Letters to the Editor: 03.10.16

Rent’ Broke the Mold

East Hampton

March 6, 2016

Dear Editor,

For those who missed the performances of “Rent” at East Hampton High School this weekend, you missed an incredible show! 

The director, Laura Sisco, and the entire cast and crew of this year’s musical broke the mold. Everything about this show was breathtaking, from the incredible set that completely transformed the auditorium, to the tremendous musicians in the pit, to the astonishing talent onstage. Unbelievable voices, awesome stage presence, and emotion you couldn’t escape. This talented cast of young thespians truly put their hearts and souls into their performance, and it really showed.

Make no mistake, “Rent” is a big show for any theater group; its content is real, raw, and emotional. Our young men and women portrayed their story and their characters with maturity, poise, and grace. It was beautiful. As one theatergoer commented, “Jon­athan Larson would have been proud.” I couldn’t agree more.

To Laura, Riley, Valerie, Karen, Brian, and all the wonderful people who made this show possible: Thank you! Your passion for what you do needs to be congratulated. You gave so much to the students, and they in turn gave back to you. Everyone’s hard work and dedication was evident in every scene and every song.

To our community: Keep supporting the arts programs in our schools. They are so very important, and they are doing great things.

To my daughter Naomi: “Honest living, man!”

To all the cast and crew: Bravo!

Gratefully yours,

LINDA BLOWE

Jerry the Great

East Hampton

March 7, 2016

To the Editor, 

I’ve known Jerry for about 19 years. He was one of the first Bonackers I met when I moved to the area in ’97. Jerry accepted me and took me under his wing, introducing me to other locals and the local scene. Every excursion with Jerry was an adventure, whether we were going fishing, to the casino, to the Talkhouse, or just around the corner. You just couldn’t expect what would come next!

I was fortunate to have had more than a few adventures with Jerry. In fact, I was almost shot in the face by Jerry, punched in the face at least several times by Jerry, and had to jump from a moving vehicle he was driving. And, I am glad to have known Jerry and called him my friend. I’ve had good times, bad times, and great times with Jerry.

Jerry always had something to say, appropriate or not. He was one of the funniest people I ever met, a man of genuine character who could talk to anyone. He could take the awkwardness out of any moment and change the atmosphere of any social encounter with a simple remark or story. Jerry seemed to know people, and wherever you went with Jerry, people seemed to know him.

Jerry was very polite and respectful to his elders; everyone else was treated the same. Making the most of times, Jerry would be loud, but he was the loudest when he talked about his boys, his pride and joy. The best of Jerry can be seen in these boys, his sons. These bright young men, thoughtful, polite, respectful, the apples of his eye. Yes, the best of Jerry can be seen in Dominick and Anthony. They can take comfort in knowing how well their dad spoke of them to others, and when he bragged it was okay because it was true. 

We all know that Jerry was no angel, but I will testify that I am a better person for having known Jerry. So, I have to say I’ll always look up to Jerry, Jerry Kucker, Jerry the Great!

WILLIAM CUTHBERT

Mary Was Special

East Hampton

March 7, 2016

To the Editor:

When my family arrived in East Hampton from Paris at the end of 1978, we were faced with an enormous challenge. There was nothing to eat in the A&P, the house was always cold, the streets were empty, and the train took more than three hours to get to the city. My children thought, upon observing the Maidstone Clubers dressed in red, green, and yellow outfits, that Christmas was a yearlong event. We used to wander around the town checking out the shops and wondering how long we could stay here. 

Slowly, we engaged with local residents. Arthur Williams had an antique shop. The Mahmouzians had the shoe store. Mary Rattray had a clothing boutique. There was a side to this place that would be interesting and fun.

I think Bess Rattray’s telling of her Aunt Mary was perfect. It’s not my place to tell her stories, but I wanted to add a personal note, because Mary was very special to me. I went by Promised Land almost every day for more than 20 years, and almost always dropped in to say hello to Mary. 

Speaking French was the initial attraction, but as I got to know her better she proved to be one of the most interesting and coolest people that I ever met. She was smart, funny, sophisticated, unpretentious, and beautiful. She had an understated way of expressing ideas that put her far outside the mainstream of East Hampton and America. She seemed to get how the real world worked. I loved her wacky side and her willingness to try to bring it to life.

