A Tainted View
East Hampton
February 26, 2024
David,
I have tried all I can do to make myself available to you. You have my cell phone number, you have my email, and you have my office number. However, rather than speak to me, you continue to write editorials that are non-factual! I am not sure if you are just uninformed, or you enjoy trying to cause panic in the community. Whichever it is, it is not appropriate for anyone, but especially the editor of the paper of record for East Hampton. I have been serving the residents of our community for close to 40 years, first in the police department and now as mayor. I find your latest editorial about the village ambulance most appalling. First, have you informed your readers that you wrote this editorial with a tainted view? I think they should know before reading it that your sister was an ambulance member who quit her community. Do you think that may be an important fact that people should know?
Below, I have retyped parts of your editorial and I have made corrections to it. My corrections will start with the word “Correction” so your readers can read the truth!
“A hearing was held on Friday evening at which the county’s public safety board was to evaluate the geographical boundaries of East Hampton Village’s ambulance service area. What the Suffolk County Regional Emergency Medical Services Council got instead was a look at a fractured ambulance corps. . . .”
Correction: The ambulance is not fractured — the people that spoke are no longer members of the village Emergency Medical Service Department. They are disgruntled parties that either quit or were terminated for misconduct — David’s own sister quit!
“. . . And a glimpse at the inexplicable recklessness with which the village has handled its selfless volunteers.”
Correction: We have 30-plus volunteers who did not quit their community. The quitters left in an attempt to cause the village ambulance to fail. However, they failed, because the ambulance is doing better than it has in years!
“About a year and a half ago, East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen initiated a takeover of the ambulance service, which had been provided since the 1970s, not by a municipal department or by the Fire Department but by a nonprofit organization that contracted with the village and the town.”
Correction: The Village of East Hampton has been providing ambulance service since it was incorporated in 1920. The association was officially formed in 2004, as a group to support the ambulance workers of the village, a fraternal organization. Read their articles of incorporation!
“Why he wanted to bring the ambulance under municipal control is not 100 percent clear.”
Correction: The ambulance was on a collision course with failure. The leadership at that time were not recruiting new volunteers and refused the assistance of paid personnel, paid for by the village. As previously stated, it is the village government’s responsibility to care for the health and safety of its residents.
“In any case, the affair was, by any yardstick — and by the village’s own admission at an earlier public hearing at LTV Studios last spring — poorly handled. About a quarter of the longtime volunteers quit and a handful more were dismissed. Some felt interrogated when called in to individual meetings at which, oddly, the village attorney and/or chief of police were present. A group who left the village’s new responding ambulance department but intended to remain members of the nonprofit organization said they had been locked out of their meeting and office space and denied access to their own files. The whole imbroglio could be brushed aside as small-town stuff, a tempest in a teapot, if it didn’t present a genuine public safety problem.”
Correction: There is no public safety problem, the statistics prove that! David Rattray should be ashamed of himself for trying to cause public alarm.
“Since the takeover, Mr. Larsen and some other village employees have received training to serve as ambulance drivers, and indeed have been responding regularly to 911 calls.”
Correction: This has been the same practice for years. I, as chief of police, started this practice around 2014, using part-time police officers and maintenance staff. Ambulance service is a priority, and we will continue this practice. Even back then, volunteers were not always available.
“This may be impressive and selfless — but it is also clear from radio traffic that the mayor has to drive the ambulance regularly because his own takeover has resulted in reduced numbers of volunteers.”
Correction: This is not true; I enjoy serving my community. Drivers only were never allowed under the old leadership. More people should sign up, it is a very rewarding experience.
“More important than the issue of paid village employees leaving their desks to go on ambulance runs is the issue of the village’s ambulance service to the town, beyond village boundaries, in Northwest Woods and to the north and west of village lines. How the village ambulance functions has a critical impact on the ambulance care tendered to large numbers of town residents.”
