Only One Connie East Hampton April 20, 2015 Dear Editor, Richard Rosenthal’s letter about Connie Anderson was a really nice tribute. Connie was our landlady down at the Franklin Triangle Apartments 42 years ago. In those days you could rent a furnished apartment for $175 a month. Of course, that seemed like a lot of money to recent college graduates who were lucky enough to land jobs here in 1972. Later I became Connie’s accountant, and I always knew the April 15 deadline was nearing because she would come up to the office with the most beautiful plants, along with her paperwork. Actually, when I checked outside today, I noticed some of those flowers poked through. I too will miss her. There was only one Connie, and I am glad to have known her. She planted a magnolia tree right in front our apartment, but alas, like many of the wonderful old things in the kinder, gentler East Hampton, our tree has been paved over. DEIRDRE A. HERZOG Life to the Fullest East Hampton April 20, 2015 To the Editor, I know, Cliff, that somehow you will hear my heartfelt thoughts. Thank you for all the years of good times we had together and the joy and happiness you brought to so many people. You showed how to live life to the fullest and make the most of every moment. Your courage and bravery are an inspiration to all of us, and you will be deeply missed. I still can, and always will, hear your loud, happy laughter. JON HOWARD Mutual Appreciation Springs April 19, 2015 To the Editor: As the Boss sang, “Everything dies, baby, that’s a fact,” and for most humans the natural death of an elderly dog is low on the tragedy spectrum, understandably. Still, for some of us such a dog may have provided an opportunity for a relationship of pure mutual appreciation and enthusiasm, where the heart opens instantly upon seeing each other, there is no fear, no judgment, and neither party cares what anybody else thinks. Mookie was such a creature for me, and his owner-mom, Chris, was thoughtful enough to contact me last week when he went into liver failure, so that I could come see him for the last time. She’s the human counterpart to his goodness (or is it the other way around?). If I could learn to love, and be loved by, my own kind in the way Mookie demonstrated across species, what a lucky homo sap I’d be. (Sap is right!) Meanwhile, I’m lucky enough for having known him. JAMIE LERNER Before Fertilizing East Hampton April 20, 2015 Dear David, Spring has sprung, and for many homeowners this signals it is time to get outside and clean up our yards. I would like to remind your readers about the environmental impact of lawn fertilizer. Fertilizers are used by homeowners to maintain and improve landscape beauty and quality. In recent years, increased use of home, lawn, and garden fertilizers has caused concern about pollution of our harbors, bays, and groundwater. Before fertilizing, people should have their soil tested. When watering one’s lawn after fertilizing, one should not allow the water to run into the streets or our waterways. Together we can make a difference. Thank you, BRIAN BYRNES Vegan Diet Vital East Hampton April 16, 2015 Dear Editor, Just in time for the 45th anniversary of Earth Day, the U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee has made it official: Consumption of animal products is not environmentally sustainable. The conclusions match those of a massive 2010 United Nations report, which concluded that a global shift toward a vegan diet is vital to save the world from hunger, fuel poverty, and climate change. Carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas, is emitted by burning forests to create animal pastures and by combustion of fossil fuels to operate farm machinery, trucks, refrigeration equipment, factory farms, and slaughterhouses. The much more damaging methane and nitrous oxide are released from digestive tracts of cattle and from animal waste cesspools. Moreover, animal agriculture contributes more pollutants to our waterways than other human activities combined. Principal sources are animal wastes, soil particles, minerals, crop debris, fertilizers, and pesticides from feed croplands. It is also the driving force in worldwide deforestation and wildlife habitat destruction. In an environmentally sustainable world, just as fossil fuels are replaced by wind, solar, and other sustainable energy sources, animal foods must be replaced by vegetables, fruits, and grains. Our next trip to the supermarket is a great starting point. Sincerely, EDWIN HORATH Soldier Ride 2015 East Hampton April 17, 2015 Dear David, Even though some of the news coming out of the Middle East and Afghanistan no longer mentions American casualties, some people might think our troops are out of harm’s way. We all need to think again. Our armed forces operate in many dangerous places all over the world and continue to take casualties. Here at home our thousands of wounded and disabled veterans continue to struggle every day