Letters to the Editor: 10.20.16

The Train Station Roses

East Hampton

October 12, 2016

To the Editor, 

Thank you, Bess Rattray, for bringing up the state of the velvety-red Dortmund roses at the East Hampton train station in the “Relay” column on Oct. 6. The Garden Club of East Hampton cares for these roses, which we planted almost 40 years ago.

Briefly, we are working very hard to bring the roses back to their former glory. About 7 of the 16 shrubs need help, and we have seen some progress in their vigor in the last year and a half. In fact, we’ve attached photos from June 14 of this year when the roses were in full bloom and truly spectacular. 

The train station is an awfully complicated place to garden. The property is owned by the Long Island Rail Road, but managed by East Hampton Village; the Garden Club volunteers time, expertise, and resources, with support from the Ladies Village Improvement Society from time to time. While we designed the plantings along the tracks and installed the roses four decades ago, the L.I.R.R. added a number of cedar trees 10 years later. The lindens, planted to mask overhanging phone lines on the north side of the station house, and the pines on the opposite side, that once fit the scale of our original design, have grown considerably and now contribute to shading the roses as well. In addition, deer browse them from time to time. Pile on top of that successive summers with almost no rain in July and August (the train station has only one hose bib and no irrigation), and the fact that the average life of a rose- bush is 35 years. Frankly, the roses are in almost miraculous condition given all of these factors.

The train station is one of eight public gardens or projects that the Garden Club of East Hampton has designed, planted, and currently maintains in the Village and Town of East Hampton, with volunteer labor from our members and funds raised at our annual garden party and plant sale. The list includes the Nature Trail (started in 1934 and opened to the public in 1942), Rachel’s Historic Dooryard Garden and the Janice S. Brightwell heritage apple trees at Mulford Farm, the Mimi Meehan Native Plant Garden at Clinton Academy, the Millstone Garden Park on Main Street opposite the Chase Bank, the East Hampton Post Office plantings, and the Pollinator Garden at Town Hall. We also work with the Town of East Hampton on the Amagansett Orchid Conservation Project to revive the last known population of a rare native orchid.

Starting last year, we began to work with the village to improve the plantings along the tracks as well as the health of the roses. The village has thinned the cedars and pruned shrubs to open up views from the platform to the street and to create more sunlight for the roses. We now fertilize them in the summer and mulch in the fall to improve their vigor, and it is helping. 

Thank you so much for reminding us of how enduringly iconic a symbol of East Hampton the train station roses are. They are well worth the effort!

JULIE SAKELLARIADIS

BEVERLY KAZICKAS

Garden Club of East Hampton

Stony Hill Road

Amagansett

October 14, 2016

To the Editor:

About 30 years ago, the Town of East Hampton conveyed conservation easements in the Stony Hill area of north Amagansett. The town resolution stated that the easements were “consistent with the town’s clearly delineated public policy of preserving open space and scenic vistas,” and that “said conveyance will yield significant public benefit.” That was then. Today the area is far from being “of public benefit” — it has become a nuisance to both residents and visitors.

Having lived there for 33 years, it has become apparent that the stated goal of maintaining the land for public benefit is no longer of interest to the Town of East Hampton, or the Peconic Land Trust that maintains the trails through the silver beech preserve. The road is narrow, dusty, unpaved, full of potholes, and dangerous to anyone venturing to walk through. It used to be a peaceful country road of beech trees and wildlife, where we could safely walk and even enjoy the luxury of riding on horseback, as neighbors used to do, consistent with the goal of public benefit. Over the years, with the advent of GPS, the road has become a shortcut from Town Lane to Accabonac Road. Trucks (even 16-wheelers), tandem landscape vehicles, and off-roaders in Jeeps and Land Rovers speed through, creating hazardous conditions for drivers and pedestrians alike.

As to the noise and dust? It is unbearable. A person with an asthmatic condition could not live in the area. The road conditions are dangerous for all, not just the Stony Hill Road residents, but all who use the road, including emergency vehicles and school buses. 

Attempts to communicate with town officials in the current administration as well as prior administrations remain unanswered. The Department of Highways superintendent, Steve Lynch, placed some yellow caution signs of “bumpy road” with little success, since the area speed limit on a narrow dirt road remains 30 miles per hour.

One town official, who will remain unnamed, told me that “there isn’t enough tax revenue or votes on Stony Hill Road.” Might not be enough tax revenue, due to the low residential density of the area, but all town taxpayers are sharing the cost for the ongoing grading of the road.