Correction: The Village of East Hampton has been contracted by the Town of East Hampton for the last 40 years to provide ambulance and fire services to those areas. The Village of East Hampton pays for the ambulances, the equipment, the fuel, housing of the equipment, and even retirement pay for the volunteers. Important to note, the village also receives all the 911 calls for the entire Town of East Hampton. The village also dispatches Montauk Fire Department, Amagansett Fire Department, Springs Fire Department, East Hampton Fire Department, Sag Harbor Fire Department, Sag Harbor ambulance, Sag Harbor Village Police, East Hampton Village ambulance, and East Hampton Village Police.
Your “opinion” David Rattray, should be based on facts! Not “Family Drama.”
Sincerely,
JERRY LARSEN
Mayor of East Hampton Village
Entirely Bats
Amagansett
February 24, 2024
To the Editor,
Citizens of some European countries experience something Americans do not: sharing borders with nations with quite different and disturbing political structures, values, and relationships to their citizens. I am starting to feel these days, as a resident of the Town of East Hampton, like an inhabitant of a tiny European principality, sharing a border with a dictatorship ruled by an autocrat who is entirely bats, with delusions of Napoleonic grandeur.
That scary nation next door, is of course, the village, and the autocrat is Jerry Larsen. Apparently, without a single adviser who dares to tell him the truth, Larsen is achieving an own goal (think I’ve used that reference three weeks straight, there are a lot of unforced errors being made by the powerful these days) of destroying the village’s magnificent volunteer ambulance service. One consequence: The mayor is driving ambulances himself these days.
In his rage and seeming desperation, Larsen has resorted to making ugly threats against former volunteers and the association they formed, telling donors that they should not contribute to a “fraud,” calling for the individuals to be arrested, and apparently obtaining the takedown of the group’s GoFundMe page.
I modestly suggest the mayor do a Google search on an intriguing little subject: “First Amendment retaliation.” Yes, just like in your wildest dreams, you are the state!
For democracy in East Hampton (the village, too),
JONATHAN WALLACE
Volunteer Politics
East Hampton
February 24, 2024
Dear Editor,
Re: Application of the East Hampton emergency medical services to include the Northwest protection area in the certificate of need.
I am the “elected” assistant chief of East Hampton Village ambulance as well as East Hampton emergency medical services. I have been an active member for 19 years, six of those prior years I served as assistant chief (three years) and chief (three years). Being an officer was never a goal for me. Rather, it was a privilege to be asked to lead a wonderful, dedicated group of volunteers.
“Volitics,” a play on words for volunteer politics, is another piece that I have never quite understood nor engaged in during my tenure. I am told that every volunteer organization has members who want to engage in what I would align with as a “distracting injury” type of behavior. My personal focus has been to channel our members to be the best they can for their community which is stated in our mission statement.
When some members of East Hampton Village Ambulance Association started resenting our local officials and their ownership of our association, things got (in my opinion) out of hand and counter to our mission statement. Also, again in my opinion, our volitics became politics causing fractured friendships and a much less cohesive organization.
The end result was that a number of folks resigned from E.H.V.A.A. to make our village leadership look weak and to undermine the faith our community had in our ability and eagerness to serve their medical needs.
Those who resigned, or went exempt, held secret meetings with select members to strategize and “overtake” E.H.V.A.A. They elected their own new leadership to replace the real ones who were elected months prior. Their new organization kept the same name and re-admitted those members who resigned. They proceeded much like a “coup.”
By definition, E.H.V.A.A. is a benevolent association organized to help others. The actions of the “coup” were not benevolent. Their statements and actions were malevolent. Their antics took time away from our mission statement to respond professionally and quickly to a person in need.
Many town and village residents were afraid and uneasy knowing that they relied on our free and professional service and were reading that they would not have it. The press was printing the mantra spewed by the those who left E.H.V.A.A., furthering the prior members’ mission to destroy us and show we could not move forward in a positive direction without their membership.