with severe physical, mental, and domestic problems. They continue to need our help. I’m proud to say that our community was the first to respond to this need back in 2004 by helping (a little known at the time) Wounded Warrior Project. Since that time W.W.P. has grown by leaps and bounds. It can do more in less time for more wounded veterans than many other organizations can do. We will continue this tradition with Soldier Ride of the Hamptons 2015 on Saturday, July 18. During last year’s soldier ride we tried something new, by tying together the entry fee to a fund-raising requirement. This didn’t work out very well. So this year, as in earlier years, we are going to be charging a straight entry fee for the ride and walk. Of course, we encourage all those who would like to fund raise on behalf of Soldier Ride to please do so. We will have a link on our website to support all of you who would like to do more. I personally want to thank every one of you who have supported our troops, with a special thanks to the volunteers, businesses, fund-raisers, riders, and walkers. Over the years by coming together in this great cause we have set an example of generosity and community that we can all be proud of. Please join us in making Soldier Ride 2015 another year in which we can proudly support those among us who are most deserving and most in need, our Wounded Warriors. Sincerely, TONY GANGA Chairman Soldier Ride of the Hamptons 2015 Committee The Shoreline Sweep East Hampton April 14, 2015 Dear David, I would like to publicly thank all of the caring and supportive people who came out to participate in the second annual Shoreline Sweep. The number of volunteers nearly doubled from last year, and although the beaches were much cleaner over all, we added additional north shore locations so our total trash haul far exceeded last year’s totals as well. The number of students involved this year was heartwarming to see. Even though every single person earned the highest of respect equally from me, the event highlight was truly the accomplishments of the Custodians of Lazy Point. These residents, whose direct visual beauty circles around Napeague Bay to the Walking Dunes, collected a mountain of trash and debris from both that was mind-blowing. I want to thank Stephen Lynch and the East Hampton Town Highway Department for removing the Lazy Point debris, and the recycling center for allowing us a place to dispose of our trash loads. Thanks to the wonderful East Hampton Town Trustees and the East Hampton lifeguards for helping me remove the collected bagged trash from the beach and beachheads. The outstanding East Hampton Ocean Rescue split up and formed several groups from Montauk to East Hampton, and the great people of the Surfrider Foundation Eastern Long Island Chapter did the same. I thank them all for covering so much area. There are so many more wonderful people to thank, from the local businesses who catered the after-gathering at the beautiful Hoie Hall and all the wonderful local and guest musicians that entertained our celebration. I ask that you all please visit the ImaginationNature.com website so you can see those businesses and musicians whom I am so grateful to have as part of our annual Shoreline Sweep event team since we first swept our great shoreline of East Hampton. I hope everyone will continue to understand the importance of keeping trash and litter off the ground and off the beaches. It’s time to get control of the issue and end the problem, for the benefit of our town’s beauty and the health and safety of those who live here and those who visit. Please volunteer for cleanups around our community, and don’t hesitate to start your own. The future and the beauty of this town depend on you. Remember, those who visit our great town will respect and treat it as they see we respect and treat it. It’s our responsibility to set the example. The rest will follow. Thanks, everyone, and see you in September at the Gansett Trash Bash. DELL R. CULLUM Special Thanks Montauk April 20, 2015 Dear David, The Concerned Citizens of Montauk would like thank everyone who volunteered to come out this past weekend to participate in the Great Montauk Cleanup. It was a great success! We would also like to send out a special thanks to the following: the East Hampton Trails Preservation Society, which also hosted a trail cleanup led by Eva Moore; Mickey’s Carting for its generous donation of the 20-yard roll-off container and dumping fees; the Montauk School Student Council; Boy Scouts; Group for the East End; Eastern Long Island Chapter of Surfrider, and East End Cares. Many thanks from all of us at C.C.O.M. We are looking forward to a great summer with clean beaches, parks, and trails. Respectfully, Jeremy Samuelson Executive Director Concerned Citizens of Montauk Garbage Receptacles East Hampton April 19, 2015 Dear David, I disagree with your support of the removal of garbage cans from the beach. We pay taxes for