In my opinion, there are numerous options to improve the road condition and return the Stony Hill area for the residents and the public to enjoy. I’d like to have my grandchildren ride their bikes safely on Stony Hill Road and walk the trails, as my children did 30 years ago. 

I invite anyone who wants to experience this disaster to visit and watch. I’ll even provide coffee or wine (depending on the time of the visit). 

JOHN P. KAROUSSOS

Obvious Danger

East Hampton

October 11, 2016

Dear Editor,

Well, another film festival has come and gone. But as I drove around on my own business, I was once again reminded of some things which have been bothering me for many years. I was a kid out here in the 1970s and in those days, as everyone knows, East Hampton was a very different place. Two things in particular have been taken away that ought to be put back simply for safety’s sake. I call attention to them not because there is necessarily an obvious solution, but just to let people know that some of us are paying attention. 

Ever since the East Hampton Cinema has existed, people have crossed Main Street directly in front of it in order to get to and from the Reutershan parking lot, where most of them park their cars. Despite this fact, there has never been an official crosswalk in this location, primarily because of its proximity to the traffic light at Newtown Lane. To get around this in years past, the village police would station an officer in the median who would act as a crossing guard and help people across. This lasted, by my recollection, almost to the 1990s, when, I believe, the flow of traffic, especially in the summer season, became too large and dangerous for this practice. 

Unfortunately, people remain either lazy or, in the case of visitors, uninformed. They cross Main Street outside of crosswalks as if it were a quiet country road. It could be argued that there is no longer such a thing as a quiet country road in our area, but that’s beside the point. The same crossing problem is faced in front of Citarella, with patrons crossing six lanes of traffic to get to and from the parking lot behind Village Hardware. 

The police have tried valiantly to make people aware of the danger, that Main Street is actually a stretch of Montauk Highway, which is the main artery between Southampton and Montauk Point and, thus, too busy to cross safely without the minimal legal protections of walking in a crosswalk. I’m not sure what the answer is. Most of the solutions I’ve come up with would either ruin the look of our village or are simply illegal, due to important zoning and environmental regulations. All I can think of is to reduce the speed limit from Huntting Lane to Egypt Lane to 20 miles per hour and have a very strict enforcement. But even this has its drawbacks, not the least of which is that I know very few drivers who would actually comply. If it were up to me, I’d station a crossing guard here, but that guard would have to get double hazard pay — this is a very dangerous job. 

The second problem is one I think I have mentioned before. In the old days before they built the cement island in front of Citarella, there used to be a yield sign with a safety stop-line where the eastbound left lane of Main Street crosses the westbound single lane to reach North Main Street. Even with this sign, that intersection has always been very dangerous for westbound traffic: Not only do you have to watch for the cars crossing in front of you but you have to be watching the feed-in from the westbound side of North Main Street. It was common for drivers to ignore the yield sign and simply speed across, but at least there was something you could point to and say “bad driver.” 

Ever since the island was completed, there has been no yield sign and that intersection has become more dangerous. I’ve had too many close calls here between speeders coming off North Main Street and ignorant boobs thinking that they have the right of way crossing major oncoming traffic. Here the answer is simple: Put back the yield sign! The problem is, as far as I have been able to determine, not one posed by local government but rather by the State Board of Transportation in Albany. Main Street is a state highway and thus governed by state government. I’ve complained to Albany several times, yet have gotten no response. 

Again, the reason I’m thinking about this was from observing the human behavior over the past few days with the film festival. What I marvel most at is the complete selfish ignorance of people who insist on ignoring obvious danger. 

As always, thanks for reading.

MATT HARNICK

Montauk’s Makeover

Montauk

October 14, 2016

Dear Editor, 

I for one can’t wait until Montauk’s makeover from shabby to chic is complete. Hopefully by then there will be more refined and sophisticated folks residing here, whom I can relate to and converse with on an intellectual plane.

GEORGE WATSON

Water Quality Issues

Springs

October 16, 2016

Dear Mr. Rattray:

Open space is nice, but water is life, and I want clean water!

On Election Day, voters will be asked to approve a ballot initiative that will extend the current community preservation fund legislation to 2050. It will also allow “a portion” (a maximum of 20 percent) of the revenue collected from the C.P.F. transfer tax to be used on projects that will help improve water quality. I will be voting no on this initiative, and here’s why. 

