Two to Add
East Hampton
June 15, 2026
Dear Editor,
In last week’s paper you reported on the many scholarships awarded to East Hampton High School graduating seniors; I have two more to add.
The East Hampton Housing Authority has a Next Step Scholarship program for graduating seniors. This year’s recipients were Jackson Trelease and Mason Jefferson, who each received $1,000 to continue their studies. Congratulations to Jackson and Mason!
The board of commissioners has decided to coordinate with the high school for next year’s awards ceremony. We had been, heretofore, just quietly doing our own thing.
KATY CASEY
Part of Nature
Poughquag, N.Y.
June 15, 2026
Dear David:
Thank you for your thoughtful article about the rooster who was permitted to remain with his human family (“The Mast-Head,” June 11). I share your sense of relief.
People sometimes complain about roosters’ crowing, but the sound is part of nature.
When my wife, Ellen, and I opened a farm sanctuary, roosters woke us up the first two mornings, but we weren’t disturbed by them after that. We even began to enjoy their calls, especially in the evening. We also discovered that many others like their sound. Children who visit our farm are thrilled by it and often imitate it. Henry David Thoreau said that the bird’s high-spirited strain expresses the “effervescence of life.”
Most roosters are born to a terrible fate. Big industrial farms cannot make a profit off them and therefore kill them at birth. Because the hatcheries have difficulty distinguishing the newborn males from females, some males slip through the screening. As a result, people who buy chicks frequently find that one or two who were supposed to be hens begin to crow. The residents might want to keep these roosters, but many municipalities ban them because of their crowing. Some people ask farm sanctuaries to adopt them, but all the sanctuaries I know are filled to capacity. The result is that many roosters are abandoned or returned to the suppliers, where they are killed.
The rooster’s bold crow goes along with the bird’s incredible bravery. Farmers have seen them protect hens by attacking approaching foxes and raccoons. The roosters lose these battles (and their lives), but the hens get time to escape.
I hope East Hampton will continue to permit residents to have roosters, and other municipalities will begin to allow them, too. Towns that forbid roosters add to the terrible plight of these wonderful animals.
BILL CRAIN
Old Stone Closing
Springs
June 15, 2026
David,
The Old Stone Market closed today with an outdoor reception for customers. The gathering was a very local affair, as was the pleasant experience of 20 years of going there for coffee and a scone, or prepared foods and other delicious baked goods. The owners, Vicki, Wolf, and Ruby, and staff have provided a welcome, low-key place to stop in every day, and I will miss them.
REV. ROB STUART
Going by the Wayside
East Hampton
June 12, 2026
Dear David,
I want to reply to last week’s letter written by Michael Giannelli.
It was a lovely and kind letter. I would like to take a little tougher stance.
I have lived in East Hampton for the last nine years. I have been coming to East Hampton for 50 years. Over the years, I have seen our town turn into something almost unrecognizable. Money talks, and, as a result, all the wonderful local, unique businesses are going by the wayside. This seems to be the case with the wonderful East Hampton Gardens.
I wonder why there is such disregard for a popular local business? What will replace it, a new national chain? Someone who is willing to pay extra rent? Mr Giannelli wasn’t even given a chance to compete and perhaps even pay a higher rent. That is blatantly unfair.
I am sorry this is the direction in which East Hampton is going.
I urge others to speak up.
Thank you,
JANE RIVKIN
All-Schoolyard
Montauk
June 8, 2026
To the Editor
One of my fondest memories from back in the day is when I coined the phrase “all-schoolyard” on the playground of P.S. 79 in Whitestone, Queens, in the mid-1960s.
A bunch of neighborhood guys and I met on Saturday mornings to play
touch football. After a while, I thought it would be fun to make the games more competitive and name a most-valuable player of the day. I called that player “all-schoolyard” — the ultimate compliment of being the unofficial all-star player of our group. To up the ante even more, I added the perk of awarding that guy a commemorative football jersey. We all pitched in to buy the jersey, imprinted with “All-Schoolyard” on the back and “No. 1” on the front.
After each game, we voted on who would be the lucky recipient and that player would have the honor of wearing the All-Schoolyard jersey for the week. It became a prize we looked forward to winning, and we wore the jersey with pride.