maintenance of our town’s public facilities, which include our beach areas, the restrooms, the parking lot, as well as garbage removal. The beaches are our town’s primary asset and there are other solutions to counter the unseemly sight of cans overflowing with debris, including and beyond paper bags, plastic containers, and bottles. First, garbage receptacles can be placed in an area in back of or to the side of the restrooms; second, signs can be posted prohibiting the disposal of items such as beach umbrellas, beach chairs, boogie boards, etc.; finally, on weekends in July and August there can be garbage pickup two times a day. LENORE WEINSTEIN Gradual Degradation Amagansett April 20, 2015 To the Editor, Having designed homes in the Napeague area since the early 1990s, I have grown to appreciate Napeague’s stunning natural beauty. As a resident of the Napeague stretch bordering the South Flora parcel since early 2000, the importance of nature has only increased in my mind. I have seen the gradual degradation brought by vehicular and pedestrian traffic in the South Flora parcel. Now there are proposals to put up a 500-foot parking lot in the nature preserve, along a densely populated family community. In what some people are referring to as the anthropocene age, an age where we humans have a significant impact on nature, I feel we have both the right to access nature as well as a responsibility to care for nature. In the case of the South Flora parcel the strength of its natural beauty is inseparable from its fragile flora and fauna and its strategic role of joining Montauk to East Hampton. Located at the narrowest point of the South Fork, separated from Montauk during the 1938 Hurricane, and nearly separated during Sandy, the South Flora parcel represents a unique opportunity to join human and natural interests. Natural interests, because South Flora is a precious and limited natural resource of beautiful dune-scape, flora, and fauna. Human interests, because Montauk is vulnerable to being cut off during violent storm activity such as Sandy. The long-term potential costs of introducing more traffic to the dunes far outweigh the short-term benefits. In my view, the cost of increasing vehicular and pedestrian traffic and the consequential erosion and degradation of the dunes outweigh the benefits. In South Flora’s case, I think our responsibilities to protect nature outweigh our power to destroy it. The potential costs of introducing a parking lot at the narrowest point of the South Fork are: the cost of the separation of Montauk from the rest of Long Island and the cost to rejoin Montauk with the rest of Long Island, the cost of repairing storm damage due to erosion aggravated by additional vehicular and pedestrian traffic, the cost in lives if Montauk were cut off during a severe storm with limited access to emergency medical care (ambulances and emergency vehicles could be hindered in saving lives when time is of the essence), and the impact of additional traffic to the local neighborhood of families and children. I am all for humans being able to access and enjoy nature. In fact it is by enjoying nature that I’ve grown to cherish it and wish to protect it. Perhaps there are other locations where access can be provided in an area not so fragile? DAVID LING Without Any Signs Amagansett April 19, 2015 To the Editor: Last year, my small, quiet street, Dolphin Drive in Amagansett, became the center of a political perfect storm. In August, town workmen, dispatched without the knowledge of the town supervisor or the board, removed the 40-year-old “No Parking Any Time” signage and replaced it with signs on both sides permitting parking by town permit. Local residents believed this was someone’s payback for our opposition to a plan to pave the beautiful and irreplaceable South Flora dune system, adjoining Dolphin to the east, to create a 100-car parking lot. The town board, blindsided by the illegal action, scheduled a resolution to replace our no-parking signs, only to be overwhelmed by witnesses who came out of the woodwork to testify that the residents of Dolphin were “elitists” trying to privatize the local beach — as if there had always been parking on our street and now we were trying to end it. The result was political paralysis; the board never voted on the resolution. It did, however, send workers to take down the new, illegal signage in December, leaving us without any signs at all. Without signage, our 20-foot-wide street will be overrun after Memorial Day by people who will assume it is legal to park anywhere on Dolphin, at any time, with or without a permit. Cars parked on both sides of a 20-foot-wide street make it impossible for ambulances or fire trucks to get through. This is no longer a matter of politics, rhetoric, or beach access, but of our lives and safety. We have appealed to the town board to restore the no-parking signage for the season, while deciding, as part of an open and fair political