She convinced me that East Hampton was more than Schenectady with an ocean. The jury is still out on that one.

Lots of love, Mary, wherever you are.

NEIL HAUSIG

Most Poetic Painter

Sarasota, Fla.

March 1, 2016

To the Editor: 

Last week, Ralph Carpentier, a painter and longtime resident of Springs, passed away — a tremendous loss to his family, friends, and the community. As his daughter, Martha, said, Ralph was profoundly committed to East Hampton, which he chronicled in his paintings since 1955. Sadly, there will be no more images coming from the studio of the area’s most poetic painter of the fast-disappearing landscape of the East End.  

After the graveside gathering (a photo of which appeared in The Star), a reception and show of Ralph’s work was held at Ashawagh Hall. The show, comprising his land and seascapes, was one of the strongest ever to appear at Asha­wagh, or anywhere in the area. It was a pity that Ralph couldn’t be there. 

The greater pity is that there is no place to see Ralph’s depictions of the East End locally, as he remains unrepresented in the collections of either Guild Hall in East Hampton or the Parrish in Water Mill. The work is certainly strong enough, so the question is, why is he not represented, and when will he be?

RICH MacDONALD

Make Your Voice Heard

Springs

March 7, 2016

Dear Editor

Wouldn’t it be nice if the Long Island Power Authority were to notify us when they are making decisions that will affect us on the East End for decades?

Oh. Here’s a case where they have done that. On March 21, there will be a public comment period at the LIPA trustees meeting. Then in May, there will be a decision coming down about whether they will build more fossil-fuel peaker plants on the East End, or accept clean energy proposals, including a proposal for 15 wind turbines 30 miles offshore, where they cannot be seen from land. Those turbines, harnessing the wind in keeping with the Hamptons tradition of windmills, would supply more electrical power than the Town of East Hampton uses.

Even if you cannot make the trustee meeting, which dozens of us from East Hampton will attend, there is an easy way for you to make your voice heard. On the home page of Renewable Energy Long Island, you can click on a letter to Governor Cuomo. Before hitting Send, you can edit it as you see fit. The LIPA trustees serve at the whim of the governor, and he can lean on them to do the right thing. Already hundreds have done this, and it only takes a minute.

If you value our shoreline where it is now, if you prefer clean air to foul air, if you don’t want to leave decisions of government to fossil-fuel lobbyists, if you like to fish and lament the acidification of the ocean from carbon absorption, I urge you take a minute and let the governor and the LIPA trustees know your choice.

DON MATHESON

Revise Tax Cap Law

Springs

March 7, 2016 

Dear David,

Last week’s article “Piercing Tax Cap Possible” mentioned the budget problems caused when there are increases in the number of students within a school district and/or increases in the number of students for whom the district must pay tuition to another district. All of these occurrences are beyond the control of the local school board and the school officials, yet the 2-percent tax cap makes no allowance for them.

As an illustration, imagine that this month, before school budgets are finalized, four families move from living in the East Hampton School District to the Springs district, and that each family has one child in 10th grade and one in 11th grade. The educational costs for East Hampton High School remain the same, because the eight students were already there and were expected to continue. However, the Springs School District must now budget tuition for the upcoming year of about $25,000 per student, or about $200,000 total (which will be paid to the East Hampton School District and become new revenue for it). 

Since next year’s allowable tax cap increase for Springs is only $50,180, the starting point for the Springs School District’s budget is already four times higher than the allowable tax cap amount.

This is the reality of what happens frequently in Springs, where the total number of students living within its district has increased from 906 students during the 2010-11 school year to a current-year count of 1,101. Of the current 1,101 students, 302 are tuition students sent to East Hampton High School. That number is projected to increase to 413 students by 2020. The increase in tuition students will raise Springs’s budget for high school tuition from approximately $7.5 million now to over $10 million in year 2020 and beyond.

When a district’s student-body size and composition changes, the expense per student is a necessary measure of financial management. The tax cap law should be revised by the State Legislature so that the allowable tax levy is modified to reflect changes in the expense-per-student ratio. A growing school district should not be penalized if it is maintaining the same or lower expense per student.