Flash-forward to a few years later, when a chance encounter at Manhattan’s Ansonia Hotel gym led to my friend Howie’s and my joining Woody Allen in a pick-up basketball game. Woody and I were on the same team, and wanting to impress him, I threw out my line, “Hey Woody, throw me the ball. I’m all-schoolyard!”
When Allen’s 1977 hit film “Annie Hall” was released, to my surprise and delight I heard my line spoken by Woody Allen himself in a scene in the film and then later touted by Huffington Post as one of the film’s best lines!
I never could have predicted that a casual phrase I introduced on a playground in Queens would end up making New York movie history in an Academy Award-winning film, but it turned out to be one of the happier surprises in my life.
DANIEL DONOFRIO
Inhospitable
Springs
June 13, 2026
To the Editor,
Can someone pinpoint the year that the village became so inhospitable? Here’s an example:
I drove into the village earlier today from my home in Springs to visit the Ladies Village Improvement Society Fair. I, once again, found no parking available in the Lumber Lane Lot as a third of the spots were roped off — on L.V.I.S. Fair day!
After driving farther from the lot, I finally located a street spot restricted to an hour.
Walked over to the fair, had a cold soda, and needed to use a bathroom. Guess! No bathroom facility there. So I gave up and hiked back to the car.
Now, I get that the Newtown Lane shops price me out of that area, but why add to that with additional inhospitality?
I can’t afford the entrance to these shops, but I have paid my $400 to park in the Lumber Lane lot.
Can someone let me know how this all came about? Or can someone let me know how much money it will take to receive the hospitality I received all those years ago?
DANIEL FRIEDMAN
Real-World Experience
Barnes Landing
June 10, 2026
To the Editor,
Chris Gallant — he is a National Guard helicopter pilot, volunteer firefighter, labor union official, and born and bred Long Islander. He left his job as a federal air traffic controller to run for Congress as a Democrat representing our First Congressional District.
We have met and spoken with Chris. He has struck us as smart, ethical, and honestly intent on being a voice of reason in Congress — and nobody’s pushover. He has won our support, and we urge our fellow Democrats to vote for him in the upcoming primary election on Tuesday. Look at his website and you will be impressed.
Chris’s only primary opponent is a young fellow still in law school, making a foray into elected office. Some day perhaps, but right now what we need is real-world experience, leadership, and maturity to take on Nick LaLota and stand up for us in Congress. Vote for Chris and let’s flip this district!
NICK and NANCY PEARSON
No Clock Needed
Southold
June 15, 2026
To the Editor:
It’s Monday morning and no alarm clock needed! Jets, seaplanes, and helicopters all in a rush to scoop of their VIPs to get back to the city before their workday starts, some pilots flying round trip over the same battered communities. A twin-jet Embraer Phenom 300 was in a hold pattern over Mattituck (four loops!) until it was able to fly into East Hampton at 7:09 a.m. No alarm clock needed!
Interestingly enough, the airport is not part of the town supervisor topics in public debate or interviews. And why not? Isn’t quality of life a valid topic? Aren’t noise and air pollution valid topics? Aren’t the sheer volume, repeated flight paths, altitudes of air traffic, and safety concerns all valid topics?
Hopefully, these topics will be brought to the attention of the running mates as their answers are part of not only East Hampton’s future, but the surrounding townships also.
Thank you.
TERESA MCCASKIE
Southold Town Aircraft
No Resolution
East Hampton
June 15, 2026
To the Editor,
Seven months have passed since The Star published my story on Nov. 12 regarding East Hampton Town’s Home Improvement Program and the unresolved condition of my home.
During that time, despite repeated efforts to obtain answers, I have not received a written commitment from the town explaining what repairs it is willing to address or what responsibility it is prepared to accept.
Since the article appeared, I have made every effort to work cooperatively with the town and supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez. I personally invited the supervisor to meet with me and see firsthand the condition of my home, both recently and as far back as October 2024, but I received no response. I also visited her office in person, believing the town’s open-door policy would provide an opportunity to discuss my situation. Instead, I was told that she was too busy to meet with me.
I followed up with emails and phone calls requesting an appointment, but those communications were never returned. To this day, I have received no response from Supervisor Burke-Gonzalez and no written explanation outlining the town’s position.
What makes this situation even more troubling is that outside officials have also attempted to help. Both the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office and Senator Anthony Palumbo’s office reached out on my behalf seeking information and assistance. Despite those efforts, there has still been no written resolution.
