate secretary of war, and his clown cabinet devised to bring about regime change in Iran and to stop its development of a nuclear bomb. Both objectives I fully agree with, but both are now monumental failures.
The Trump administration and sycophants in the House of Representatives and Senate forgot the adage that it is easy to get into a war but much more difficult to get out of a war. I can only assume that none of them ever did any research on the war in Vietnam that cost the lives of 55,000 of America’s finest men and women.
It is truly sad that America’s humiliation in the world (articulated by Germany’s chancellor) is now complete.
Prior to our excursion, the Strait of Hormuz (within Iran’s territorial waters) was open for all shipping. Now it is closed.
The mullah regime in Iran is more radical than the earlier regime that we terminated (with extreme prejudice). The enriched uranium is still in their possession.
As a result, the world energy economy is in shambles. American families are being devastated with huge increases in gasoline and home-heating oil prices and the inflationary tariffs that “liberated” most American families.
To be fair, I have to give credit where it is due, and Donald Trump deserves credit for being the most incompetent, inept, corrupt, and brain-addled president in American history. I cannot wait to see the new White House ballroom and triumphant arch in D.C.!
Happy spring,
BRIAN POPE
Counts and Plays
East Hampton
April 30, 2026
Dear Mr. Rattray,
As we face increasingly higher prices on consumer products, consider how Donald Trump’s net worth has dramatically increased since his second term began.
According to a Forbes article published in March, Trump’s net worth in just over one year has increased by an estimated $1.8 billion, mainly due to profits from investments in cryptocurrency. Trump’s profits from cryptocurrency stem largely from the industry’s boom because of his administration’s crypto-friendly policies. Trump’s net worth is now estimated at $6.5 billion.
He has also enriched himself as president with various business ventures overseas, including several yet-to-be-opened Trump properties in Saudi Arabia, a hotel in Dubai, and a golf club in Doha. Other Trump properties are being developed and sold in Vietnam, Uruguay, Qatar, Romania, Australia, and the Maldives.
Ten days before Trump took office, he released an ethics plan for his second term. Interestingly, the document did not include a ban on new foreign deals. As a result, Trump’s private company, which he still owns and profits from, is free to do business in foreign countries while he is in office.
Since returning to the White House where he watches his net worth grow, Trump returns nearly every weekend to Mar-a-Lago where he plays golf. To date, Trump has played golf 108 days, or 23 percent of his time as president at an estimated cost of $150 million to taxpayers.
We confront our increasing costs and pay. Trump counts his increasing wealth and plays (at our expense).
SALVATORE TOCCI
Turn Down Rhetoric
Montauk
April 30, 2026
Dear David,
After the correspondents dinner, which was another disaster promoting violence against President Trump and his cabinet, talks and comments were made: Let’s turn down the loud, violent rhetoric. Truthfully, both parties need to stop spewing toxic words and should condemn political violence. Within days, we have heard that the Environmental Protection Agency director should drink a glass of weed killer. Whew, that’s true turning down violent talk.
In God and country,
BEA DERRICO
Maddening to Imagine
East Hampton
May 4, 2026
Dear David,
It is maddening to imagine what goes on in Donald Trump’s mind. After years of being mollified and flattered by Republicans, who are cowed into submission by the campaign funds hanging over them from fossil fuel and Silicon Valley billionaires, Trump apparently does not understand that politicians around the world have their own citizens to please.
For example, he was shocked when erstwhile European allies, on whom he’d been heaping his sneering insults since assuming office, told him to stuff it when he asked them to help him in his foundering adventure in Iran. And he was outraged when German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said out loud what every objective observer knows, “The Americans obviously have no strategy,” and suggested that the Iranians were humiliating the Americans.
In a move reminiscent of a 6-year-old girl running to mommy to wail, “Tommy called me stupid!” Trump called his kleptocratic soulmate, Vladimir Putin, and talked with him for 90 minutes. It is easy to imagine Putin’s sympathetic response and willingness to advise Trump on how to proceed.