What is happening in Springs is unfair. While the severe tax inequities between our town’s school districts are well known, all the proposed solutions have been politically difficult to implement. An added benefit to a revised tax cap law would be a better public understanding of such inequities, especially if the law stipulated prominent publication of the expense-per-student ratio.

A revision of the tax cap law would give taxpayers a truer picture of the financial efforts of their school officials, both for districts that are gaining significant numbers of students and for districts that show declining enrollments.

ZACHARY COHEN

Condemn That Area

Springs

March 7, 2016

Dear Editor,

Citizens of East Hampton are now being harassed by robo-calls asking to deny driving on the beach at Napeague, which is currently involved in a lawsuit brought on by the adjacent homeowners. I wonder how much more money they are going to throw at us.

Apparently, one or more videos have been circulated with allegations of vehicles speeding on the beach. How do we know how fast cars were traveling? Did the people taking the video use radar guns? If not, have they received proper training in estimating speed? I think law enforcement must have such training.

SAFE says they would allow pedestrians to use the beach. Thank you so much. How would pedestrians access this beach? Where would they park? I could not park along Montauk Highway and cross that stretch carrying beach equipment and then walk all the way to that beach. Nor do I think families with children would take that risk. 

Another consideration for keeping the beach out of private hands is the fact that the homeowners could shut it down at any time. If there should be an injury of any kind, and a lawsuit brought against these people, regardless of whether they win or lose, you bet they would close the beach to all the public. They could blame their insurance company for the closure and end up with a totally private beach. “It wasn’t our fault, wink, wink.”

The East Hampton Town Board has taken the sensible path to condemn that area and make it available to us forever.

Not long ago, the town bought more than 20 acres of buildable oceanfront land at South Flora for about $9 million. Throwing around the claim that it is going to cost “tens of millions” of dollars is obviously to scare us. But since Napeague Beach is less than half the size of South Flora (its size varies with seasons, storms, etc.; at times, it is entirely washed by the waves), an unbuildable bucket of sand, it could just as well cost $1,000. Even if it did cost $1 million, I think that uninterrupted public access is worth all of that and more. 

The continued use of scare tactics, inflammatory language, and such ploys as robo-calling only shows us the darker side of those trying to privatize the beach. How low will they go?

MARGERY COURTNEY

A Great Gift

East Hampton

March 7, 2016

Dear Editor, 

I am a descendant of Jonathan Miller,  who was a lighthouse keeper at the Montauk Lighthouse. I am his great-great-granddaughter. My family has lived in East Hampton for generations. I still own two homes as well as property there and feel it is important for me to express my thoughts concerning the lawsuit brought by the homeowners to prohibit driving on the Napeague beach.

For generations our people — whalers, fishermen, and beachgoers  — have driven on those beaches. Our children and their children now enjoy public access to the beach at Napeague. We have gathered as family and extended families to responsibly and respectfully use the beach. The camaraderie and bonding has extended through the generations. We are mindful of all those using the beach, and do nothing to endanger our children.

It is our right to continue our traditions and our lifestyle as citizens and taxpayers of East Hampton Town. Please note that already so much has been taken from us.

The claim that SAFE makes, stating they would not close the beach to pedestrian use, is in reality closing it. No one, other than the homeowners, can easily reach that area without a vehicle. It is like trying to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear!

It is good and right that the town board proceeds with the condemnation process. It should not allow this beach to be taken from the people who still care for what a great gift it is for all.

Respectfully, 

CONSUELO BOSSEY

Family-Beach Saga

East Hampton

March 7, 2016

Dear David,

My household received a phone call this past week from a hired gun claiming to represent the SAFE organization, a group whose members are suing the town and trustees in an attempt to privatize a strip of Napeague beach. 

The caller opened the conversation by asking if we were interested in protecting local beaches and keeping them safe for everyone. We gave a listen, thinking CfAR was making some calls, but the caller went on to suggest that vehicles should be kept off some beaches but allowed on others. He referred to dangerous conditions and garbage-strewn beaches. He said that beach driving should be prohibited at Truck Beach and instead allowed at Dolphin Drive or Hither Hills.