For years, I have lived with the consequences of a town housing program that was intended to help homeowners but instead left significant damage and unresolved problems. While meetings have been held and promises have been made, I continue to wait for something very basic: a completed and safe home. In good faith, I have asked for a written statement explaining what the town is willing to do to correct the remaining problems and whether I or the town is financially responsible for the repair, replacement, and completion of my home.
I am not asking for special treatment. I am asking for accountability, transparency, and for my home to be repaired. I believe the treatment I have received is unacceptable for any resident seeking assistance from town officials regarding a town-run housing program.
To this day, my home remains unrepaired and continues to deteriorate. I placed my faith in Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez to help me address this situation, but instead I have been ignored and made to feel that my circumstances are not important. The message I have received is that the town does not believe it is responsible. After all this time, I am still waiting for accountability.
A stop-work order has been in effect on my property since September 2022 for the following violations: no building permit, failure to comply with New York State Building Code, failure to comply with the provisions of Section 255, dangerous and unsafe conditions exist. All of these violations occurred because of a contractor hired through the town’s program. The work performed by this contractor was so egregious that the licensing review board revoked his license for one year. Sadly, this is where I find myself today — still waiting for answers, accountability, and a safe home.
Sincerely,
MARY MACKEY
Momentary Stare
Amagansett
June 13, 2026
To the Editor:
This was a rich week for topics. First, I thought of analyzing Tom Flight’s letter to The Star in which (spoiler alert) he, too, sells out the village ambulance volunteers, whose ears must never stop ringing from the nonstop cash register chimes). Then I started planning a letter about Schrodinger’s Lease (for the gun club).
But let’s talk about the State Environmental Quality Review Act! Christopher Walsh’s “Let Them Build, But What Kind of Housing?” describes Kathy Hochul (a DINO) “modernizing” the law to permit faster approval of housing projects. The insider joke is that there is barely any law there to reform in the first place.
While Marc Rowan must get the warm fuzzies reading a headline in the W.S.J. (does Marc Rowan read The Wall Street Journal, really?) about being rescued from SEQRA, Governor Kathy Hochul’s performance had barely any more substance than Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s promise to save us from Shariah law.
The reason that the environmental statute, though possibly well intentioned, has come to almost nothing is the New York courts’ creation of the most ridiculous legal standard ever. SEQRA requires a municipality only to take a “hard look” at environmental concerns. This has become of course such a degraded concept that little more is required than a momentary stare, with furrowed brow and empty eyes, at a stack of paper on one’s desk. (I would personally seek to cast Peter Van Scoyoc in the video version.)
The town has become increasingly emboldened, avoiding even the pretense of a hard look by issuing a negative declaration (“neg dec”) with confidence that there will be no accountability (witness the neg dec of the senior center).
In New York City, a couple of years back, River Ring, a 1,200-apartment development sitting partly in the East River, got rushed through SEQRA approval in four months to assure the vote of a City Council member who had not been re-elected. Every usual step was skipped, including waiting for parallel Environmental Protection Agency approval or adding either the state or city environmental departments to the review team. It hardly mattered, because none of the nonprofits working in this area (Sierra Club, Riverkeeper, etc.) even bothered to sue to oppose the project. In the end, River Ring died (at least for now) not because of any environmental laws, but because the economics were also ridiculous.
Yay for late capitalism! (Ooh, he said capitalism.)
For democracy everywhere,
JONATHAN WALLACE
Truly Key Issues
East Hampton
June 13, 2026
Dear David,
Finally, the warm weather of summer is upon us. So, too, is the silly season of local politics. As we embark upon the run-up to the primary, the winner of which will run uncontested (and win) in November, I am struck by the seeming failure of either the current supervisor, Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, or her challenger, East Hampton Mayor Jerry Larsen, to focus on, let alone propose, concrete solutions for what this observer feels are truly key issues facing residents from Wainscott to Montauk Point.
When she took office in January 2024, Ms. Burke-Gonzalez said she was is committed to “preserving our community, investing in our future, and modernizing how we conduct business.” And where are we today? Her pledge to reverse the ever-shrinking labor pool, which anyone must agree has negatively impacted businesses and the town, while significantly increasing traffic congestion, a highlight today is the daily conga line of traffic that stretches from Westhampton and Hampton Bays to East Hampton, only to be reversed starting each afternoon with a similarly long line that starts in East Hampton and stretches at least to Southampton College.