Well, we proved them wrong but they refuse to stop their war. Now the buzz word is “mutual aid” and our policy not to adhere to one that has been in effect for years and which we just re-ratified last year. Personally, I have run four mutual aids just this year so far (one Springs; one Amagansett, two Sag Harbor). We have not vacillated in our commitment to our neighboring districts.
I thank you for reading. If you have any legitimate concerns or fears, please contact East Hampton Village E.M.S. at 1 Cedar Street. We are (and have been) a hybrid association, having paid first responders supplementing our volunteer staff to expedite and elevate our response. I apologize that you have to read and be misguided by the rants of ex-members . . . most who walked out on their community for some power motive or something else.
We are here, we are gaining members, we have started an E.M.S. club for the high school teens. Our certificate of need just needed to state what we have done for years. We do not want to expand our territory, rather we just need to have the scope of our response area listed on our certificate . . . just legitimize the territory that we serve and have served.
As Benjamin Franklin so prophetically said, “Anger is never without a reason, but seldom a good one.”
Thank you,
MARY ELLEN MCGUIRE
Assistant Chief
East Hampton Village Emergency Medical Service Department
Another Man’s Sunlight
East Hampton
February 23, 2024
Dear Mr. Editor,
Well, I see we have another common itch to scratch. Your editorial “Getting High on the Waterfront” is more than just alarming. All this nonsense about raising houses in flood zones is just plain stupid. All the scientific data points toward the only real answer, retreat from the shoreline. So, let’s say you raise a house, violate the pyramid law, and a few years from now the property is flooded. How does the owner get to the house? Rowboat?
My next-door neighbor built a second story many years ago. There is a driveway between my property and his, maybe 18 feet from property line to house. Now, this house is taller than it is wide. Very odd looking for the neighborhood. My pet peeve is that no man has the right to block out another man’s sunlight. It is a God-given right.
The green light for raising waterfront homes would definitely have a negative impact on our currently beautiful shoreline, and you know damn well the jimmy-slick lawyers and developers would have a field day with that tool. You are correct in saying decisions should have a high degree of scrutiny. We have a beautiful shoreline now, don’t blow it! As you can see, there seems to be a culture developing to circumvent the planning and zoning departments.
Best regards.
America and Americans first,
JEFFREY PLITT
Fraudulent Activity
Montauk
February 21, 2024
To the Editor,
I hope everyone reads this.
Please be aware of exceptionally smart hackers and identity thieves out there. It doesn’t matter how smart you think you are or how many times you have not answered your phone and also have dismissed them from your computer. I was a victim of this fraudulent activity recently. And I fell for it. They know a lot about you and your family and use a hook that you will recognize to get you on the phone with them.
When this happened to me, I was suspicious of everything they said and I asked them so many questions and even accused them of a scam.
Unfortunately, I did not hang up. They had a justifiable answer to everything I was curious about.
Believe me, I was convinced they could never do this to me.
They got me as far as withdrawing money and preparing to follow their instructions. I wanted my computer and phone to be free of these hackers and they assured me that once they were finished it would never happen again.
It doesn’t matter who you are — rich, old, young, highly intelligent, etc.
And they prey on your embarrassment of being duped so you won’t tell anyone.
I have very good family and friends who knew something was going on with me and helped me out while I was still on the open phone with them.
Fortunately, they disconnected when they heard them in my house.
No, I am not embarrassed to tell people. If more victims do tell, there might be less fraud out there.
Very sincerely,
HELEN GIL
Most Wonderful Thing
East Hampton
February 25, 2024
Dear David,
Thanks to The East Hampton Star, we have been doing some digging and found a wonderful and informative article by none other than our own Jack Graves. Jack’s 1975 article about the Neighborhood House (see link below) gives us a very in-depth history of what this site meant and still means to our East Hampton community.
