Letters to the Editor: 04.07.16

Gift of a Sunday Meal

East Hampton

April 3, 2016

Dear David,

Watching and reading the news, I am reminded about how easy it is for good deeds and good people to fall under the radar. One group that should be recognized is East Hampton Boy Scout Troop 298. On Sunday, April 3, the troop prepared spaghetti dinners as a fund-raiser, but they managed at the same time to donate 47 dinners, including salads and brownies, to East Hampton’s Meals on Wheels clients, which were delivered by our volunteer drivers. 

Kudos to these young men, led by Scoutmaster Paul Casciotta. We especially appreciate this gift of a Sunday meal because we had to eliminate weekend meals for our clients due to financial constraints. 

We at East Hampton Meals on Wheels would like to extend our thanks to them and to the other local groups and organizations that help our clients throughout the year. To learn more, to donate or volunteer, please call 329-1669 or visit ehmealsonwheels.org. 

COLLEEN RANDO

For Youth of Malawi

Southampton

April 4, 2016

To the Editor:

Thank you to Christine Sampson for writing the article in The East Hampton Star about the book collection, and also thank you to White Goose Estate Sales for offering the unsold clothes and books, all for Youth of Malawi (and also the towels for the animal shelters). 

And thanks to all the people of East Hampton who donated. We might do another round in Southampton, depending on the timing. 

AUDREY BRAGUY

Abuse and Addiction

Springs

April 4, 2016

Dear Mr. Rattray:

I read the March 31 article titled “Drug Expert: ‘I’ve Never Seen It Like This,’ ” with interest. I have some comments that I think the public should know. 

The resounding show of hands by the audience shows us that the public health crisis of opioid abuse and addiction has had devastating effects across all walks of life. In my experience, so much more lies beneath the surface, away from public view and, unfortunately, away from public help and support.  Unfortunately, public perception still makes so many people consider this crisis as one that can be confronted with penalties and punishment. However, in reality, this crisis is not one that can be treated that way, and instead calls for resolution through medical attention and social support, like any other illness or disease.

This program and your article definitely help our community take critical steps toward this goal.

Yours very truly,

CARL IRACE

Eighty-Dollar Tickets

East Hampton

April 2, 2016

Good afternoon, David,

It is Saturday, April 2. It is 48 degrees and very unpleasantly raining outside. Breaking away from Netflix for a trip to the village takes some willpower.

But for various reasons, some people must. Or choose to.

When they get to the village, one of the first things a shopper will see (other than the 10-plus empty storefronts) is a small army of dedicated watch-checking parking police, whose mission is to issue as many $80 parking tickets as possible to those very shoppers we just talked about.

Does it seem fair? Or sane? Or nice? To punish (the very few) people who shop in the village off-season? Or the people trying to have a nice lunch with family and friends, who need to constantly check their watches to avoid going overtime? Not what you call an ideal restaurant experience.

The vigilance of the parking police seems to be at bay during the week but gets vibrantly rebooted on the weekend to see how many tickets can be issued to year-rounders and weekenders who have driven three hours to connect with the peace and beauty of East Hampton.

Isn’t there something that can be done to rethink this whole system? It just sends such a lousy message about our village.

VALERIE SMITH

Beach Parking Problem

Amagansett

April 1, 2016

Dear David:

G.A. Cobb’s letter of March 31 demonstrates how Truck Beach proponents are gripping at straws when trying to untangle SAFE’s safety, sanitation, and taxpayer financial concerns. Mr. Cobb insists that my safari business in East Africa is comparable to S.U.V.s parking on East Hampton’s beaches; however, that assertion couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, it’s ironic that Mr. Cobb would compare Truck Beach to a place where beach driving is completely illegal. 