Hours later, Trump announced, to the surprise and alarm of even Republican senators, that he would remove 5,000 American soldiers stationed in Germany. Well, gosh! Where did he get that idea? The historian Timothy Snyder called it, “great power suicide.”
The body is on the floor with an empty hypodermic needle hanging from its arm. The political police are parked in an alley in Washington munching doughnuts. I try to imagine some great orator stepping forward to inject the body with verbal Naloxone in the nick of time. But it seems more likely that America is following this petulant man-child to its ruin.
DON MATHESON
Breaking Point
North Haven
May 4, 20206
Dear David:
Our human mind has a breaking point for stress tolerance. The third attempted assassination of Trump and other officials at the National Press Club event last week may demonstrate only one consequence of our nation’s extreme frustration with our government having gone criminally berserk and out of control.
A once-respected teacher seems to have snapped mentally to become an actual attempted assassin. This may be a symptom of how the public is being driven to the breaking point of madness with fear and depression — and a few more vulnerable folks are actually driven to criminal action.
Hatred is a poisonous state of mind when directed toward other individuals. Heinous acts and the shameful behavior of some people can understandably be disrespected and regarded as hateful, but the persons responsible for triggering such reactions need to be understood rather than hated. Hating others poisons ourselves, allowing thoughts and acts of rage and criminal behavior. We must use our advanced human intellect to understand what we see and experience, then use our best civilized ability and tools to deal with it.
We have a political and legal system somewhat in tatters today, causing extreme damage and frustration here and worldwide. Enough of our democracy remains intact, allowing us to use it against current adversity by joining our forces and restoring democracy to its once-healthy effective state.
Widespread complacency and personal greed have allowed others to destroy much of this country’s credibility and effectiveness. Many people here and elsewhere have died unnecessarily. We all need a serious look into ourselves for allowing this to happen.
Both political parties have ill served us with their destructive shame-blaming and weak, self-serving leadership. Too many elected representatives fail to respect their own constituents in favor of their own gain. We the people, the voters, have fallen into their carefully woven traps, and have tolerated this far too long.
We must not simply blame and hate others, and must look at ourselves and take strong, and legal, actions to correct this.
Our responsibility here in Suffolk County shows we are breeding some of this mess ourselves. Lee Zeldin, for example, was educated here, and we put him in Congress! We should try to understand how responsible we are for our own destruction. We must abandon the false MAGA promises and return to sensible behavior.
The New York Times has an excellent article about how our Lee Zeldin has become such a critical and destructive part of the current administration. “Lee Zeldin has transformed the E.P.A. from an agency devoted to protecting human health and the environment into one that, more or less openly, sides with polluters.” It is well worth reading this to understand the extent of how destructive he has become.
Of course, we also have Mr. Zeldin’s replacement, Nick LaLota, and others to get rid of as well. I received a two-page puffery letter from Mr. LaLota bragging about giving Sag Harbor a bit over $200,000 to buy better police cars. Is he joking? There are luxury cars parked on our streets here today that cost that! How about doing some real work for the people who put you him office?
Billions of dollars are being scammed away from our government budgets, and these jerks just throw us a handful of peanuts? Another of his letters crows about getting $2.5 million to extend public water to 28 homes — that’s over $80,000 per home! Is that a good deal?
It’s time for us to focus on better representatives than those we now have. We must also be willing to abandon our strict allegiance to this broken party system that gives us super-PAC money buying primary elections, racial gerrymandering, and greedy, self-serving candidates who allow our civil rights and honest voting to be destroyed.
We need to understand that our greatest opponents, like Russia and China, remain impressed with our military, our wealth, and our past achievements, but they see clearly that our own political bickering and quarreling is destroying our own democracy. Nikita Khrushchev of the former Soviet Union many years ago during the Cold War said: “I once said, ‘We will bury you,’ and I got into trouble with it. Of course we will not bury you with a shovel. Your own working class will bury you.” We are actually doing that to ourselves today.
Democracy requires crossing the aisles to negotiate the best outcome for everyone. It’s not a game of winner takes all. Let’s return to civility and honest democracy, and argue our beliefs, allowing room for compromise and results that benefit the greatest number of ourselves.
ANTHONY CORON