Letters to the Editor: 01.12.17

Historical Service

East Hampton

January 8, 2017

To the Editor:

This letter is an invitation to the East Hampton community and vicinity to attend a very historical service. On Monday, Jan. 16, a celebration of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will be held at Calvary Baptist Church, 60 Spinner Lane, East Hampton. The service will begin at 1 p.m.

It’s a time for us to promote community unity while commemorating Dr. King’s struggles and achievements. We are honored to have Dr. Gregory Parks, known to many as Greg Parks, a graduate of East Hampton High School, the son of Leon Parks and the late Queen Davis Parks, as our keynote speaker.

Some of Dr. Parks’s achievements are as follows: He earned a bachelor of science in psychology from Howard University, a master’s in forensic psychology from the City University of New York, an M.A. and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Kentucky, and a J.D. from Cornell Law School. 

Dr. Parks is an assistant professor of law at the Wake Forest University School of Law in North Carolina. He teaches courses in civil litigation, race, social science, and law. He has published 10 scholarly books.

I know that those who have attended in the past have had a very enjoyable afternoon. We look forward to seeing you.

Sincerely, 

WALTER S. THOMPSON

Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church

No Spaetzle

Springs

January 6, 2017

To the Editor:

I always read The Star’s letters column before delving into the paper’s news items because many of them relate to important local issues and the letters offer a great avenue for public feedback. At a time when The New York Times runs stories about the collapse of the New Jersey newspapers, including my old alma mater, The Record, I really appreciate having three local papers each week. I also appreciate the many letters from intelligent readers who make important contributions to the debates over issues like airport noise, environmental dangers, Springs School empire-building, McMansion intrusion into our neighborhoods, and the like. This is civic involvement at its best. 

 And then, to open the new year, we see two letters — 28 column inches — about the lack of spaetzle on the Christmas Eve menu of a fine local restaurant. In two letters, no less, two women who went there for the suckling pig dinner were “disappointed” when it turned out that the published menu had changed. No spaetzle, but basmati rice instead. My God! Her “jaw dropped in disappointment.” Really? Making this disaster even worse, the champagne wasn’t chilled properly. She demanded that the newspaper refund her dinner bill. Apparently, The Star published a menu that had to be changed because the restaurant couldn’t obtain some ingredients from local farmers. 

 We live in a time of widespread surrealism — a human Cheeto is about to be inaugurated — and at first I thought that surely these letters were a joke. The two letters brought up the kind of Hamptons issues that satirists drool over. I was reminded of another Star letter of a few years ago from an irate diner who complained about the lack of clams in a clam pie at another local bistro.

 Even if you’re lucky enough to swing a $200 dinner, even if the champagne wasn’t chilled to your liking and the plates weren’t cleared quickly enough, there were many not so lucky on Christmas Eve. I’m told that East Hampton has four operating food banks, none providing spaetzle.

Happy New Year to all — and lighten up, Julie and Eileen.

JON CLEMENS

Springs Food Pantry

Springs

January 9, 2017

Dear David,

During the holiday season, we are more aware than ever of the many individuals and organizations that contribute to the successful operation of the Springs Food Pantry.

In 1994 we were established as a mission of the Springs Community Presbyterian Church to help local families get through the winter months. While much has changed since then, we continue to be a completely independent volunteer organization, consisting of people both within and outside the congregation. All monetary donations go to food and to packaging materials for the food. Our only non-food expense is a fee for weekly garbage pickup.

Throughout the year we participate in several fund-raising efforts with the East Hampton Food Pantry, including the Polar Bear Plunge, and work with them and other local pantries to meet the needs of hungry families in East Hampton. The Springs Food Pantry is open year round on Wednesdays from 4 to 6 p.m., serves all needy families within the Springs School District, and has operated without interruption for 52 weeks of every year for the past 22 years. During the month of December we provided 1,156 individuals with groceries sufficient for at least three nutritious meals.

Without financial and in-kind donations from civic groups, businesses, schools, and individuals, we would be unable to accomplish this mission. Our local farmers have been exceptionally generous, as well, providing our recipients with bountiful fresh produce throughout the summer and autumn months. To all of you, we give our deepest thanks. You are appreciated every week of the year.

PAMELA BICKET

For the Springs Food Pantry Board

A Snow Goose

Montauk

November 2016

Dear Editor,

Her name was Silly Milly; we met about four years ago.