As for my safari business (virginbushsafaris.com), let me set the record straight. As many may be aware, celebrated wildlife such as the African elephant, rhinoceros, lion, and cheetah are facing extinction due to rampant poaching, most of it now executed by sophisticated criminal and terrorist syndicates such as Al Shabaab that use enormous proceeds from poached animals to recruit deviants, assemble massive arsenals, and execute heinous acts across the globe. The Kenyan and Tanzanian governments learned long ago that they cannot handle the crisis alone, and now partner with the private sector and indigenous tribes to create vast conservation areas with well-trained anti-poaching patrols. Ecotourism companies like mine that bring a highly regulated number of visitors to these conservation areas are essential to the conservation construct, as tourists bring much needed funding, in terms of fees paid for bed nights, conservation fees, and donations. While visitors enjoy looking at wildlife, the trackers who are with them are constantly on the lookout for evidence of poaching plots; indeed, the constant tourism patrols are a primary deterrent to poachers.

What does this have to do with Truck Beach? Nothing, except to illustrate a stark contrast. East Africa tightly controls the numbers of visitors to its conservation areas, to ensure a sustainable tourism infrastructure that in no way harms the environment and helps greatly in wildlife conservation efforts. In comparison, at last count, East Hampton Town has issued an astonishing 31,000 beach-driving permits, which never expire; that’s nearly double the number of registered voters in the town! No wonder the S.U.V.s are packed on Napeague beach like sardines. 

And even more to the point, beach driving in East Africa is prohibited, full stop. Kenya and Tanzania recognize that ocean beaches host wildly delicate marine ecosystems and ferociously protect them. (Aside from some controversial offshore dredging on Kenya’s south coast, which is a story for another time.)

What the letters by G.A. Cobb an Kelly Dilley and Jeff Kiger a week earlier demonstrate is a fundamental lack of understanding about conservation and sanitation principles, which then explain why several CfAR advocates think that our using the toilets inside our homes on Napeague is degrading the environment more than the S.U.V. drivers who urinate and defecate on the beach. No wonder we’re all in such conflict. 

Unlike CfAR and its supporters, SAFE has never and would never stoop to cheap, baseless personal attacks, because we don’t need to. The facts, photographs, and video of the out-of-control situation on the beach speak for themselves. CfAR supporters can deny and distract and try to hit below the belt all they want, but the community would be better served by us banding together to develop solutions to the beach parking problem. The fact is by issuing 31,000 beach-driving permits while at the same time giving the green light to densely populated development near the beach and killing prospects for any new public bathing beaches or beach parking lots, the town has created the perfect storm for conflict. Free solutions can be found on the SAFE website at safebeach.org.

CINDI CRAIN

Driving on the Beach

Amagansett

March 26, 2016

To the Editor:

To save our beaches, we are on the brink of disaster. Just think: The beaches here in East Hampton and Amagansett are our only true treasures, irreplaceable. To lose these pristine areas to crowds of parked or speeding trucks and cars would be fateful, automatically destroying our biggest drawing card for tourists, visitors, and locals alike — what we all come here for!

Last summer, a Jeep racing by me clipped my dog on her leash and never stopped. This is not Coney Island, and it should not stand the threat of being ruined.

My mother was born in Amagansett 90 years ago and never even conceived driving on the beach, which was restricted only to the haulseiners pulling in nets, trying to make a fisherman’s living. Even some of them walked down to the beaches. What, have we really become this lazy, not to walk on the sand to water? And don’t tell me “my family has a historic right to drive on Napeague or any other beach!” This excuse is simply not true, as four-wheel drive, the real reason that the beach is now marked with tracks and gouges, basically did not exist 20 or so years ago.

Either ban the vehicles or move Truck Beach nearby to the east of Napeague, to the beach almost unused, away from swimmers, picnickers, surfers, dogs, families of children who are much too close by. Plenty of room east, and a pretty beach too. This information is well known to the trucks and hot riders, but they do not move to the beaches open to them.

Now this: The beaches here are regulated by the town trustees, to keep them safe. It is certainly time for them to strongly do their job or stand by to see ruin. There should be more marine patrols placed on the beaches; I have never seen more than two. 