In 2024 her pledge was to take steps to alleviate the “incredibly tight housing market, which just continues to tighten with housing getting even more expensive relative to income.” My question is, however, where are these units which local employers could rent affordably to their employees?
Similarly, I continue to be struck by what Supervisor Burke-Gonzalez counts among her chief accomplishments: the road investments, including a new roundabout at Stephen Hand’s Path and Long Lane versus a four-way light that would have better controlled the amount of driving in excess of posted speeds and all but eliminated the chance for accidents by those failing to be bound by the concept of yielding to traffic already in the circle; her relationship with Gov. Kathy Hochul (which, interestingly, included no references to meaningful clearing of the deadwood along Route 27 on Napeague and the roads throughout the Northwest Woods, south of the Sag Harbor line, and environmental projects (which, again, did not even mention reforestation of the areas where the deadwood needs to be cleared before it produces a massive fire, a la Los Angeles and Hawaii).
As for the challenger, Mr. Larsen, he may have successfully stirred the pot by calling attention to what was a most embarrassingly blocked process for granting building permits, inspecting home improvement projects, and awarding the certificates of occupancy mandated as a precursor to property title transfers. Beyond that, while his reasons for seeking to step up to town supervisor seem laudatory, again, my inability to find any specifics as to how he proposes to accomplish these goals, with whom, at what expense, and over what time period, is most troubling.
As the late Malcolm Forbes was fond of saying, “It’s so much easier to suggest solutions when you don’t know too much about the problem.”
Maybe Ms. Burke-Gonzalez is correct when she says stepping up from running a village to a township may be a bridge too far, but whoever wins on the 23rd must be held accountable for the year before their next election. Not sure she has the answers either — at least if one judges a horse by its past running.
Cost-effective erection of affordable housing solely for employees working in the town is a must — and within the next 12 months. The site formerly occupied by the Gertz department store could be a suitable location.
A proper resurfacing of all town roads to eliminate any rough surfaces and/or potholes, the cost of which the town must successfully lobby to obtain from state and county coffers. So, too, is the design of a townwide effort to tangibly improve the environment by culling the woodlands on Napeague and the Northwest Woods by culling the deadwood and reforesting these areas before they fall victim to a hot, dry summer. And finally, design and implement to both create and award leases for a state-of-the-art internet and cellphone network that, thanks to meaningful competition, upgrades the scope of services offered and lowers the consumer access costs for these services to town residents.
These are discrete achievable projects, which, if satisfactorily completed within the next 12 months, will confirm that the choice of one slate or the other was the correct one. Everything else will be like ostriches who put their heads in the ground when confronted by impending danger. As a great pundit once said, the trouble with tomorrow is that it usually arrives before one is ready for it.
Sincerely,
JAMES WELDON
I Have Questions
East Hampton
June 12, 2026
To the Editor,
I have questions for each of the candidates running to be East Hampton Town supervisor.
Jerry Larsen: You announced that the parking on Main Street and Newtown Lane would be increased from one hour to two hours as it is in Sag Harbor, Bridgehampton, and other nearby towns. Yes, you added an extra hour but one has to pay! The surrounding towns allow two hours for free. If you must collect money, start with the third hour, not the second hour. You made all new signs, so it does not look promising for you to fix this problem. Perhaps the new flashing lights you put in at the crossings, which flash for too long, are blinding your foresight.
Kathee Burke-Gonzalez: Do you read the letters to the editor? If so, you have been ignoring my many letters about fixing Two Holes of Water Road? If you don’t read the letters, you should. Many people have great ideas and interesting comments. Not everyone can attend the meetings. Someone, anyone, tell her to read the letters if, in fact, she does not. And tell her to fix the road.
JANE ADELMAN
Their Backgrounds
Wainscott
June 8, 2026
Dear David,
If you’re an East Hampton voter, you need to be paying attention not just to who’s on the ballot but also to what their backgrounds are.
Jerry Larsen wants to fill the entire Democratic Party committee with people he has recruited. Almost half of them (16 of 38) weren’t even registered Democrats a year ago — and a quarter of those were registered Republicans in the last national election. That’s people who were happy belonging to a party headed by Donald Trump.
I’ve served on the Democratic Committee going on four years now. Our job is to choose Democratic candidates and to help elect Democrats to office. Why would you put someone in that role who has never even been a Democrat before?
