Barbara Borsack, the deputy mayor of East Hampton Village, who is seeking to become the village’s first female mayor in the June 16 election, and her Elms Party running mates, Mayor Richard Lawler and Ray Harden, the vice chairman of the village’s zoning board of appeals, who are vying for two open board seats, discussed in a joint interview on Monday their policy priorities and plans to help the village emerge from the Covid-19 shutdown.
“Rick and I met with all the department heads to talk about what it will look like if the governor wants us to start opening up on May 15,” said Ms. Borsack. Earlier this month, the village removed benches from the commercial district and beaches to discourage people from disobeying the social distancing guidelines that have helped prevent the spread of the virus.
At Main Beach, the benches in front of the pavilion have been cordoned off, and will likely remain so this summer, she said. “There will probably be a walkway so people can get to the bathrooms, and then we’ll probably have someone at the bathroom restricting the number of people who can go in.” The village will also put up signs to let people know they must wear face masks around the pavilion.
As for the beaches themselves. “I don’t think it’s possible to keep people off the beaches, we have a thousand miles of beach,” she said. “People should be able to go to the beach but keep their distance from each other.” How other public spaces such as Herrick Park and the Nature Trail can be safely used are also under discussion, she said. To encourage social distancing on the Nature Trail, she said, “We’re thinking about making it one way.”
The village has already started monitoring the beaches, said Mayor Lawler, who was appointed mayor in January to complete the term of Paul F. Rickenbach Jr. and is seeking his fourth term as trustee. “We had police presence at the beaches last weekend just in case they got overcrowded, and we did shut down parking lot number one at Main Beach.” Other parking areas were cordoned off, and cones were placed in every other parking spot so people could maintain social distancing while getting in and out their cars. “We’re still in the middle of [the pandemic], said Mr. Lawler. “The numbers of positive cases are still going up in Suffolk County, and still going up in the village and the town, albeit slowly.”
Mr. Harden, a co-owner of the Ben Krupinski building company, has been helping manage his firm’s response to the crisis. In addition to providing face masks for employees, the company plans to have working sinks and hand-sanitizing stations at building sites when they are active again. The company successfully applied for a federal loan for small businesses affected by the pandemic, Mr. Harden said, and has been able to keep paying its employees during the shutdown of nonessential construction.
His decision to run on the Elms Party line, Mr. Harden said, came after Jerry Larsen, a mayoral candidate, invited him to be his running mate. “When Jerry announced, he asked me several times to run with him and each time I declined. Then Barbara and Rick reached out, and I like what they stand for, so I said yes.”
“Our stand is always, residents come first,” said Ms. Borsack, summing up the Elms Party platform. “Our loyalty is to the residents. We want a vital commercial core, but not at the expense of residents’ peace and enjoyment of their own homes.”
Mr. Lawler agreed, adding that “I just want business owners to know that we are certainly not anti-business.” That idea is not valid, he said. “The ‘Village of No’ is a misnomer. I don’t even know how that got started.”
“I know how it got started,” chimed in Ms. Borsack. “Years ago somebody wanted to put a gas station on Fithian Lane and the village denied it. Can you imagine a gas station on Fithian Lane?”
Ms. Borsack and Mr. Lawler said they have always been willing to help both residents and business owners solve problems. “Our doors are open, anybody who wants to reach out to us can,” said Mr. Lawler, citing the village’s quick response when the owners of Wittendale’s Florist and Greenhouses complained that the spring street fair on Newtown Lane was hurting business.
“We’re not always aware of the issues commercial entities are dealing with,” said Ms. Borsack.
In the case of Colleen Moeller, the owner of the Petit Blue children’s store who was cited by the village for placing a stuffed animal in front of the shop to attract customers, Ms. Borsack said, “She never came to any of us. You’re not supposed to put things outside your store, because most people don’t want racks of clothes or lawnmowers out on the sidewalk. That’s what the code is there for. But in her particular case, she could have gone to the zoning board and asked for permission to do what she did, but she didn’t.”
Nevertheless, she said, as mayor she would “check in regularly with code enforcement to see what we can do differently. They know what the issues are and they can help us figure out what we can loosen up on.”
“We are perfectly willing to bring the code up to date,” said Mr. Lawler. All three candidates said they were in favor of finding ways to speed up the process at the zoning board of appeals.
They would also allow the village’s historic inns, which have been prevented from holding outdoor gatherings, to hold a few special events and expand operations. “We’re willing to think about some things the inns could do, like allowing gift shops,” said Ms. Borsack. “And is it possible that they could have special event permits a few times a year, yes, because we could control the parking, how many people would be there, when it can be, and what hours it would be.”
The Elms Party, said Ms. Borsack, is not for the status quo, but for cautious change. “Change is inevitable, and we have to control the change carefully,” she said. “We all feel like we understand what makes East Hampton Village the great place that it is.”
Getting input from residents will also be a priority, the candidates said. “My favorite job in governing is problem-solving with a group,” said Ms. Borsack. “I don’t want to make the decisions on my own, I want everybody to chime in, because that’s how the best decisions are made.”
“That’s why I joined up with Barbara and Rick,” said Mr. Harden. “That’s the way it’s going to be, going forward, and that’s the way it should be. I don’t like to rush into decisions, I like to hear from every side and get different opinions to make sure that if you’re going to make a change that you’re doing the right thing.”
Mr. Lawler, who is essentially running for a demotion, said he is perfectly fine with once again being a trustee. “My job as mayor and as trustee is to serve the residents of this village and solve problems that are going to make this community a better community. I’m eager to keep building on what we’ve already done.”