Water quality is a deadly serious issue, and relegating it to “a portion” of the C.P.F. transfer tax trivializes the issue. Water quality should never be a portion; rather, it should have its own dedicated revenue stream from state, county, and local governments, with clearly delineated lines on how the funding can be used. Yearly budget appropriations will force more transparent and careful fiscal management of these funds. Careful fiscal management will result in better solutions for East End residents. 

Moreover, water quality issues require scientific scholarship conducted by independent professionals. We should be having serious discussions about what is causing water quality problems and what are the best solutions. But, I get the sense that there is a push for certain solutions absent critical discussion of other ideas. We cannot afford for elected officials to get this wrong. They need the best, most accurate, and independent information available. 

This ballot referendum exists because there is a staggering amount of money in the C.P.F. (over $1 billion has been collected since the law’s inception in 1998), and politicians and special interests are restless to get their hands on it. Indeed, vast sums of money are currently being raised and spent in East Hampton to sway voters to approve the referendum.

A group called the Clean Water and Community Preservation Committee has been formed. According to the latest campaign finance reports, the group has received $350,100 in hard money corporate contributions — $10,000 from the Peconic Land Trust, $40,000 from the Friends of Georgica Pond Foundation, and $300,100 from the Nature Conservancy in Fairfax, Va. All but $100 was received on Sept. 30. Also on that day, the committee received another $19,131 in in-kind contributions; $3,509 from Long Island Pine Barrens, $1,250 from the Group for the East End, and another $14,372 from the Nature Conservancy. Leaving aside the possible illegality of these corporate contributions (New York State law limits corporate contributions to $5,000 in aggregate for any one year), this is a huge sum of money collected in one day. 

More troubling yet, on that same Sept. 30 date, the committee is showing expenditures of $218,639.40 to an entity called the Campaign Workshop. Another $1,250 in expenditures was made to that entity on Sept. 6, for a grand total so far of $219,889.40. If I were still the deputy executive director at the New York City Campaign Finance Board, I suspect we would be investigating these transactions as possible money laundering. 

On its website, the Campaign Workshop calls itself a “Democratic political consulting firm.” And here I thought water was nonpartisan. Silly me.

It is so unfortunate that this critical issue is being politicized. But this is a great example of exactly what is wrong with funding water quality issues as part of the C.P.F. legislation. These large sums of taxpayer money, having little or no oversight, engender this kind of feeding frenzy with people who have political agendas or consultants who want localities to buy their magic-elixir septic fix. When do we stop squandering taxpayer money? It has got to stop. 

I am also against extending the law to 2050 without a proper independent evaluation of how it is working — what its effects have been on housing prices or local tax bases, for example.

I will be voting no on the C.P.F. ballot referendum, and I urge all taxpayers to do likewise. 

CAROLE CAMPOLO

Replace Smoke Alarms?

Plainview

October 17, 2016

To the Editor:

Chief Fire Marshal David Browne’s fire safety advice (letters, Oct. 6) is excellent, especially for those people (unfortunately, way too many) who are negligently foolish enough to not make sure their homes and lives are protected by working smoke detectors. 

However, I’d like to ask the chief if it’s really necessary to “replace smoke alarms every 10 years,” if a safety-conscious homeowner tests them on a regular basis, thereby confirming they will not fail to operate during an actual fire? And by “testing,” I don’t mean just pressing the test button to see if the alarm sounds, but by actually lighting a match to see (and hear) if the resulting small amount of smoke will set off the very audible alarm. 

If a 15 or 20-year-old smoke detector passes such a test, can’t it be relied upon? Or is there still a good reason to buy a new one, chief?

RICHARD SIEGELMAN

Nowhere to Go

East Hampton

October 11, 2016

To the Editor:

More than a year ago, the East End New Leaders challenged the management of the Y.M.C.A. for failing to accommodate youth and operating solely as an adult gym. The young people of East Hampton desperately need a place of their own to socialize after school. The REC was built in its central location precisely to serve that need. 

After many meetings last summer with the Y.M.C.A. management and the town board liaison, Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, we reached a tentative agreement: The Y agreed to use the middle floor as a “teen center.” In exchange, we would obtain donations of art supplies.

In August 2015, the executive director, Mr. Glenn Vickers, told the town that the space would be ready by fall. Later, he delayed the completion date to the end of December.