The other job of the committee is to represent the concerns of Democratic voters to the party, not to be a rubber stamp for the person who put them there. I ask my neighbors in Election District 7 for their support.
JERRY BUTLER
Postitive Change
East Hampton
June 15, 2026
Dear David,
Let me offer my credentials: I am a lifelong resident of East Hampton and a lifelong Democrat, first registered in 1974. I am a retired member of the East Hampton Fire Department, having served more than 30 years. I worked 16 years in the East Hampton Office of Housing and Community Development and retired two and a half years ago. I’m currently a 10-year member of the East Hampton Democratic Committee. And I am serving my seventh term as a town trustee, five as board chairman, officially known as clerk.
As a housing technician, I was extremely lucky to step into the affordable housing program that was the envy of Suffolk County. Agencies from both forks came to us seeking advice on how to build their own programs. Since the retirement of the housing director four years ago, that program has collapsed for lack of proper leadership.
When I first won election to the trustees, we were able to develop a strong relationship with the town board, which had been lacking. Unfortunately, over the last four years we have seen that relationship eroded by the actions of two individual town board members, one still sitting. These actions, of which the trustees had no knowledge or participation, have cost the trustees more than $400,000 dollars in legal fees plus the additional expense of posting appeals bonds of nearly $1 million. After a year and a half of negotiating, there is no interest from the town to make the trustees financially whole for their mistake. What once was a team has completely evaporated.
More recently, a large die-off of Canada geese due to the bird flu virus occurred around the perimeter of Georgica Pond and the adjacent beach, an area mostly owned by the trustees. When brought to the attention of David Lys, the deputy supervisor, sitting in for the vacationing supervisor, he chose to play a game of jurisdictional responsibility. He completely ignored or failed to recognize the event as a risk to public health and safety. Instead, the health and safety of our residents were placed in the hands of the town trustees and our meager resources. Mind you, this is the man grooming to be the next town supervisor.
On the other hand, I have seen East Hampton Village under Mayor Larsen invest millions of dollars in the East Hampton Fire Department, upgrading trucks and equipment.
With the trustees facing the problem of safe, legal disposal of hundreds of dead geese, Jerry reached out and asked, “How can we help?” And he followed through.
The trustees own most beaches and ponds in East Hampton town as well as the village. From his first day in office, Mayor Larsen has made sure to include the trustees in any issues, actions, or code changes involving our holdings. In my experience, Jerry is a fair and reasonable person. It has been the polar opposite of my experience with the leadership of the current town board.
Under Mayor Larsen, I have seen East Hampton Village return to a friendly, inviting place, where East Hampton residents as a whole gather at family-friendly events, where the gay community is celebrated with a parade. Where the health and safety of village and town residents are paramount.
We need leadership in government that looks out for its people and fellow elected officials. It’s time for positive change. Jerry Larsen is the right choice.
Sincerely,
FRANCIS J. BOCK
Actual Record
East Hampton Village
June 14, 2026
David,
This edition of The Star is the last before the Democratic primary ends on June 23. East Hampton residents who have not yet cast their vote have one final opportunity to consider Jerry Larsen’s actual record.
That record should be examined carefully, not through campaign slogans — staged and scripted appearances or repeated claims of “getting things done,” but through specific examples of how public power has been exercised during his time in village government.
Jerry’s record shows a troubling disregard for open government. New York’s Open Meetings Law is not a technicality: It exists to ensure that public business is conducted in public, with meaningful opportunity for residents to observe, question, and participate in decisions that affect their community. Too often, his administration has treated public discourse as an obstacle to be managed, rather than a democratic obligation to be respected.
The same pattern appears in his approach to village boards. Planning, zoning, and other appointed boards are not supposed to function as political extensions of the mayor’s office. Their independence matters because they make decisions affecting property rights, neighborhoods, and the character of the community. Shortening board terms in the name of flexibility (“freshness”) or easier replacement weakens that independence and increases political control.
This pattern is not limited to one issue. Whether in his approach to public meetings, appointed-board independence, the use of outside entities to move public projects with less ordinary scrutiny, or the difficulty residents face when challenging village action, Jerry’s record reflects a consistent preference for control over accountability.
That should concern every East Hampton resident. A town supervisor must respect process, welcome scrutiny, and understand that public participation is not an inconvenience. It is the foundation of accountable government.
