Editorials

Buoyed by the prospect of millions of dollars over time from the community preservation fund, East Hampton Town officials are moving quickly on plans to reduce water pollution. In a program that could begin later this year, properties that meet certain criteria could have a portion, or even all, of a replacement sanitary waste system paid for with public money. This is good, but there is still reason to be wary about potential misuse because of a lack of clarity in the underlying state law.

By rough count, 30,000 active beach driving permits have been issued to East Hampton Town residents. This is an astonishing number but more easily understood if you consider that old red-and-white stickers are valid until a truck is sold, same as with beach parking permits. In practice, nothing stops a resident from passing on a vehicle to someone from away, and because nonresident beach driving permits are priced at $275, some purchasers may just leave one on the bumper when a vehicle changes hands as a little deal-sweetener.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation recently announced plans to “streamline” a key method of environmental review. Part of the reason is that the department has been underfunded and spottily staffed for years.

The East Hampton Town Trustees could use a workshop on civility. For those who are not clear about what the trustees do, think of them as the stewards of much of the town’s waterways, some of its beaches, and a few woods roads. They oversee mooring permits outside of Lake Montauk and have a say on where docks and aquaculture projects are allowed, as well as on beach driving.

We hate to rain on the recently revived commuter train parade, but for all the enthusiasm, it is difficult to see how it could be a success.

A wave of commercial redevelopment in Montauk has had impacts on traffic and noise and the hamlet’s sense of neighborliness, but it also is suspected of having a huge impact underground.

From conversations locally, it seems that a fair number of rank-and-file supporters of President Donald J. Trump really fear, deep in their hearts, the prospect of a terror attack within the United States by radicalized Muslims. As irrationally improbable as that may be — deadly violence in the United States since 9/11 is overwhelminly a homegrown crisis — the so-called immigration ban makes them at least feel safer. They are not alone; according to polls cited by The New York Times, almost half of U.S. respondents favored more restrictions on migrants from “terror-prone” regions.

East Hampton and Sag Harbor Villages want drivers to slow down, way down. In separate votes, elected officials in both jurisdictions recently decided to reduce the speed limit on a number of streets — to 20 miles per hour.

Despite what Senator Jeff Flake from that great oceanfront state of Arizona said, the Montauk sandbag sea wall did what it was supposed to do this week as a northeaster pounded the beach. Senator Flake, you might recall, included the $9 million United States Army Corps of Engineers project among his annual list of wasteful government spending.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has said he would like to close a loophole that allows the use of handheld cellphones by drivers when vehicles are stationary but on the roadway. This is a terrific idea.

On the eve of Donald J. Trump’s inauguration, opposition to his presidency is at a historic high. As few as 40 percent of Americans polled this week said they had a favorable opinion of the incoming president.

In his “state of the town” speech last week, East Hampton Supervisor Larry Cantwell made note of the effort to build a medical center on Pantigo Place. Southampton Hospital envisions an emergency room here, with doctors’ offices and related medical services, as it prepares to abandon its existing location and move to the Stony Brook Southampton campus on County Road 39.

There is irony in Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s recently coming out in favor of free in-state tuition to New York’s public colleges and universities. In an era when his signature 2-percent tax cap is causing school districts to struggle to meet expenses, his support for a higher-education program estimated to cost $160 million in the first year of full implementation is, well, astonishing.

With East Hampton Village Police Chief Gerard Larsen headed to retirement, a serious question faces the village board about who might replace him. Capt. Michael Tracey is to be appointed acting chief today, but it is not at all clear that he is interested in moving up. An issue is whether the village should seek candidates from among the members of its own force or go farther afield.

From an East Hampton perspective a baffling document from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation arrived last week, a draft policy paper designed to encourage natural, or “living,” shorelines, as opposed to hard structures, for erosion control.

We have long believed that limiting the size of new and renovated houses was a must if the South Fork’s beloved sense of place was to be protected. In this, we are, we think, joined by many of our friends and neighbors for whom what might be called Hamptonization is an affront.