No other beaches worth their sand along our coastline allow driving on the beaches. Things have changed now, folks, and we must act to protect our beaches, our great gift.

A. WILLIS

Re-Think Deepwater

East Hampton

March 28, 2016

Dear Mr. Rattray:

“Swell of Support Buoys Wind Project” immediately reminded me of Meredith Wilson’s “The Music Man.” Mr. Walsh’s coverage of Deepwater Wind’s presentation immediately struck me that in 17 paragraphs not once was there any mention of cost. Surely, Deepwater’s Clint Plummer must have conveniently forgotten to mention that his company’s Rhode Island venture has a contract starting price of 24.4 cents per kilowatt hour, which is more than double what Rhode Island electric consumers currently pay. Why? Because of the almost $500 million costs of the project over 20 years in the contract between National Grid and Deepwater. So perhaps we need to ask, will this double our current electric bill?

There are other questions. In Rhode Island, Deepwater’s installation is “expected to supply more than 90 percent of Block Island’s electricity needs.” Now in case I missed something in my meteorology classes, the summer wind is not sufficient to run a wind turbine enough to meet the peak summer demand, especially on the hottest days of August, which, by the way, is when eastern Long Island has its peak load. So isn’t Deepwater actually saying buy power from us, we’ll charge you twice as much, but we can’t provide you with what you need when you need it most? 

It seems to me that Mr. Plummer sounds like the “Music Man” character Harold Hill (played by Robert Preston), who swoops down on River City and convinces the town they need to buy musical instruments and uniforms from him to combat the evils of a local pool hall.

Preserving the environment is important. I’ve devoted over 45 years of my life to protecting it. Thinking globally and acting locally does not, however, mean doubling electricity costs for no gain when the electrical demand is at its greatest. Town Supervisor Larry Cant­well and the entire town board get great credit in my book for being very pro-environment, but I urge them and the entire town to rethink Deepwater. Some things clothed in the garb of the environment are just bad ideas. It is sometimes easy to be deluded by a guy who comes to your town and tells you, “Ya got trouble here in River City. Trouble with a capital T and that rhymes with E and that stands for environment.”

Maybe some of your readers remember that the Long Island Power Authority was set up by another Cuomo to help East Enders swallow a couple of billion dollars in capital energy costs that went awry. As such, I question the wisdom of overspending on one “green” energy, when others are available and in use that aren’t as costly.

So call me silly, but when I hear somebody talk about offshore wind farms without mentioning cost, I hear a song in my head. 

“Seventy-six trombones led the big parade / With a hundred and ten cornets close at hand / Thundering, thundering louder than before. / Clarinets of ev’ry size / And trumpeters who’d improvise / A full octave higher than the score!”

Shirley Jones (Marian the Librarian), where are you when we need you most!

PAUL A. GIARDINA

 

Irreparable Damage

Springs

April 3, 2016

To the Editor:

In our zeal to find an alternative to fossil fuels for our energy needs many people have advocated the construction of offshore wind farms to provide this alternative. Many use Europe as an example because of the wide use of wind energy, but let’s look at some facts.

Wind farm builders rely on high electric rates to finance their investment, contrary to the public interest. The result is higher electric rates and taxes, due to the government subsidies needed to build and operate these wind farms. In Germany the public utilities pay up to 10 times the rates they pay to plants that use fossil fuels. Even the proposed Cape Wind project off Nantucket needed a minimum of 21 cents per kilowatt hour to operate. In Denmark, wind provides about 20 percent of the country’s electricity, but no conventional plants have been shut down because of the variability and intermittency of wind. Conventional plants must be run at full capacity to meet demand. Over all, European wind farms produce only 20 percent of their rated capacity.

So where is the savings from this free energy if we must maintain two separate and expensive sources of power? Not to mention, how are we going to reduce our carbon footprint if we must run our fuel-powered plants at full capacity to offset wind power’s shortcomings?