The issue is not one isolated disagreement or one unpopular decision. It is a broader pattern of governing: limiting public discourse, weakening independent review, resisting scrutiny, and treating public authority as something to be controlled rather than accountable to residents. That is not transparency. It is not competence. And it is not the temperament East Hampton needs in a town supervisor.
DAVID GANZ
Demand Accountability
Amagansett
June 8, 2026
Dear Editor,
As an Amagansett resident for more than 40 years and a former member of the East Hampton Democratic Committee for over a decade, I have seen a lot of local politics. Yet I am still surprised by some of the actions taken by people we elected to represent Democratic values.
For many years, I believed our party held itself to a higher standard. That belief was challenged when, during my time as East Hampton Democratic Committee secretary and a member of the candidate screening committee, a campaign manager proposed recruiting a lifelong Republican to run as a Democrat. The strategy was simple: Republican voters would recognize his name on the ballot and then vote straight down the Democratic line.
Several longtime committee members immediately objected. Their concern was straightforward: Placing a “D” next to someone’s name does not guarantee that person will govern according to Democratic principles. Unfortunately, those concerns proved justified.
Today, many of the same tactics and attitudes we criticize in national politics have found their way into East Hampton. The town board frequently accuses others of behavior that mirrors its own actions. Party raiding? The committee knowingly supported a Republican running as a Democrat. Political convenience appears to have replaced principle. The irony became even more apparent when the East Hampton Democratic Committee held a fund-raising event for that candidate at the waterfront home of a prominent Republican lobbyist.
The troubling pattern extends beyond politics. Consider the senior center project. The town board invoked the rarely used Monroe Doctrine to exempt itself from local zoning regulations that every other applicant must follow. Why should the government be allowed to ignore the very rules it imposes on residents?
The result has been deeply concerning. The project involved clearing environmentally sensitive land that supports endangered species, despite no public demand for such extensive disturbance. True environmental stewardship has long been a cornerstone of Democratic values, yet those principles seem absent here. Even worse, taxpayers have already absorbed a loss of approximately $1.3 million on a project that remains mired in controversy. Many residents are left wondering whether there is a larger agenda that has yet to be fully disclosed.
The same disregard for environmental concerns can be seen along Gerard Drive. For years, erosion threatened this fragile shoreline, requiring significant public investment to stabilize and protect it. It was also an important shorebird-breeding habitat. Yet extensive clearing was allowed there as well, apparently to create additional event space with little regard for the environmental consequences. That is not responsible stewardship. It raises legitimate questions about whether special interests are being prioritized over the public interest.
To be clear, this town board has accomplished some positive things. But history shows that when any group remains in power for too long, accountability weakens, focus fades, and loyalties can shift away from the people they were elected to serve. East Hampton is at that point. We need fresh perspectives, greater transparency, and renewed accountability.
That is why I am running to represent District 3 on the East Hampton Democratic Committee. I believe our community deserves leadership that is transparent, efficient, and genuinely responsive to residents. We need people with deep roots in this community, people who understand its history, its values, and its future.
I also believe East Hampton needs new leadership at Town Hall. Electing Jerry Larsen as supervisor would bring a new level of experience, independence, and problem-solving ability to local government. His leadership can help restore public trust, improve transparency, and move East Hampton forward in a way that serves all residents — not just a select few.
The choice before us is simple: continue down the current path or demand the accountability and leadership our community deserves by casting your vote for Jerry Larsen.
Thank you,
JAMES J. MACMILLAN
A No-Win Strategy
Amagansett
June 10, 2026
Dear David,
I have been watching the histrionics of our upcoming primary for town supervisor with mild amusement especially Jonathan Wallace’s arrows fired at mostly everyone involved with pretty good accuracy.
But the real issue is not amusing at all, as the rumblings of the earth under town government have exposed a deep and serious flaw, which is the incompetence of the town board to manage the increasingly complex town operations, Building Department, Code Enforcement, and legal matters. The list of expensive failures and problems because of bad government management by the board is long and growing. Have a look at a short list.
Truck Beach: 100 percent loss on litigation, including counter-party legal fees and fines by State Supreme Court for bad behavior after the decision.
Senior center: Not even sure where to begin on this fiasco except it smells like very old fish at this point.