We have basically lived our entire lives in East Hampton. We were born here, raised here, worked here, and then raised our children here. We cannot remember a time when the Neighborhood House did not exist and was not used for children and adults alike. The Neighborhood House has been a center for all kinds of children’s sport activities, pre-K classes, dances, get-togethers, meetings, barbecues, parties, clubs, including a polling place for local and national elections. The Neighborhood House was a shining star in the history of our community and continues to be so. Thank goodness for the insightful individuals long ago who believed that a community center was needed . . . for everyone, all ages, and especially for families who did not have two cents to rub together. Preschool children were able to attend the Neighborhood House for years and come prepared for kindergarten in their district’s schools. Children learned to play and work together at the Neighborhood House.
Over the last 20 years, Project Most, the highly successful after-school program for John M. Marshal Elementary School and Springs students, has utilized the Neighborhood House for its popular summer camp, school vacation and weekend children’s programming, and nursery/child care programs. The Neighborhood House also provides a convenient hub for other nonprofits and their needs. How fortunate we are that our children have a program such as Project Most and to have our longtime Neighborhood House as its base.
Now we have the unique opportunity to accept a gift from an extremely generous individual who not only wants to donate a magnificent house to replace the crumbling old structure of the Neighborhood House but will also include funds to get the facility and programs up and running daily for our children, their families, and the entire community. No town money will fund this facility . . . all will be donated!
We hope that our residents and visitors understand how important Project Most is and how it impacts all of us. To have a new and updated facility for our next generations and a center for community activities is truly a most wonderful thing.
Sincerely,
OLIVIA AND JAMES BROOKS
—
The 1975 article mentioned can be found at bit.ly/42SPWxO. Ed.
As a Neighbor
East Hampton
February 26, 2024
Dear Mr. Rattray,
I was disappointed to read the one-sided opinion of some of the neighbors that are opposing the redevelopment of the 100-year-old Neighborhood House into the future home of Project Most. I am a neighbor that lives within a tenth of a mile of the proposed project and I provided my contact information to the author of the article so that I could share my opinions in support of the redevelopment, as a neighbor, a parent of a child in the Project Most after school and camp programs, and prior to that a parent of a child who went to the early learning program held at the Neighborhood House. I was not contacted.
I cannot think of a program in East Hampton that is more inclusive than Project Most. The teachers and participants fully reflect the diversity of the community. To read that the neighbor feels that the redevelopment is “racist” is a shocking accusation. Further, stating that the continuation of the same land use established by the Neighborhood House’s 100-year-long history on the property as a “land grab” is just an inflammatory statement. Far from a “grab,” the property is being donated to Project Most by the board of the Neighborhood House.
I feel it was inappropriate for the planning board member to suggest alternate locations for the future development of Project Most that belong to the Town of East Hampton. The agreement of the transfer of land between the Neighborhood House and Project Most is between two nonprofits. This doesn’t involve the town’s properties. The planning board should address the proposal at its current location.
Replacing the existing building, that is very quickly decaying, is unlikely to drive property values down. Reconstructing a Francis Fleetwood–designed structure on this property with beautiful landscaping donated by Marders will improve the aesthetics of what is now there and likely bolster the values of the surrounding properties.
What new disturbances do the opponents fear the project will create? The property has been a community center, a gathering place for children, a camp, and an early learning facility for many, many years. I doubt its use has changed significantly since the neighbors bought their properties. Nor is the use changing significantly now. The dense landscaping and sound-barrier fencing included in the redevelopment plans may actually reduce the noise that reaches the neighbors, whether from traffic on Three Mile Harbor Road or from noise generated on site. And when the noise generated on site is the sound of well-supervised children playing from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., can it really be considered a nuisance? If it is the sound of construction the opponents fear, construction is inevitable given the state of disrepair of the existing building. The fact that the proposed project will utilize a donated building will dramatically reduce the time of construction and therefore any disturbance to the neighbors.