Offshore wind farms have been found to be notoriously unreliable due to the harsh marine environment. The largest wind farm in Sweden has been closed after 13 years because only one out of five turbines was ever operational. General Electric recently shut down their wind farm known as Arklow, off the coast of Ireland, because of similar problems. Even salt buildup on the blades has been shown to reduce the power generated by 20 to 30 percent. As anyone who owns a boat or waterfront property can attest, anything that comes in contact with saltwater is very difficult and expensive to maintain.

 They’re environmentally destructive to the marine environment. The drilling of the sea bed for a wind turbine’s foundations is every bit as destructive as building an oil rig. The digging required to build the trenches for the many necessary transmission cables is equally destructive.

The artificial electromagnetic energy that is emitted has been found to significantly impede the migration and foraging of marine mammals and fish. The two areas being proposed for the windfarms off Long Island are right in the middle of some of the most important fishing grounds in the Northeast. Fishermen from North Carolina to Maine work these grounds for dozens of species, especially fluke, squid, sea scallops, scup, and monkfish. The loss of these grounds would destroy hundreds of small businesses, many of them your own neighbors. 

In a time when we’ve seen significant improvements in our fisheries and the status of endangered marine species, can we really advocate allowing irreparable damage for an obviously unviable energy source? I hope our town board reconsiders advocating for this project before we have another ill-considered nightmare like the so-called beach replenishment in Montauk.

CHRIS SCOLA

Superstar Broker

East Hampton

April 4, 2016

Dear Dave,

From time to time, my wife and I write a letter to you when we deal with a superstar in local business. 

Just a quick note to commend real estate broker Romaine Gordon of Saunders & Associates.

We have chosen her as our agent on various real estate deals and continue to be amazed by her energy, enthusiasm, ability to execute and organize, and get transactions completed in a timely manner. Ms. Gordon can persevere and get deals done. Anyone who has dealt with the East End real estate world knows how frustrating it can be. Ms. Gordon is easily reached, in constant communication, and ready to roll up her sleeves to move the process forward.

We write to enthusiastically recommend Ms. Gordon to anyone thinking of buying or selling, and looking for a positive and professional process!

Warmest regards,

Scott W. Smith

The Easter Moment

Amagansett

April 4, 2016

Dear Mr. Rattray,

As you know, I have troubling dreams. Often, in these dreams, I find myself someplace that is vaguely familiar but needing to get back home, or to wherever it is I came from. After taking the street or path that I believe leads to where I need to go I soon arrive at a dead end, or wander farther and farther into strange territory. I enter a building, am given directions, but again, a corridor I’ve taken, or a staircase that should lead to the correct exit opens into yet another unfamiliar place. I start to panic.

Then I wake up and say W.T.F., where the hell did this dream come from?

Mary suggests that there must be some unresolved “issues” — something in my life that’s incomplete, not finished, and I haven’t found a solution and/or don’t have control over the outcome. My thought is that would be just about everything, but I don’t regard it as a unique condition. So I say, “I don’t know — I don’t want to think about it too much.” So there I am, not “facing” it, whatever it is.

I know what you’re thinking, Mr. Rattray. “Why do I keep printing these letters?” You’re right, it’s your fault. So I’ll continue.

On the morning of Good Friday I received an email from a longtime colleague, friend, and occasional client. I was one of perhaps 12 recipients on the email, mostly business associates, and our colleague poignantly wrote that his mother had died the night before, that he’d been by her side, and felt both the loss and relief of her passing. This was a very touching note, and I was pleased to have been included in the sharing.

It was difficult knowing how to respond. I didn’t want to “reply all,” so I simply replied with a short, sympathetic email remembering the passing of my own mother, and more recently of my wonderful mother-in-law, Jean Hantz. And I said that he, his family, and mom would be in my prayers that Good Friday.

