Letters to the Editor: Truck Beach 12.17.15

Hampton E-ZPass

Wake, Va.

December 9, 2015

To the Editor,

I read last week’s article on Truck Beach in Amagansett as a summer resident since circa 1961. The answer to all this hubbub is quite simple.

1. The beach is not a parking lot, so let’s get that straight. No one can say how beautiful or peaceful the beach is with a row of trucks parked on it in the summer. But if you’re a haulseiner or commercial fisherman, you get a pass, of course.

2. All citizens have a right to enjoy the beach. I’m all for it, and believe there should be no private ownership of the beach. The premise that “I own oceanfront, therefore I own the beach and my pristine view” is absurd.

The answer is for the town to build a public-access parking lot for all of us who don’t own oceanfront. How about a parking lot like the one at Atlantic Avenue, just past the Gun House? But please no parking attendants or lifeguards, etc.

While you’re at it, how about looking into issuing all residents an East Hampton E-ZPass that opens a toll gate (at no cost) to all town beach access parking lots to make life easier for us and the police, who have to ticket nonresidents illegally parked all summer.

Sincerely,

DOUG BANFIELD

There Are Three Sides

East Hampton

December 14, 2015

Dear David, 

I would like to thank Sylvia Long for helping me to realize that my position on the Truck Beach item was obviously misconstrued by her and possibly others, so allow me to clarify.

First, I do not “take sides.” As I see it, all three sides have rights that should and can be maintained. Yes, there are three sides. 

1. The private property owners at and around the area.

2. Individuals who enjoy driving, parking, picnicking, and fishing on the beach.

3. Mother Nature, who has suffered the most by the wear and tear caused by beach driving. In the over three decades that I have brokered transactions on the East End, in particular that sensitive strip of oceanfront, there have been significant changes. Thirty years ago I would see an occasional fisherman pull up, cast, then leave. In recent years it no longer remotely resembles that way of life. The photos speak for themselves.

It is my opinion that the needs and rights of all three sides can be met easily. It’s so close you can literally touch it. And this would preserve everyone’s rights, without lawsuits, without condemnation, and without further expense to the taxpayers. The answer lies just to the east. It is public land owned by New York State. There already exists a truck entrance to the beach and the identical beautiful oceanfront that could accommodateveryone. The only one who may not get everything she deserves is Mother Nature, as driving on any beach compromises the beachfront. 

But again, the balance between preservation and conservation is a fragile one.

Ms. Long, this issue has nothing to do with commissions, as properties will continue to trade no matter what the outcome is. This is strictly an issue of maintaining rights with the utmost respect and consideration for the other side. And please know, I have never heard any agent tell “new buyers of land in Napeague that they buy the house, beach, and ocean all the way to Portugal.” Licensees on the East End are keenly aware of laws, rights, and restrictions. They are most sensitive to our lands. After all, we are all neighbors enjoying the same beautiful East End, as we all chose to live here. 

I trust this clarifies my position and I remain available to discuss further should you wish to visit me.

Respectfully,

JUDI A. DESIDERIO

Excessive Privilege

Amagansett

December 9, 2015

Dear David:

The massive numbers of S.U.V.s on the beach in Napeague are having an adverse effect on the people who live there. Beyond the blight, there are safety concerns expressed by scores of parents with small children, who must traverse the highway of vehicles to get to the shoreline. In addition, the S.U.V.s have “decimated” a dune and “opened a flood corridor” that has flooded repeatedly, as outlined in East Hampton’s Local Waterfront Revitalization Program. The area homeowners tried for years to get the S.U.V.s curbed and moved to areas where human life and property are not so endangered.

The town board is ignoring these concerns, and instead is threatening to condemn the beach for the S.U.V.s. Why, when traditional use of our beaches is pedestrian, and it’s estimated that less than 5 percent of East Hampton’s townspeople drive on that beach? Those drivers and the town board expect the other 95 percent of East Hampton’s taxpayers to foot the bill for legal expenses and condemnation damages — a case of excessive privilege that will not go unchallenged by taxpayers. SAFE (safebeach.org) has more information on these expenses and what can be done about them. 

Area homeowners welcome reasonable public pedestrian use of the beach there. So public access is not at risk. Moving the S.U.V.s to nearby uninhabited beaches would resolve the conflict and is a win-win for all, especially taxpayers who are sick and tired of paying for this legal battle.

CINDI CRAIN

Safe Access for Everyone

Truck Beach Sunday

Springs

December 13, 2015

Dear Editor,

I was born and raised in Montauk and am now a homeowner in Springs with small children about to enter the school system. My husband also grew up here and owns a local trade company. After college we both came home and worked hard to remain here in order to raise our own family in this beautiful community.