process, whether any parking on Dolphin is safe, appropriate, and needed, for beach access or any other reason. The paralysis continues, and the board has refused to take any action, though the town’s liability if any one of us is unable to be reached by a fire truck or ambulance this summer will be immense. JONATHAN WALLACE Perpetual Selling-Off East Hampton April 15, 2015 Dear Editor, I think Howard Beale said it the best in “Network”: “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore.” This is exactly how I feel about my local government. They were elected on a promise of change after the disastrous Republican takeover, but what have they delivered since? Not too much. And worse, they’ve patted themselves on the back every step of the way — even after they waffled on affordable housing, a tax reassessment, and now unanimously on the airport issue. The airport defeat is representative of a larger trend: the perpetual selling-off of our beautiful town to wealthy outsiders, regardless of who is in power. In this case, the Democrats capitulated to the Washington aviation lobby out of fear. Larry Cantwell suggested strongly that there would be much needed airport regulations that locals wanted. But apparently it proved too much for the board, so, as they have done in the past on other key issues, they gave up. This is what happens when we elect politicians, but not leaders. I’m not saying we need the Grand Old Party back; the Republicans have repeatedly failed to provide decent alternatives — all of their candidates seem to have a one-size-fits-all solution to every problem: less town regulation, more commercial development — in other words, the exact opposite of what East Hampton needs. Many of us remember this town for what it was; what we want it to be. Walker Bragman said it well in his letter to the editor last month regarding the airport issue. He said, when we give in to outside groups the town suffers. “We capitulate, the town ends up suffering. That suffering takes the form of a Newtown Lane that isn’t recognizable from five years ago.” I agree with Mr. Bragman’s sentiments, and am completely disappointed by the town board. I want a Main Street where the shops don’t change from summer to summer. If any of those board members (Fred Overton, Sylvia Overby, Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, or Peter Van Scoyoc) or Supervisor Cantwell is reading this, we need you to protect East Hampton. Here are a few points to start with: 1. Flag store legislation. We need to bring local businesses back to East Hampton. We can say “enough” to chain stores. 2. A new facility for children and teens, or revamping the RECenter. The town pays nearly $60,000 to the Y.M.C.A. to run a gym for adults. Now there are hardly any real attractions for our youth. There are a few computers and an air hockey table and a Ping-Pong table. 3. Airport restrictions. As has been said, the noise levels are unacceptable, and flight path solutions like the ones the town board has retreated to will not suffice. Locals want to limit helicopters. Locals are tired of their depreciating property values because Big Aviation wants to increase its profit. Locals want action, and to preserve the character of our small airport. (This is a very pleasing green.) 4. Affordable housing. Young people are leaving this town in droves. They cannot afford to buy homes here, and there is nothing for them to do; they cannot start businesses as all of the real estate is rented to chain stores. 5. Reassess taxes. East Hampton Town is due for a reassessment. Our lower-income-earning permanent residents are overburdened because millionaires and billionaires get away with paying a fraction of what they owe on their summer homes. Springs in particular has to bear the brunt of it. It may be unpopular to say we may need to raise some people’s taxes (though I don’t know why, considering they’re mostly nonlocals), but that’s where leadership comes in to make difficult decisions. If this board is incapable of expedient, meaningful action, I suggest new leadership is needed. There is a difference between thoughtful action and weakness. We need real town officials who understand what community means, instead of sellouts. New candidates must come forward. SPENCER EMMET More to Be Done East Hampton April 20, 2015 Dear Editor, We just took a positive step forward for the Town of East Hampton. The Democratic members of the town board (Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, Sylvia Overby, Peter Van Scoyoc, and Supervisor Larry Cantwell) voted unanimously to pass several important airport restrictions aimed at reducing noise levels. (Councilman Fred Overton was the only dissenting vote.) That said, there is more to be done, and a reluctance to do it. The weekend ban on helicopters was tabled after constant bullying by the powerful Washington aviation lobby and the Eastern Regional Helicopter Council. This provision is probably the most