After laughing at this ridiculous self-serving strategy, we told him he had called the wrong home, as we supported the other side. He admitted he was not a local resident and was hired to make these calls.

The takeaway from the call was that this group has no problem with beach driving or trucks on the beach in general — just not on any beach near their neighborhood, the classic definition of beach privatization. How arrogant is that?

Most year-round and seasonal homeowners believe we should tolerate the traditions and the cultural mores that have existed here for hundreds of years. In fact, most reasonable people embrace the fun things that enhance their neighbors’ lives. Unless they are ruthless, non-empathetic brutes, with a “my way or (above) the highway” attitude.

People fortunate enough to inherit or purchase beachfront property should not settle here if they can’t practice some respect for traditions that most of us feel make living here special. If you hate the sight of trucks on the beach and families having a good time with their friends, sell your home and move someplace else. Don’t try to put our government and the common folk under your boot just because you have deep pockets and lawyers. 

Perhaps SAFE stands for Special Access for the Entitled. So many people have chimed in on their website saying that SAFE is just a fraudulent propaganda group. They are the muscle for the homeowners who are trying to privatize the beach and thus reap a windfall profit when their property values increase.

In a recent editorial, The Star declared “everyone has a four-wheeler and wants to drive on the beaches wherever and whenever they please.” I disagree. People drive beaches to get safely and conveniently where they need to be! And even at Truck Beach, the sand is only crowded on holidays and maybe eight Sundays during the summer season. Other than that, there is very little traffic!

The Star would benefit by having a stronger connection to the majority of people who live here, and perhaps by considering how unfair it is for the public to be sued off a beach by these SAFE frauds. Why not use your editorial page to expose these people for who they truly are, a bunch of entitled selfish folks willing to spend a lot of money to make propaganda films and hire ringers to demonize their neighbors, all in the name of privatizing a traditional family beach, so they can disenfranchise locals and increase property values. SAFE should stand for Stealing Access From Everyone, because that’s their objective.

It would be nice to see our local newspapers tell the truth about what’s happening in Napeague. We’d love to read interviews with the families who have enjoyed this last all-day vehicle-accessible ocean beach for generations. And we’d appreciate hearing from some of the elderly, disabled, and frail people who truly need a vehicle to access beaches in our town. Why not interview a few families who wouldn’t be able to walk a quarter-mile with heavy beach accessories, with Grandma and three children in tow? 

Most important, readers would love to see The Star ask the question, How can this be about beach safety and beach driving, when not one accident involving a truck or pedestrian has occurred at Napeague in 75 years? Another tack for your newspaper to consider: Do we really want to allow privatizers to dictate public beach policy in our town? The press should not aid and abet a cadre of nasty people who sue the town and the public whenever they have the whim to increase their property values.

We need to support Supervisor Cantwell and the town board, as well as the trustees, who have wisely concluded that losing this beach will set a dangerous precedent that will spread to other beaches. The family-beach saga is not about safety or beach driving, it’s about bullies with deep pockets who wish to privatize a beach for personal financial gain. Thousands of your readers look to The Star for fair and truthful reporting on what’s really happening here.

Sincerely,

JAY BLATT

 

His Basic Message

Sag Harbor

March 7, 2016

Dear David, 

Valid questions about Hillary Clinton in The New York Times on Feb. 26. Why has there been so much secrecy centered around her past, with more information on emails surfacing again? Anyway, the bottom line is always money. I can’t imagine the amount of money accumulated by Hillary and Bill Clinton over their careers in politics. Even if you never heard of Senator Bernie Sanders, his basic message has arrived just in time. Just listen! 

Republicans make no bones about their commitment to Wall Street deregulation and tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. Sanders could have written the script, along with Elizabeth Warren, which Hillary stole from them. How many times has Hillary repeated? I agree with you, Bernie. Has she felt the Bern? The time has come for people to wake up or return to super PAC and a government controlled by billionaires. Obviously someone is lying. Trump is on the way down, too; his past is catching up with him, with a federal prosecutor closing in on Trump’s fictitious university where he has no answers. The clown.