Milly would fly into Montauk early spring, spend the summer around the lake, and leave late November. She was a snow goose who adopted a pair of Canada geese — or they adopted her!

Her one mission in life was to help them raise their family, year after year. She was their babysitter.

Early morning she could be seen by the side of the road protecting the little ones. Once she ran out into the road with wings spread out to stop traffic as the babies crossed safely.

Sometimes we treated her to some corn from our silver truck. Soon she was on the lookout for any silver truck, and so we had to stop. 

On Thanksgiving Day we learned she was shot and killed. Spring will be different from now on.

Mother Nature is a wonderful thing — humans, not so great!

B. MORICI

Increasing Utility Rates

East Hampton

January 9, 2107

Dear David,

PSEG utility bills have always been a study, but never before has it become more important for all customers to better understand the various energy charges detailed on their monthly utility bill.

LIPA, and its energy contractor and billing agent, PSEG-LI, have pushed rates to the East End customer even higher for 2017 than the earlier New York State three-year rate plan originally approved in 2016. Leading to this additional increase, reflected in the customer’s January billing cycle, PSEG has justified these rate increases through “updates” and “revisions” to which LIPA has agreed.

“Updates” justified by the Long Island utility can be expected in generating energy when associated with the cost of purchasing fossil fuels. There is a long and consistent industrial history of fluctuations in terms of utility cost passed through to the customer. The economics of the fossil fuel industry is certainly one of the best justifications for the clean energy transformation the Town of East Hampton has endorsed. But when PSEG includes “revisions” into its billing calculations, customer beware!

To date the PSEG-LI utility bill has been allocated between a power supply charge and the delivery service charge. Now, in addition to the 2016 state-approved three-year rate plan, PSEG-LI can recoup revenue through customer billing from a list of factors, which can fluctuate from year to year, such as “weather, green energy, and various operating expenses including labor agreements.” 

PSEG-LI’s “green energy factor” is a bitter realization for a coastal community committed to locally eliminating fossil fuel emissions into the atmosphere. As East Hampton continues striving to meet 100 percent of the town’s community-wide electricity needs with renewable, clean, “green energy” resources, it is a bitter pill to know that customer “green energy” success will be penalized by increasing utility rates. 

But there are options available to PSEG-LI customers to maintain control over their now and future utility bills.

Reducing consumption, solarizing your home, increasing energy efficiencies offered through new programs funded through grants to the town’s Natural Resources Department are the best current tools, in a growing chest of options and new technologies, to offset fossil-fuel energy rates. The future cost savings to the homeowner, the town’s historical 100-percent townwide clean energy initiative, and the model of a local community’s role in addressing Earth’s challenged atmosphere by becoming energy-independent from the fossil fuel industry, is just something PSEG-LI cannot take away from this community.

LINDA JAMES

Acting Chairwoman

East Hampton Town 

Energy Sustainability Committee

Snow in Winter

in wake of ocean depth blue sky

in wake of ocean depth blue sky

upon water cry tears of rain from heaven

the benevolent good stood to understand an understated favor fated by the greater sweeping of His hand elated beaming moon lit night stars bright kiss the dark invite the dawn to come along in swirling storm a surly sea born the fathoms sanctity the sun subdued a grayest hue replaces you but black and cloudy doubtful day recede to grieve the bay it seem time lost in rhyme stir the spray undercurrent play overtures the pounding surf suck the surface of turf hurl a world away, seagull dive to stay alive finding fish that way fly distant reaches geese go in a row to warmer beaches — above the horizon shining in moon glow shimmer golden

glimmer snow in winter. 

JUNE KAPLAN

School Bus Depot

Springs

January 3, 2017

To the Editor:

I have been reading with concern in The East Hampton Star the debate on where to locate the East Hampton School bus depot and the proposal to consider the site of the old wastewater treatment center on Springs-Fireplace Road as a possible location. I am a 26-year homeowner of East Hampton living on Springs-Fireplace Road and a full-time resident for the past three years. It would be a mistake to locate the depot on Springs-Fireplace Road.

The industrial zone on Fireplace Road is already crowded with commercial enterprises, which produce a great deal of heavy truck traffic. Adding school buses to the mix would make traffic conditions intolerable.