Duryea’s: Years and millions in litigation. Being beaten up by one of the richest men in the country to end up back at zero seven years later with serious questions of impropriety in the air.
Airport: poor board decisions led to millions in legal fees, another State Supreme Court loss, and a big tangle with the feds. Brilliant.
Building Department: raided by state police for corruption months ago, cash bribes being allegedly passed around the office.
There are many more but why prattle on?
Let me explain the real risk. These mistakes and poor decisions are bad but they are behind us. Looking forward, the town board will be evaluating major development proposals in Montauk and East Hampton that will make Duryea’s look like a preschool balloon event.
Gosman’s, Gurney’s, Montauk Anglers Club (formerly Gone Fishing marina) Montauk Yacht Club, Rick’s Crabby Cowboy, and many other beach hotels have all been purchased by other global mega-investors with big development plans. Montauk Lake Club is rumored to be available at a price. Next up is the balance of the West part of Montauk Harbor, also being bought up as we speak. West Lake Marina sold already, and Uihlein’s, for example, looks particularly interesting if I were contemplating investing $150 million into Gosman’s. Just saying.
Without serious experience, competence, and skilled legal advisers added to our government, the town is going to get steamrolled. History is a very effective teacher; the history looks bad.
In addition, we need a town supervisor who has the personal skill set, experience, and common sense to negotiate through these highly complex matters without ending up in dozens of lawsuits using taxpayer money to fight private investors with vast resources. That is a no-win strategy for East Hampton.
Perhaps it is just too much to ask of a board and others more concerned with national politics and petty local power moves than being professional managers of our taxpayer resources.
Many thanks,
JOHN MANNIX
Voting for Jerry
Wainscott
June 15, 2026
Dear David,
Two months ago, I suggested there was little difference between the two Democratic primary candidates for supervisor on three environmental and quality of life issues in East Hampton: the airport, the gun club, and gas-powered leaf blowers. Since that time, Kathee Burke-Gonzalez remains determined to renew the gun club lease with virtually no changes. She believes this is the best use for 97 acres of our public land. Let’s re-establish an outdoor shooting range with a history of bullets escaping into an area of residential neighborhoods, hiking and biking trails, a busy through-road, multiple businesses, an airport, and two schools, among other things.
Not only is the gun club extraordinarily dangerous from bullets routinely hitting houses — none of the four ranges have been removed, despite court stipulation — but it is an environmental disaster, with documented lead and certain other contamination from decades of skeet shooting. These carcinogens are in the soil leaching into our supposedly “protected” public watershed. Sounds like the airport PFAS mess, which remains a toxic plume, and now water authority wells contaminated by a battery fire three and a half years ago that apparently wasn’t fully investigated by the town or the water authority. (There is a major water authority well in close proximity to the gun club.)
Kathee also resists our efforts to convert from gas-powered leaf blowers, which are both economically and environmentally inferior to electric ones. Finally, her board wants to shoehorn an affordable housing complex into 13 acres of restricted land also in the watershed zone in Wainscott despite there being nearly seven times that much land (much of it already cleared) right down the road in a far better location. Yes, that’s the gun club.
Kathee and her board cohorts keep mysteriously working to reserve this huge parcel of our land for their anonymous gun cronies’ private shooting club. But it turns out that Jerry Larsen has a different, more welcome, perspective. He has already extended the village’s blower ban from four months to six and proposes a year-round conversion.
As for the gun club fiasco, the former chief of police in East Hampton village supports an indoor range only, good for police practice and amateur shooting. That would eliminate danger, environmental pollution, and noise, while leaving most of the 97 public acres for a far better use including affordable housing. I’m voting for Jerry.
BARRY RAEBECK
Leadership Crisis
East Hampton
June 15, 2026
Dear David,
Our East Hampton community faces a serious leadership crisis on our town board. The lack of a clear vision, failed infrastructure projects, dysfunction in our town administration and poor communication with longstanding communities and residents are troubling.
Our supervisor is struggling to perform her duties as our executive officer. At this point in her tenure, she is badly underperforming. Frankly, in the private sector she would have been asked to step down from her position by now.
The serious dysfunction in the Building Department, including town employees taking bribes from applicants, is a real black eye considering her 10-plus years on the board. This dysfunction has led to criminal charges, extensive application delays, and lawsuits against the town.