important of all as it is the only one that will significantly reduce airport noise. To reiterate the facts: The Town of East Hampton is legally able to pass such a ban. New York City did, and Shelter Island banned helicopters outright. Moreover, we can do so with minimal impact on other nearby airports, as multiple studies have shown. So what’s the problem? The so-called Friends of the East Hampton Airport, who are based out of New Jersey, are already frothing at the mouth over the proposals that were passed, calling them “unreasonable.” Even the benign curfew this group can’t accept. That is because what it really wants is to further commercialize East Hampton. Its plan is a 24-7 commercial airport right here in our small town. They would open more runways and widen existing ones so as to allow for more aircraft and bigger jets. The bigger they are, the more of them there are, the more the opponents of airport regulation profit. This is why Friends of the East Hampton Airport has been so willing to lie at every turn to prevent these restrictions from passing, saying things like we “don’t have the legal authority to regulate noise levels” and that to do so would hurt our economy. But it is its vision that threatens our community and the character of our small town. Anyone who really lives here already knows the impact of overcommercialization and overdevelopment. If you are like me, if you remember Main Street as it was before it became a Fifth Avenue knockoff, then you know all too well what happens when our town chooses commercializing over community. I’ll bet you miss a few friends who have moved away. Enough is enough. We must now stand together to prevent the “Hamptons” from overtaking East Hampton. This is our home. We have a town board that is clearly willing to listen. The proposals they passed are a win for locals, but the war isn’t over, and nothing short of total victory will save our town. Sincerely, WALKER BRAGMAN East Hampton Town Democratic Committee Good Independent Vote East Hampton April 20, 2015 Dear Editor, Last Thursday at the East Hampton Town Board meeting Councilman Fred Overton voted against one of the three laws to be voted on regarding our airport. Originally there were four, but one was excluded, two were voted on and unanimously approved by the town board, and one was not approved by Councilman Overton. He voted against it because it remained to be seen what the impact of the newly adopted legislation would be before he would vote to pass and approve it all. That was a good independent vote on his part and he should be commended for that act. Sincerely, DEBORAH ANN SCHWARTZ Secretary East Hampton Town Republican Committee Good News, Bad News Wainscott April 20, 2015 Dear David, For seven years I actively sought relief from dirty, noisy helicopters at East Hampton Airport, first as founder of East Hampton Helicopter Noise Coalition and then as a co-founder of the Quiet Skies Coalition. First the good news: The East Hampton Town Board made a historic decision to implement noise restrictions at the airport. It must to be congratulated since it took guts, courage, and determination to see it through. There are a lot of questions about the impact of the restrictions, reduction of helicopters, and how the town or the courts will enforce them. Any projections on the reduction of helicopter traffic is pure speculation. One thing is for sure, by Labor Day weekend we’ll know perhaps a little better, hopefully a lot more than we know today about how effective the three restrictions were. I’m certainly willing to give the restrictions a chance to prove themselves, purely out of respect for everyone who worked very hard to make it happen — all the folks who served on the committees, Councilwoman Kathee Burke-Gonzalez who worked tirelessly and showed incredible courage, and the East Hampton Town Board for taking the historic first step in the right direction to bring long-sought relief of helicopter noise in the region. Now the bad news: Folks who are “tortured and tormented,” in the words of Senator Charles Schumer and former Representative Tim Bishop, want the torture to stop, not just become less intense. For us folks who have been tortured far too long by dirty, noisy helicopters, pulling the weekend ban on helicopters was extremely disappointing and hurt terribly. It hurt because there was promised hope when the restriction was proposed. We finally had hope the torture would stop, at least for the weekends. That hope was dashed when the proposed restriction was pulled in the last minute. Torture should never be taken lightly, and it seemed it had. It seemed like the bullying tactics were successful. We hope for the sake of the good people on the town board that the restrictions will be more successful than projected. If they are not, that hurt will certainly create a tremendous backlash. For the moment, I pledge to hope for great success. Sincerely, FRANK DALENE The New Leaders Amagansett