Letters to the Editor: Hamlet Studies 06.15.17

Growth in Population

East Hampton

June 9, 2017

Dear David:

It is encouraging to see you focused on the principal issue facing our community: the unwise, unwarranted, and unsustainable growth in population density.

Our planners, our consultants, and our government officials should be dedicated to reversing growth trajectories. That awareness and that initiative would go a long way to beginning to solve the issues of overcrowding, excess traffic, unbearable aircraft noise, and the destruction of our land, and water quality.

I would like to commend you for your editorial of June 8, 2017, in which you advocate and suggest, “At a minimum, town officials need to be talking about how to adopt a zero-growth strategy, how to reduce that peak population, and eliminate problematic attractions.”

I have long attempted to draft plans and to convince our authorities at every level that unless this approach becomes the focus for East Hampton, our community will be further degraded and soon become an unappealing, problem-ridden suburb.

PETER M. WOLF

Sins of Past Growth

East Hampton

June 12, 2017

Dear David,

Your editorial “Hamlet Studies May Evade Key Questions” gets a fist pump and a “right on” from me. Back in 1983 when I resurrected the Springs General Store, which had been idle for almost two years, I realized the trouble for which we were heading. Pussy’s Pond and Accabonac Harbor flowed through our basement then. God knows what the septic systems nearby were doing to those water bodies. 

Since the early 2000s, when the town started its comprehensive plan, we have been deluding ourselves. Between your editorial and the very words of the town’s Montauk hamlet study consultants, it is clear that before we can do anything about executing plans and hamlet studies we need to do something about our horrendous water quality deterioration — and not only in Montauk. There is ammonia in Accabonac Harbor. Nitrogen levels are approaching 10 p.p.m. of nitrogen and have actually probably exceeded those levels in Three Mile Harbor. These water bodies are not the exception, they are the rule. Can you imagine what could have been done with the money pent on these plans and studies if it had been directed toward clean water?

We have taken a decade and a half to “plan” our future and have implemented virtually nothing. Plans are used here in East Hampton to say no, not only to growth but to the solutions needed to address the sins of past growth. One mortal sin is the fact that since the 1980s there have been ample federal funds for the town to tap for both septic and drinking water issues, yet not one application has been made by the town to the E.P.A.-State Revolving Fund of $2.2 billion. 

Some town officials will cry, there is too much red tape involved in these federal and state grants. To that I answer, take a look at your own plans and studies and the resulting rules and regulations. The town may not have invented red tape but they sure caught the contagion. 

In my 45-year career as an environmental professional I have faced tough problems such as these throughout the region and the nation. I have worked with all the community players to get solutions implemented. This isn’t rocket science, this is about working together. Politics must be pushed aside.

I posed a simple question to the Montauk Citizens Advisory Committee, which I addressed on June 5. Water quality improvement, no, water quality resurrection is needed. If not now, when? 

PAUL GIARDINA

Candidate for 

East Hampton Town Board

The Real Issue

Springs

June 12, 2017

Dear David,

In your editorial last week regarding the hamlet study you closed by saying “Make no mistake, this is an existential moment for the town, but real and lasting solutions are possible, as long as officials and consultants are asking the right questions, which so far, they are not.”

This past Thursday in my capacity representing the members of the Police Benevolent Association of New York State (the state’s fifth biggest union), I attended an event in New York City in support of and where State Senator Jeff Klein (D-Bronx) was a speaker. Senator Klein is the leader of the Independent Democrat Conference in the Senate. In 2011, Senator Klein resigned as the Senate Democrats’ Deputy Leader and formed the I.D.C. with the Democratic Senators David J. Valesky of Onondaga, David Carlucci of Rockland, and Diane Savino of Staten Island. Since that time the I.D.C. has added four additional members, Senators Tony Avella of Queens, Jose Peralta of Queens, Jesse Hamilton of Brooklyn, and Marisol Alcantara of Manhattan. 

The I.D.C., along with Senator Simcha Felder (D-Brooklyn), caucuses with the Senate Republicans. Despite caucusing with the Republicans, the I.D.C. remains true to their values as Democrats and has accomplished a number of progressive issues in recent years working with the Republicans that would not have passed had the I.D.C. not been in the coalition with the G.O.P.

All politics are local, put people first ahead of politics and work together for the best possible outcome, which leads me to the hamlet study. The study encompasses a great many things, as each community has its own unique character. The study clearly shows that one size does not fit all, though one component that resonated throughout was affordable housing.

To your point, David, about “asking the right questions,” the study failed to address the real issue, which is cost of living. Affordable housing is but one component in the cost-of-living equation. The cost-of-living equation includes but is not limited to the price of real estate and shelter, to groceries in the local markets, and taxes. These are all factors that affect every local resident that are not in the top 1 percent of income earners. There are a great many factors that contribute to the cost of living in East Hampton that are out of the control of East Hampton Town. 

The next town board must be prepared to shed political party ideologies and work together long hours and days in a bipartisan effort to save our community from the effects of our ever-increasing cost of living. In my view, the hamlet study is limited in scope and barely scratches the surface. To get a true picture, there must be a comprehensive review of transportation, town government, economic options, small business empowerment, and environmental conservation protection.

David, you are correct that this is an existential moment that will require thinking outside the box to be able to ask the right question, just as Senator Klein and the I.D.C. have in the New York State Senate, to bring real and lasting solutions. Solutions that will not tax our seniors into oblivion or prevent our business community from thriving. Solutions that provide an environment for private-sector businesses to create well-paying jobs consistent with the values of our community, a safe community for our children to grow to be prosperous, productive adults, services to support our seniors and most vulnerable members of our society.

We must develop and implement true environmental conservation policies that are rooted in science and tradition to protect our natural resources, groundwater, bays and harbors — policies that complement our rich history and invite newcomers to be a part of the great melting pot of American culture.

The next town supervisor and town board should be prepared to work long hours seven days a week, closely and in a bipartisan way with all elected legislators, executives, and government officials in the county, in Albany, and in Washington to advocate for our community. There will be no room for less. 

As a candidate for East Hampton Town supervisor, I am humbled not only by the tasks before us but also by the opportunity and privilege over the past 33 years to serve not only our community but also throughout Long Island, and in New York City in Harlem and the South Bronx, as well as in upstate New York.

MANUEL VILAR



Mr. Vilar is the Republican candidate for East Hampton Town supervisor. Ed.