This past weekend, I was approached by a teenage boy asking me to sign a petition for SAFE, to ban trucks from driving on Napeague beach. I was taught to be polite, so it took everything in me to simply smile and respond with “Absolutely not!” I came to find out later, through social media, I was not alone in my anger and these solicitors were not very knowledgeable about what they were asking people to do.

The thing is, I am one of the trucks on Truck Beach every Sunday during the busy summer. It’s one of the few chances this local family has to spend quality time together. We also go there because many of our friends bring their children there. 

And anyone with small children knows that the amount of stuff needed to have a successful beach day requires a truck. Without the ability to drive on there is no question, I would question going to the beach. I’m sure as my children get older a day at the beach will just involve some sunscreen and a towel, but for now, we load up the cooler, the chairs, the tent, the grill, the blankets, the sand toys, the water table, the umbrella, the backup umbrella (you get the picture), and head down to find a spot near our friends. We laugh, make sand castles, eat good food, swim, and decompress. That one day on the beach gives us just enough relaxation to start the long workweek again Monday. And not to forget, when we leave the beach there is not one speck of garbage left behind. 

My husband worked for East Hampton Town as a lifeguard for 10 years, 5 as a lieutenant. He saved several lives and made safety on the beach his number-one priority, so hearing that SAFE’s main focus is “keeping the beach safe” is insulting. I think it’s safe (pun intended) to say that I would never put my children in danger. 

I can also recall one beautiful Truck Beach Sunday, a local volunteer fireman got a call that there was a fire in progress. I watched as he sprinted down the beach alerting another volunteer there. They got into the same truck and exited the beach so cautiously I recall thinking it was a bit ironic how urgently they rallied together and still kept it to five miles per hour leaving.

Napeague beach is safe. 

Thank you. 

ASHLEY LIBATH

Trucks Off the Beach

Fairfield, Conn.

December 11, 2015

Dear David,

Each and every year, I, my husband, and our four children yearn for summer excitement, which mostly includes the ocean, sun, and sand. For over 10 years now, we have spent our summer vacations on the East End.

We stay in the dunes of Napeague, as our family enjoys spending time with my brother, an East Hampton resident. The children walk to the beach and play in the sand and ocean most days. My husband and I have such fond memories of spending hours at the beach. We spend our time swimming, tossing a frisbee or football, and walking along the shore with our children, picking up shells and sea glass to create numerous art projects. I remember when my sons, now 14 and 12, first started body surfing and building sand castles. This year they learned how to surfcast from their uncle. Good old wholesome family time. 

Unfortunately things are changing, and, sadly, I can’t say they are for the better. The once serene and beautiful beaches of Napeague are being overrun by beach revelers and tailgaters. This detracts from the experience that my family has grown up loving. The threatened piping plovers used to flourish. Now they seem to be scared away by the rumblings of S.U.V.s speeding along the beach. We used to lay our blanket out on the soft yellow sand, and now we have to smooth out the tire tracks so we don’t uncomfortably lie in the “ruts,” as my children like to call them. 

Not to mention finding a section of sand free of the ever-increasing litter. I have picked up garbage bags full of trash during my vacations at the beach. This stretch of coastline has gotten so overrun with vehicles that I no longer feel safe letting my children play freely. What type of mother would allow her children to play in a congested parking lot or busy roadway? Sadly, this is how I have grown to feel over the years. I wonder about the influence the tailgating will have upon my nearly teenage boys as beachgoers each year seem to partake in more aggressive behavior, which includes drinking and driving, urinating in the dunes, and loud music.

I asked myself why does a town as wonderful as East Hampton allow this beach to exist without rules? Why is the Napeague beach not better policed? Why is this beach different from others where driving is limited to certain hours of the day? The Town of East Hampton needs to provide parking for its residents and their vehicles.

As I continued my research, I learned about the homeowners’ lawsuit, CfAR, the Benson deed, etc. The more I read and learned, the more irrational and borderline comical it has all become to an outsider looking in. There are too many people fighting for self-interests rather than considering the effects their behaviors have on others. 

I teach my children to be kind to their neighbors, give back to their community, to share, respect others and the environment, and, most important, never do anything that would put another person in harm’s way. I wish the town and the beach trustees would do the same. Treat Napeague like every other beach in East Hampton. Take the trucks off the beach. I guess it is just the mother in me.

Sincerely,

PAM RYAN