We look forward to this new structure in our neighborhood, and a new home base for Project Most. It will be a cultural community center that is accessible to all families that live in this community, and provide new opportunities for both children and parents.
Sincerely,
KATHERINE DALENE WEIL
Got Inked
Springs
February 25, 2024
Hello, David,
After today’s 11:30 a.m. Mass at Most Holy Trinity Church, Father Ryan stood outside greeting parishioners as they left.
“Hey, Frank,” he called to me. “I see you got inked this week.”
“Huh?” I answered.
“Your story in The East Hampton Star, ‘Hedges in front of Hedges,’ ” he said.
“Oh, you saw that?”
“I love it! Great idea! Good work.”
All day, I’ve been walkin’ on sunshine.
Thanks, David, you made my week,
FRANK VESPE
True Representatives
Montauk
February 20, 2024
To the Editor,
This is a thank-you letter to our state and federal representatives on the East End of Long Island.
First, our congratulations to Fred Thiele on bis retirement. Fred has concerned himself, for over 45 years, with the needs of our community, especially the fishing community of Montauk. Good luck and enjoy your retirement.
We would also like to thank our State Senator Anthony Palumbo for his support of the East End fishing needs. He is a true civil servant who responds to the needs of his constituents when requested.
The same goes to our U.S. Congressman Nick LaLota, who also is there with help and advice to his constituents. He is our helpful representative on the federal Level. He has been a true representative of his people in District One.
Thank you, gentlemen, for your help and support.
Respectfully,
CAPT. RICK ETZEL
President
CAPT. JOE MCBRIDE
Legislative Representative
Montauk Boatmen and Captains Association
Outdated Information
East Hampton
February 26, 2024
Dear Reader,
Environmentalists are taking a focused and objective look at the East Hampton Town Board’s plan to clearcut 5.672 acres of trees at the Abraham’s Path site of their building project.
That forested site is a habitat for the northern long-eared bat, a species declared endangered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior on Nov. 30, 2022, finalized on Jan. 30, 2023.
Any permission given by the Long Island field office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to clearcut those trees was based on incomplete and/or outdated information submitted by the town. A “standing analysis” dated June 2022 from the town (months before the federal declaration) says the project is not certain to cause incidental “take” of habitat for the northern long-eared bats, where “take” is defined as “harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct.”
The environmental assessment form submitted by the town on Jan. 4, 2024, states that the northern long-eared bat is a predominant wildlife species that occupies or uses the project site.
The bat hibernates underground; the town wants to exempt itself from the town’s other oversight agencies and go ahead and clearcut in winter, while the animal is sleeping; any bats which might survive the clearing to wake up to feed and breed in the spring will find their habitat gone.
Let’s “take” another look.
Sincerely,
PATRICIA HOPE
Erect Modulars
East Hampton
February 26, 2024
To the Editor,
Senior center solution! Use the 128 Springs-Fireplace Road property where the senior center is now. Erect modular/s. Seniors do not need 20-foot headroom. See: 219 Accabonac Road modulars. Cedar shake shingles, all handicapped accessible, easy access to and from the building, and more.
Sincerely,
LALLY MOCKLER
I Love My America
Amagansett
February 24, 2024
Dear Editor,
In response to Reggie Cornelia’s letter in last week’s Star, I would like to say that I stand by my figures in my letter of Feb. 15 concerning the protests in 2020. Contrary to the belief or false reporting of many Trumpers, there were thousands of arrests in the Black Lives Matter protests.
I am so tired of reading or hearing the Trump propaganda. Trump, I believe, is a serial liar, a sexual predator, a traitor to our country who loves dictators because he wants to be one and he will destroy our democracy if he gets elected. Everyone else can believe what they want. I love my America and have seen a lot of protests, but nothing like Jan. 6, 2021. And I don’t need to see any of your propaganda videos, Mr. Cornelia, because I watched the entire event on live television.