As the entrance to Springs, Springs-Fireplace Road would be further encumbered with industrial-type traffic. We are already the highest property-taxed area of East Hampton Town, and property values would be significantly hurt by more industrial traffic. Why does Springs have to be the dumping ground for anything the rest of the town does not want?

Wouldn’t it be better to locate the depot away from roads leading to residential areas? The town-owned property off Stephen Hand’s Path near Montauk Highway would seem to be a better location. Better still, reconsideration of leasing out the bus service to an independent operator with its own depot elsewhere should be explored.

G. PINE



The site under consideration, at the old wastewater treatment center, is in the East Hampton School District, and not in Springs. Ed.

‘Brand-New Nightmare’

East Hampton

January 9, 2017

Dear Mr. Rattray,

Once again, regarding the ill-considered siting of a bus depot on Cedar Street, members of the East Hampton School Board stated, in the face of strong opposition, that it is keeping its options open, and that no decisions have been made. However, the proposed depot placement on the crowded, cramped two lanes of Cedar Street is still on the table. 

The Cedar Street site was presented to the PTA, and to the public, in an uninformative “fact sheet.” At the Dec. 20 board meeting, approximately 60 concerned citizens showed up to voice a message: The Cedar Street boondoggle that the board is proposing would negatively impact the entire town — hundreds and hundreds of drivers travel up and down Hand’s Creek Road and Cedar Street every day, in every season. Scores of school buses pulling in and out of a depot on Cedar Street, plus scores of the personal vehicles of the bus drivers pulling in and out of the same place, will be a brand-new nightmare to the already frustrated travelers on Cedar Street. 

Emergency vehicles of East Hampton Village are located at 1 Cedar Street, at the foot of the 1.8-mile-long stretch between the turnoff at Stephen Hand’s Path and North Main Street. Local people know these street names well, but you don’t have to be local to need help in an emergency, and adding entrance-egress of school buses, plus ancillary signage, to that narrow artery will undoubtedly interfere with ambulances, fire trucks, and police vehicles.

When John Ryan Sr., a board member, stated, “We are going to do what’s right for the school district,” a member of the audience asked, “What about the town?” All seven board members need to remember that the school is an integral part of the town. Yet the school board still seems to view the school as a completely separate entity. 

Members of the board know that Cedar Street is a jam-packed bypass — Mr. Ryan suggested that if Cedar Street is too busy with traffic, it behooves the Cedar Street committee to go to the town and have them limit use of that road. That is totally unrealistic advice. Cedar Street is a main artery, carrying more traffic every year. When the board member J.P. Foster says he doesn’t want to “kick the can down the road,” and that his intention is to “fix the problem and move on,” he should keep in mind that it’s only a problem if the board makes it a problem by bringing unnecessary, unalterable grief to the people of the town by kicking the can down the road to the drivers and the taxpayers. Being a good board member in this case involves being a good neighbor, and not forcing others to deal with a painfully obvious and unnecessary and permanent mess that taxpayers will have to pay for. 

We urge the board to follow through with their promise to continue talks with the town to purchase the available land in the commercially zoned area. That is a win-win situation for the school district and the taxpayers of the town. 

CHUCK COLLINS

Concerned Citizens 

Against the Bus Depot

Example for the Nation

Amagansett

January 9, 2017

Dear David,

At a time when our nation seems to be losing its bearings, we’re hearing more and more that people will need to turn to states, cities, and towns for the benefits of measured democratic government. In that context particularly, it was a pleasure at East Hampton’s annual organizational meeting to hear Supervisor Cantwell’s statement of accomplishments and plans for the future. 

Without sacrificing financial stability, Mr. Cantwell said — indeed, with major reductions in debt service, holding the line on taxes, and an exemplary bond rating — our town is able to contemplate important initiatives in infrastructure, social service, and affordable housing in the coming year. The town’s focus on environmental challenges is unwavering, matched by realistic appraisal of what we’ll need to do to address them, e.g., immediate measures to protect our water through incentives for septic replacement, our shores with sand, and plans for long-term “retreat” where necessary. 

Our town leaders and the members of our community collaborate and work well with others; just as an example, in the town’s joint effort with the dedicated managers of our Little League and Southampton Hospital, to enable improved local health service and continued healthy sport for our kids.

Over all, Larry described a proud record, with promise of more. It’s an example for the nation. 

Sincerely yours,

JEANNE FRANKL