We were excited to learn recently about plans for a small museum focused on paintings of old Long Island which is to be created at the historic Gardiner house on James Lane. The village, using money from the town’s community preservation fund, bought the property in 2014. Since then, an accessory structure has been removed and minor repairs done on the house.

East Hampton officials hope to take the battle over control of the town airport to the Supreme Court next year, a matter of unfinished business that tops the town board’s agenda for 2017. The to-do list is long and getting longer every day, but how to effectively limit noise remains a huge and pressing challenge, both locally and for federal regulators.

East Hampton Town officials, as well as residents of Windmill Lane and the surrounding area of Amagansett, are hoping to buy about 30 acres of farmland from the Bistrian family despite a more-than $10 million difference between what the town and the family believe the land is worth.

Friday’s devastating fire in Sag Harbor did more than destroy several buildings, including a beloved, if fusty, cinema lobby and facade, it struck at the very heart of the village’s identity. It also proved resilience and compassion among residents and business owners as well as the wider South Fork community.

Back in the 1970s when the East End towns and Suffolk County began paying the owners of farmland hefty sums in exchange for forgoing ever having any houses on the land, no one could imagine the changes in South Fork real estate that were to come. Today, some of these agricultural reserves are used, not for farming, but for lawns, stables, and low-property tax annexes for the wealthy. These uses are contrary to the original intention of the preservation programs, but are legal because the development rights deals crafted years ago did not require that the land be kept in crop production.

Across New York State, fire commissioners are elected on the second Tuesday in December. Five commissioners on each of the boards oversee the firefighters and emergency medical service personnel in their districts, and elections are coming up in Montauk, Amagansett, Springs, and Bridgehampton, which all serve residents in East Hampton Town.

Voters in two school districts will let their boards of education know what they think about plans for major projects next week. Although some residents argued that voting was inappropriate at this time of year, the votes, which are expected to be decisive, are scheduled for Tuesday in Bridgehampton and Wednesday in Sag Harbor.

The Maidstone Club has at last, it seems, gone too far, what with a spate of recent projects including a massive new irrigation system and with a proposal now for a new bridge over an upper reach of Hook Pond. The bridge has drawn the attention of no less formidable opponents than the East Hampton Ladies Village Improvement Society’s landmarks and nature trail committees, as well as well-known local environmentalists.

As the year draws to a close, it is worth reflecting on the ongoing success of the Peconic Bay Region Community Preservation Fund in East Hampton Town. As of this week — and with several deals pending — money from a 2-percent tax on most real estate transactions had saved 2,063 acres of land from development. The money went for environmentally significant parcels as well as historic sites and properties that provided public access, recreational opportunities, and helped link the town’s growing woodland trail system.

Sea level rise is the single greatest long-term threat to eastern Long Island, yet it is one that our towns and villages are least able to combat for practical and political reasons.

Two recent bits of news concerning the area’s citizens advisory committees have further added to our sense that the concept needs a little refining. Instances involving the Amagansett and Bridgehampton groups, while unrelated, indicate that they could be stepping beyond their intended role.

Unaccustomed lines were seen at some South Fork polling places on Election Day, but it would be hard to call the wait times long compared to those elsewhere in New York State. Various problems, especially in some parts of New York City, led to waits that appeared to New York Times reporters to be as long as five hours. Such delays for citizens simply trying to cast their ballots are a powerful argument for change, both within the separate county election boards and in state policy.

East Hampton Town officials and beach-driving enthusiasts celebrated this week as news spread of a court victory in a lawsuit brought by a number of Amagansett property owners seeking to end most four-wheel-drive use on two portions of Napeague oceanfront. However, the win does not mean that the fight is over. The residents who brought suit will probably appeal, and new conflicts are sure to arise.

The East Hampton School Board should push administrators and the district’s architects to look for a better solution for student transportation than the proposed $5 million bus barn planned for high school property near Cedar Street. The proposed maintenance building, fuel pumps, and parking have been gaining opposition almost by the day. It should be heeded.