April 17, 2015 Dear David, A rebuttal to the Wainscott School Board members who hold to their xenophobic de minimis school tax argument is: the new leaders of East Hampton Town. The new leaders of East Hampton Town are, mostly, 20-something graduates of East Hampton High School who have returned home with their law degrees, master’s degrees, business experience, environmental knowledge, artistic vision, and political activism. The new leaders of East Hampton Town will shepherd us toward political equality. Our taxpayer investment in East Hampton Town’s new leaders will earn enormous dividends. Come to D’Canela’s in Amagansett the first Monday of every month, 6 to 8 p.m., and see for yourself. All good things, DIANA WALKER Wainscott Situations East Hampton April 18, 2015 To the Editor: There is a pattern that is very much particular to the American political nature. It relates to the victimization of the wealthy and the elites by the people they are victimizing. Black racism is a great example. Citizens United and the decision to rescind the Voting Rights Act is another. Since when do racist state governments need protection from voters, or wealthy people and corporations need to have their rights to unlimited campaign contributions sanctioned? Rationally, objectively, humanely, these are just a way to make the powerful a bit more powerful and to remind the rest of us how little influence we have over things. Ultimately we are expected to feel bad and show a bit of compassion for the people who are screwing us over and benefiting from it. On a national level, we are powerless to battle the Supreme Court, short of praying for the early demise of some of its members. Locally, however, we have a small town board that can be called upon to stand up for the community in the face of the powerful elites who need to have their way. Two of these situations now exist in the hamlet of Wainscott. The airport noise problem seems relatively uncomplicated. Growing up in Far Rockaway, Queens, directly under Kennedy Airport, I thought that air always smelled from airplane fuel. That the sound of jets at 200 feet was just like the ocean during a hurricane. For the people of Wainscott, the increased air traffic and the addition of helicopters has made quiet enjoyment a thing of the past. Limiting the airport and the few hundred people who need to get here by plane or helicopter seems more than logical. Yet the airport supporters created a narrative that at first denied the noise and questioned the economic viability of the airport, the problems that could arise in the neighboring hamlets, and the overall negative effect on the local economy. The narrative was total bullshit, yet when repeated often enough it became a reality. Airport customers aren’t moving to Jones Beach or the Jersey Shore. They’ll find a way to get here. And they will sue the town because of the inconvenience and the need to protect their rights to be elitist, despite the hardship it might cause. The proposed affordable housing project simply repeats the same story. The town has a huge housing problem. Wainscott is the perfect spot. But wouldn’t it be better in Springs? Wainscott’s school has 10 kids per class; Springs’s, 24. Wainscott residents pay $178 per $1,000 of assessed value for school taxes, Springs pays $921. The median house sale in Wainscott was $2.9 million; in Springs, $750,000. So, logically and reasonably, the Wainscott School Board creates a narrative to protect its god-given status. The new housing project will add 110 new kids to the school, it wrote in three letters it distributed. Yet its own study only added 46 kids, which was cut back to 28 when the East Hampton Town Planning Department analyzed it, and 17 when it used East Hampton Town data. The 141 non-senior apartments in East Hampton have only 79 kids. Taxes would increase by 167 percent, said the school board. But the school tax might increase $220 per house valued at $1 million. Building an addition, etc., to the school could cost as much as $6 million, even if New York State law permits tuitioning out all the kids it can’t school. Again, as with the airport, the narrative is completely untrue. But the purveyors of the narrative, to protect their elite school and their way of life (which isn’t threatened by anyone), will repeat it until it comes to life. And if that doesn’t work, they will sue. No matter how badly the town needs the housing and how much it would improve the lives of 48 families. Enter the town board. Does it bow to the powerful and the elitist or does it fight for the best interests of the town? Is it willing to stand up to their fake narratives, lawsuits, and the nastiness of tough battles to protect the rights of the town, or does it simply disappear until after the next election? NEIL HAUSIG Thoughtful and Polite Amagansett April 20, 2015 To the Editor: Your editorial stating that the Rev. Denis C. Brunelle’s welcome at the Amagansett Citizens Advisory