Later that afternoon I realized I hadn’t, in fact, prayed as I had promised, and I started to feel guilty. So I decided to take a walk around the lanes and down to the ocean, and I would pray for the family.

But I kept getting distracted and found my thoughts drifting to business matters, wondering why my company didn’t get more work from my friend and what it would take. Mr. Rattray, I don’t know if you’re familiar with praying, but I assure you, this line of thinking on my part is the opposite of praying! I’m having these thoughts on Good Friday — Jesus cannot possibly appreciate this. I will be nailed with more bad dreams, of that I’m certain.

So I stopped and faced an open area on Meeting House Lane, stared at the brush and trees, and prayed for my friend, his mom, his family, hoping they would find peace and happiness in this and, in her case, the next life. I tried to keep thinking this over and over, yet the feeling that I was also covering for my previous inappropriate thoughts kept creeping into my head. Brutal. And here I am walking around the lanes on Good Friday.

Sweet Jesus, have mercy!

Mary wanted to attend the Easter Vigil Mass at Most Holy Trinity Church the following Saturday evening, to feel the spirit of the holiday more fully. I was happy to accompany her — I mean, how would it look if I said, “Hey, I’ll meet you later.” Not good. Plus, I really was happy to attend the Mass.

Each of the congregants was given a candle as we entered the church, and each of the candles was lit by members of the church choir. It was beautiful, and the effect was calming and meditative. This, I thought, is what is vital about places of worship: the collective focus of minds and spirits on prayerful thoughts. The room felt sacred to me — a sanctuary.

This was a long Mass, which included a number of sacraments, including a baptism and, of course, Communion. There were also a number of readings from the Gospel, and a sermon. I can’t recall the chapter or verse of the passages, but one concerned God’s creation of Earth and all the living things and “on the seventh day He rested . . .” that one. Another one was about Moses leading the Jews out of Egypt, through the parted Red Sea, and the waters enveloping and drowning all of the Egyptian soldiers who came after them on their chariots. Like some dream that I would have, Mr. Rattray!

And again I found myself in not-praying mode, thinking about these readings and wondering why the Mass couldn’t focus more on the example of Christ’s life and teachings and less on the mythology of the Gospel literature. And then I tried to stop having those thoughts and simply embrace the peaceful feeling in the room.

At one point early in the service when a hymn was being sung by the congregation, a baby took that as a cue and started singing “Happy Birthday.” Now that I think back, that was the Easter moment for me.

Sweet dreams,

LYLE GREENFIELD

The Right to Life

Montauk

April 2, 2016

To the Editor:

Our president has on various occasions compared our American way of life with the ways of other nations whom we pointedly criticize. He admits that we have racial bias, income inequality, and poverty, so how much different are we than totalitarian regimes that as political policy oppress and suppress their own people? He’s not afraid to disparage our system, except he’s missed a big one.

Mr. Obama says that terrorists must be stopped. The dismembering, burning alive, and caged drownings are despicable. However, he fails to point out that he condones this in our own country. Millions of our citizens are dismembered, burned alive in saline solutions, and left to die after failed attempts to kill them in the womb. In our country we call this a choice. In the ways of terrorists, their choice is to kill unwanted people by the same methods, yet we condemn them. The hypocrisy is blatant.

What makes our crime worse is that the Declaration that made our country free and of which we should be proud declares that the right to life is inalienable (given by a power other than our own, so we have no right to change it).

Until we protect innocent human life we are as condemnation-worthy as those we decry as evil murderers. Join the March 4 Life in Farmingville on April 30 if you want to stand up and be counted as one opposed to the death of innocent life.

DOREEN MILLER

All the Religion

East Hampton

March 20, 2015

To the Editor:

The love boat of humanity is in very dangerous waters.

Law: 1. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, thy whole mind, thy whole soul and thy whole strength, and 2. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy self.

Resolution: The Lord’s Prayer, the father, and all the religion this will needs.

ANTHONY COLLETTI