They say if you don’t learn from history you are doomed to repeat it. In “Mein Kampf,” Hitler wrote that propaganda “must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over.” In many instances he called the Jewish “enemy of the people.”
Sincerely yours,
ELAINE JONES
Goose-Stepping Gasbags
Springs
February 25, 2024
To the Editor,
Bruce Colbath’s letter of last week attacking people like me who question (with lots of evidence) the media version of the events of Jan. 6, 2021, is long on current leftist slogans and talking points but empty of any facts. Mr. Colbath, and anyone who believes the bilge spewed by the gaggle of goose-stepping gasbags who still have the chutzpah to call themselves journalists, is in need of better sources of information.
Thanks to Speaker Johnson and his Republican colleagues, that information is now available, with more coming out every day. Information that includes lots of time-stamped government video hidden by Nancy Pelosi and denied even to the attorneys representing those arrested. Three days before the Republicans took over the House, Pelosi also destroyed over a hundred files from the Jan. 6 commission report. Mr. Colbath is an attorney, so surely he must be appalled by this unconstitutional, unethical behavior. He knows very well that it is illegal to deliberately withhold exculpatory evidence. Talk about threats to our democracy from within.
The videos show that the performance of the Capitol police was a cross between “Keystone Cops” comedic chaos and K.G.B. thuggery. They were not alone. An F.B.I. foot soldier, Ray Epps, can be seen urging violence at five of the breach points leading into the Capitol. Video also shows that officer Harry Dunn, who appeared frequently on an adoring media tearfully telling of the trauma he suffered when four Oathkeepers assaulted him and repeatedly called him the N-word, was telling a total lie. His star “witness” was David Lazarus, who happens to be Pelosi’s chief of security. Unfortunately for him, time-stamped video shows that at the time of the incident he was in a building a quarter of a mile away.
The four Oathkeepers were sentenced to terms up to 18 years for a crime they did not commit, based on perjurious testimony. I’m sure Mr. Colbath is as eager as I am to see these convictions overturned and the perjurers punished. As of right now, Officer Dunn is a Democratic candidate for Congress. Surely the Democrats will replace him, as the Republicans did with Santos, right? Don’t bet on it. There is much, much more that will somehow seep through our corrupt media filter, including the murder of Ashli Babbitt, an Air Force veteran.
Speaking of the military, Mr. Colbath references his ancestors’ military service to imply that those of us who protested (with lots of evidence) the results of the 2020 election are somehow lacking in devotion to our country. Has he forgotten that Al Gore and Hillary are still gnashing their teeth and swearing that their elections were stolen? Just by the way, Mr. Colbath, I served in the Army in Vietnam for 15 months. Where did you serve?
The real story of Jan. 6 ignored by the press and even by cowardly Republican leaders like Mitch (Mumbles) McConnell, is that over 500,000 people including myself assembled peacefully at the Ellipse to hear President Trump’s speech. There was no trouble. The mood was festive, in spite of the cold, blustery weather.
About 1,500 people went to the Capitol, which is over a mile away, urged on by agitators like Epps and other F.B.I. plants and Antifa infiltrators. Some of them acted stupidly, some engaged violently with the police. But there was no violence until the untrained, undisciplined Capitol police began firing flash bangs and tear gas canisters directly into the crowd, seriously injuring several people.
I would be glad to share videos and analysis of the goings-on of Jan. 6 with anyone who cares about the truth.
Sincerely,
REG CORNELIA
Support for I.V.F.
East Hampton
February 26, 2024
Dear David:
The G.O.P. dog has caught the car again.
Only days after the Alabama State Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are people and therefore destroying them was criminal, prominent congressional Republicans are coming out in support of in-vitro fertilization.
Sounds great, right? Well, here’s the catch. Many of the same Republicans who are now saying Americans should have access to I.V.F. have co-sponsored pending legislation that embraces the same argument as the Alabama supreme court used in its ruling.