Committee meeting was “less than welcome” is inaccurate, and your editorial misrepresentations seem to be in the service of your personal vendetta against the C.A.C.s. Mr. Brunelle’s presentation was listened to with cordiality and respect; he was not interrupted while speaking, and the questions and comments directed to him were thoughtful and polite. We thanked him for his information and his willingness to be there. It seems you would want to wrest from us any voice in the concerns of our neighborhood. But since you refuse to make an argument based on fact, I hope our small voices are safe for the moment. On another note, the police report stating that two duck hunters, in order to “draw more waterfowl to their blind . . . had tethered the wounded bird to a weight and left it by the blind.” I am not a hunter, but any hunter I know would condemn this type of cruelty. Surely this is a criminal act of animal torture, and should result in the loss of their hunting licenses? Or is this accepted in the hunting community? Sincerely JOHN BRODERICK Mallard and Goose Sag Harbor April 20, 2015 To the Editor: I was surprised to read that trespassing and theft of electricity, though misdemeanors, only warranted a “spot” on East Hampton Town Justice Steven Tekulsky’s criminal calendar. I was particularly surprised since the three young hunters admitted committing an appallingly cruel crime the previous winter. During last year’s season they captured two injured fowl, a mallard and a goose. The mallard, which had a broken wing, was tethered with a weight and positioned near the blind in order to attract more waterfowl. This cruel, cowardly, and unsportsmanlike behavior was brought to the attention of an officer with the State Department of Environmental Conservation, but for reasons, perhaps known only to him or her, no charges were brought. Shame. Sincerely, MONICA A. BRENNAN Two Injured Birds Sag Harbor April 14, 2015 To the Editor: I read with utter disgust your article about the two duck hunters who tethered a wounded bird to a weight in Fort Pond last winter in hopes that the bird’s distress would attract more ducks to shoot. I read that they captured an injured goose as well, but later killed it themselves. Oh, well. The article doesn’t mention if the duck froze to death tethered. Chances are good he did. What is sporting about this? What kind of gratification does a person get from watching a struggling bird in pain try desperately to get free? What would possess a person to think it would be all right to further harm an injured bird, adding to its agony? Is there an advanced course in cruelty somewhere? If you think that birds don’t feel pain or panic, you can think again. I am a volunteer for the Wildlife Rescue Center, and regularly pick up these birds that have been shot in the wing and are doomed to die even if they can manage to drag themselves away. You can see and hear their pain in their struggle, and see the fright and panic in their eyes. It’s a rare day that a person can actually find and capture two seriously injured birds in time to tether them and set them out to freeze in a duck shoot, unless, of course, these birds were shot and wounded by other hunters and left to die. In that case, these two hunters were very fortunate with their pending agenda. Add to that, a State Department of Environmental Conservation officer knew about the incident and contacted the tetherer, but according to your article, apparently no charges were brought. Wow. What a commitment from the D.E.C.! What about, minimally, a citation, a fine, suspension of hunting license? I believe they can do all this. May I suggest to you readers that if you see a wounded bird, call the Wildlife Rescue Fund: 728-4200. We may not be able to save it, but we don’t tether it to weights and let it perish in the cold. Sincerely, BEVERLY SCHANZER Fascinating Film Southold March 29, 2015 Dear Editor, I remember a story of a town far above Scotland, where frail, average-size people lived who spoke in a bird language, who were highly intellectual. The Nazis hated them and wiped them out like the aborigines were from England. I think Leslie Howard was one of the people, with the peculiar sounds. I just loved the picture. It must be more than 60 years since I’ve seen it. I’m wondering if The Star would know how to get ahold of this fascinating film that was so sad. If it hasn’t deteriorated. ANITA FAGAN Jousting, Joshing Patchogue April 11, 2015 Dear David Rattray, A 3-D printer printing people printing universes and Laurel and Hardy printing 3-D printers. Octopus garden. Anon profligate dichotomists: four-legged spiders jousting, joshing, galoshing, scurry. Shostakovich does cartwheels in a steel Slinky bouncing off a Goury whoopee cushion. Big Willie Gasser, Officer Krupp. Symphony of Expiation at a latrine in the yellow submarine. Sincerely, FRED GASREL
Published 5 years ago
Last updated 5 years ago
Letters to the Editor: 04.23.15
April 23, 2015