Perhaps the most egregious issue is the failed senior center project. How in God’s name do you clear-cut eight acres of pristine native forest, annihilating all the wildlife habitat when you did not even have a set of plans? Furthermore, a substantial amount of money was spent on two architectural firms that have defaulted on the project, and we have more legal wrangling. As a longstanding resident and a senior citizen, I find this quite disturbing. Ready, fire, aim leadership at its finest.
Recently, the town board has emphasized affordable housing projects, seeking potential building sites without checking environmental status or consulting neighbors, such as with the recently proposed purchase in Wainscott.
Our community needs an active voice in the future direction of our town and important projects like affordable housing, roadway infrastructure, and safety.
Our roads are unsafe and overrun. How does high-density housing factor into that equation? Why does our railroad infrastructure remain underutilized? I know of at least two high-value real estate transactions that have fallen through due to the proximate location of the properties to proposed high-density affordable housing projects. The lack of transparency, planning, and proper review of numerous failed and delayed projects is troubling.
An executive leader is responsible for the performance of the team. An objective review of this performance can only be described as poor. We as a community cannot afford these costly mistakes and failed projects. East Hampton deserves better. It is time for new leadership in Town Hall.
Jerry Larsen is a proven, experienced leader serving as police chief and village mayor. I will be voting for change on Tuesday.
RICK DREW
LaLota to ICE
East Hampton
June 11, 2026
Dear Mr. Rattray,
On June 9, Nick LaLota voted for a House bill that provides approximately $70 billion to the Department of Homeland Security for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol. Mr. LaLota also voted last summer to provide $75 billion to ICE, making it at that time the highest-funded federal law enforcement agency.
Included in the more than $140 billion that Mr. LaLota voted for ICE, there is $5 billion for Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to dole out at his discretion. Prior to Mr. LaLota’s votes, ICE’s annual budget was about $10 billion.
Former agency leaders, Democrats, and even some Republicans have warned that providing ICE with such a huge budget will severely limit congressional oversight as to how the money is spent and how the agency operates.
The bill was passed through a reconciliation process. Funding ICE outside the normal appropriations process means that ICE can operate without congressional oversight. The latest bill also funds ICE for three years. As a result, even if Democrats take control of Congress next year, their ability to enact changes through the appropriations process will be limited.
While Mr. LaLota voted to provide ICE with over $140 billion in just the past year, he also voted last summer for Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill. According to the American Medical Association website, this law will worsen patient access to health care.
As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, Mr. LaLota also voted on June 9 for the adoption of a bill that cuts $2 billion from the Affordable Care Act, makes major cuts to H.I.V./AIDS prevention and treatment and cuts funding for mental health and substance abuse services.
Perhaps Mr. LaLota thinks that his constituents are more concerned about threats from immigrants than not having the proper medical care.
SALVATORE TOCCI
Mr. Colbert
St. Petersburg, Fla.
June 8, 2026
Dear Editor,
In the June 4 edition of The East Hampton Star, the featured “Guestwords” contributor wrote what a joy it was to watch Stephen Colbert’s last “joyful” show hosting “The Late Show,” because Stephen Colbert was a joyful person who loved nothing more than spreading joy. And The East Hampton Star chose to showcase it as a worthy stab at primitive nonfiction.
I see it differently. Stephen Colbert, the leftist activist posing as a comedian and who got his start on television as a sidekick to a legit comedian, Jon Stewart of “The Daily Show” fame, is afflicted with Trump derangement syndrome in its most serious, extreme form — a clinical, psychotic hatred for Donald Trump, the man, the legend. Now Mr. Colbert will be known as the only host of the legendary “Late Show” to have been fired for his inability to disassociate himself from his hatred leading to millions of dollars of losses for the franchise, resulting in the cancellation of the long-running show of historical proportions and fame after almost 34 years. Now that’s a buzz-killer, especially for all the people who collected a paycheck working behind the scenes for the franchise as they watched Mr. Colbert strip them of their livelihoods in rapturous hatred, night after night.
Political satire is funny when delivered by a person who can make fun of both sides. Those comedians are called comedian’s comedians, meticulous joke craftsmanship poking fun through a unique lens of satire of the human condition.
Mr. Colbert’s condition may be terminal. Hatred hardens the heart. Mr. Colbert’s job was to make people laugh. And he was paid well for being a clown for decades. For all that “joy” Mr. Colbert was spreading, he just gave the Orange Man another win.
CAROL DRAY