The options are getting clearer for the moment but expect surprises as usual. Vote for Hillary, Sanders, Trump, or the boy in the bubble (Rubio). And I would ask what are the members of the Tea Party drinking in their cups? One of whom is disliked by a crowd of politicians in Washington. Need a lie detector. 

In summary, Washington will never change from inside, too much corruption for too long. Wall Street already is expecting another fall. Once again, Senator Sanders has given warning after warning.

But there is always hope. Has it not been young people in every generation who change the next generation? My final question: Is that not happening right now? Or what kind of legacy are we leav ing them? Hear their cry: “I can’t pay off my student loan.” “Will I ever own a car or a home?” Are these not questions for parents, too?

Yogi Berra said, “It’s not over ’til it’s over.” Are we stupid?

In peace. Keep the faith. That will be the last thing to go, also known as our spirit.

LARRY DARCEY 

The Most Galling Thing

East Hampton

March 4, 2016

Dear Editor,

Aside from polluting the media with cross-claims about Donald Trump’s hand size, Marco Rubio’s sweat proclivity, Ted Cruz’s prevaricating personality, or Gov. John Kasich’s penchant for lauding his own religiosity, the most galling thing about these endless Republican debates is the sameness of almost all their promises. Among those repetitious and boring claims of future voter benefits is the one to repeal the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare. What a horrendous promise.

They have squealed over and over about repealing legislation that has given 20 million people in the country health insurance they never had or was inadequate. They have tried 60 times to do so and failed. They have told us what they would replace it with zero times. They want to take insurance away from 20 million people.

Take Brent Brown of Wisconsin, a Republican who started his remarks to a crowd of voters recently with “To be clear, I have never voted for President Obama, ever.” But, he said, Obamacare saved his life after he became desperately ill. He urged and pleaded with Republicans who would repeal the law to “reconsider,” swallow their pride, and do what is right.

One hundred twenty-six million Americans have insurance now who had pre-existing conditions that prevented them from obtaining it before. One hundred forty million more Americans now get preventive care such as mammograms. And believe it or not, costs have been driven down at least 3 percent in states that have expanded Medicaid.

So we listen as Donald J. Trump, real family name Drumpf, avoids repudiating the support of David Duke and the K.K.K., declares he would use waterboarding and worse, demeans the process of electing a president by picturing Mitt Romney on his knees while begging for support in 2012, by calling out the “disgusting” habit women have every month, painting Mexicans as rapists, and we shake our heads and wonder what the presidency would look like with that person in the White House.

RICHARD HIGER

My Life’s Challenge

Lakewood, Ohio

March 3, 2016

Dear Editor,

My name is Toby Larson (East Hampton High School class of 1978), granddaughter to Tessie Bergman (the original Ma Bergman, now Nick and Toni’s), and daughter of Johanna Bergman Larson (2003) and Benjamin Larson (1977). They were one of many couples who were the founding members of the Jewish Center of the Hamptons.

The reason for my letter is to get the word out to the medical community and general public about my rare orphan disease, Moersch-Woltman disease, a.k.a. stiff person syndrome. It has taken 40-plus doctors and 51/2 years for the formal diagnosis.

I know everyone has something going on in his or her life; this is my life’s challenge right now. I am currently on disability and Medicare and have moved to Ohio to be with my sister and close to the Cleveland clinic that is trying to get me stable, physically and mentally.

I still have ties to the community — friends and schoolmates. After my last doctor’s visit this week, more than one source has told me to get the word out, as this is what I was destined to do.

Due to my illness, a burglary, identity theft, et al., I moved from Las Vegas with just my clothes and toiletries. I no longer drive, nor can I fly.

With all that said, I have set up a GoFundMe account (gofundme.com/tobylarson) for my medical bills and living expenses. I have been denied by both state and federal agencies for any assistance (food, housing, etc.). I’m hoping if anything for a computer, I am not on any social media.

I never thought I would have the rug pulled out from me when I was 47. Eight years later, it has come to a humbling and embarrassing request, but I was told, if I don’t ask, I won’t get answers or help.

I long for the day I get to come back to East Hampton, just to see the daffodils around Town Pond and the wonderful smell of the Atlantic Ocean. I thank you for allowing me to share this with all of you.

TOBY LARSON

[email protected]