Choosing instead to update its gym equipment, the Y never created the promised space. Instead, it brought in a single foosball table and chairs. 

Meanwhile, the Y also outsourced much of its youth programming. Incredibly, management excused their inaction citing “lack of space” in the 21,000-square-foot facility.

More than a year after negotiations ended, young people still have nowhere to go. As Joe O’Connell, a REC board member, candidly acknowledged during our negotiations, the Y had “lost the kids.”

East Hampton residents should understand that their taxes subsidize the Y’s costs in excess of $590,000 per year. Reimbursed repair costs can more than double that amount. Yet the Y remits only a modest sum (roughly $10,000) back to the town.

The problem is a lack of motivation, not space. An adult gym is seen as being profitable, while serving kids is not. Simply stated, the town board has failed to mandate that the Y fulfill its promises and original mission.

The Democratic majority must act. During our negotiations, board members assured us that they shared our concerns. However, it appears that election year expediency produced a failed agreement, for which there is no accountability. Only Sylvia Overby has consistently understood and supported our proposal.

Notably, we presented a plan to re-imagine the Y’s mission at no taxpayer cost. That plan was rejected outright by Councilwoman Burke-Gonzalez, who appears unwilling to accept the use of the Y as a youth center. “I’m happy with the direction the Y is going,” she told us a year ago. “I do not believe in sending kids to just hang out on their own.”

We brought up the plan again shortly after the town board hastily approved repair costs of nearly $800,000. Supervisor Cantwell was enthusiastic after the fact, stating, “I would have done that!”

There is concern that a plan for a youth-oriented facility be substantially self-supporting, and it is real. However, the massive subsidies to the Y cannot be ignored. Town board members need to roll up their sleeves and develop a concrete plan of action.

Limited town resources are better used as an investment in our youth than to subsidize yet another adult gym. If the Y cannot or will not cooperate, the town board should not renew its contract in December 2018. Our elected officials must lead the way to a new vision for the facility that restores its original mission.

WALKER BRAGMAN

Children’s Clothes

East Hampton

October 17, 2016

Dear Editor, 

While shopping recently at the Ladies Village Improvement Society Bargain Box, I heard the disappointing news that the L.V.I.S. would be no longer be accepting donations of children’s clothes. When I asked why, they said they were going to be closing the children’s section in the near future. 

The L.V.I.S. is where I often bought clothes for my kids since I moved to East Hampton. Not wanting to pay exorbitant prices in retail stores for clothes that would fit for six to nine months before they were outgrown, the L.V.I.S. was my alternate source. Now that I have grandchildren, I shop for dresses, blue jeans, twirly skirts, rash guards, three-piece suits, and winter jackets for them. 

I do hope that the L.V.I.S. reconsiders its decision on this matter. Affordable choices for children’s clothes are very limited on the East End. This would be a big loss for the community.

SUSANNE KATZ

Climate Change Cause

Wainscott

October 13, 2016

Dear David,

Well, here we go again with human-caused climate change. All the heads of the Democratic Party have gotten together to blame climate change on humanity, and tell us, just pay trillions of dollars more and by gum, they’ll go after all those bad “polluters” and save the world, advertisements show cooling towers giving off steam! Deceptive at best.

Humans do not cause climate change. It is primarily caused as follows: By the changing energy levels of the sun, our orbit shape as modified by the gravity of Saturn and Jupiter. When we’re closer to the sun, we’re warmer, as in the last 18,000 years; cooler when we’re farther away, as Earth was from 18,000 years ago to 118,000 years ago, the last great glaciation that pushed Long Island into the shape it is in today. 

Now let’s look at the atmosphere. It makes life possible and helps retain the sun’s energy in many differing and varied ways. Fossil fuels are fossilized solar energy reserves. It has made our civilization as we know it possible. Every type of energy we use is secondhand solar energy except nuclear energy. Probably the worst use of this energy is adding alcohol to gasoline. It reduces the efficiency of the internal combustion engine and it takes food off our tables and increases the price of almost all foods. The atmosphere temporarily retains the low energy portion of the solar energy spectrum, near-infrared, and the gasses in the atmosphere that do this are water vapor, at 95 percent of this retention, CO2 at 3.62 percent, and methane at 1.1 percent of the effect, and other minor gasses for the balance, called the “greenhouse” effect. 

 So what part of this do humans contribute to in this system that the Earth evolved into? Well, not much.

PETER OSBORNE