That legislation, known as the Life at Conception Act, defines a “human being” to “include each member of the species homo sapiens at all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization or cloning, or other moment at which an individual member of the human species comes into being.” The bill would also provide equal protection under the 14th Amendment “for the right to life of each born and preborn human person.” The measure has no provisions for processes like I.V.F., meaning access to the procedure would not be protected. It also would ban nearly all abortions nationwide. The legislation is co-sponsored by 125 Republicans in the House, including Speaker Mike Johnson.
The Alabama ruling drew immediate and fierce criticism that crossed party lines. I.V.F. has been a popular reproductive alternative to families facing fertility problems. Some 97,000 babies were born via I.V.F. in 2021 (the last year such figures were gathered).
In the wake of this criticism, G.O.P. lawmakers have scrambled to change their stripes and voice support for I.V.F., apparently (or conveniently) forgetting their earlier efforts to ban the process. It is equally apparent that Republican lawmakers (and their presidential candidates) will say whatever they need to say to hide from voters their continued embrace of restrictions on reproductive rights.
But we voters have watched the cruel agenda urged by extremist Republican lawmakers — now ripping away the promise of a family for so many Alabama families. No matter how hard [lawmakers] try to hide their extreme anti-choice records, American voters know the truth about the G.O.P. and Donald Trump: The goal of the Republican agenda is to strip away all reproductive freedoms if they get the chance.
The race to quash reproductive rights was spurred by the repeal of Roe v. Wade, something candidate Trump promised back in 2016 and continues to brag about. Nick LaLota, his congressional lapdog and our congressman, has applauded the repeal of Roe — and voters should repeal him in November.
Sincerely,
BRUCE COLBATH
Come to Your Senses
East Hampton
February 26, 2024
To the Editor,
To Congressman LaLota: Now that the bribery case against President Biden has fallen apart with the arrest of Alexander Smirnov, the informant with Russian ties, and the extreme pressure Ukraine is under — have you come to your senses?
Please re-take your dignity and end your prostration at the feet of the convicted sexual predator Trump.
TOM MACKEY
Napeague Harbor
Amagansett
February 24, 2024
Dear David,
The other week we read of more eelgrass being planted in Napeague Harbor. Written in the article was and has been a major concern of some: the warm water temperature. Though this seems like a great project I’m still more concerned about recent high tides and spring high tides.
The water has been going over the road on Crassen Boulevard, historically over Lazy Point, making multiple areas impassable — actually making all of Lazy Point cut off for hours on end. Occasionally you’ll see someone uneducated or reckless enough to drive through it. Always fun to ponder what new vehicle they will soon purchase. [I wonder] if dredging ever happened, correctly I mean. We know from a Star article in 2014 “the State Department of Environmental Conservation, a permitting agency for the dredging, does not authorize placement of sand below the mean high water line.”
Still here,
JOE KARPINSKI
Too Lenient
Plainview
February 26, 2024
To the Editor,
Suffolk County’s Anastasios Tsakos, a New York City Police Department officer killed in the line of duty, has already been buried; but his killer (virtual “murderer”) will probably remain alive for many decades — even if some of them are spent inside a prison cell. Therefore, I hereby demand that the New York State Legislature change the two words (“up to”) preceding the number of maximum years in prison that they too-leniently allow killers to be sentenced to for felony crimes that result in death for decent, law-abiding victims, to “at least” (or else have the number of years followed by any of these two-word phrases: “or more,” “or double,” or “or triple.” I would only agree with the Queens district attorney, who would “seek the maximum felony charges against the killer” who virtually murdered N.Y.P.D. cop Taso Tsakos as an unlicensed, drunk driver if those charges allowed the death penalty or life without parole. Otherwise there’s nothing close to “justice” since the killer gets to resume “its” life at some point, while the dead victim never does.
RICHARD SIEGELMAN