Jimmy
Springs
December 29, 2024
To the Editor,
Godspeed, Jimmy Carter.
JOHN ALDRED
Meals for Neighbors
East Hampton
December 24, 2024
Dear David,
It warms the heart to think about the community groups that provided meals for our homebound neighbors on three recent holiday occasions — often a difficult time for many who live alone.
On Thanksgiving, the First Presbyterian Church of East Hampton prepared turkey dinners with all the trimmings for our many clients. On Dec. 8, the Springs Fire Department also prepared a wonderful holiday meal for our clients. And lastly on Christmas, American Legion Post 419 in Amagansett prepared, not just a full meal, but also holiday treats for our homebound residents.
All the meals were picked up and delivered by our volunteer drivers. Our clients were delighted and thoroughly enjoyed the delicious food. We greatly appreciate the care, concern and support of our friends in the community, especially during the holiday season.
We are always looking for volunteers; please visit our website at ehmealsonwheels.org or call 631-329-1669.
Very truly yours,
VIRGINIA FRATI
East Hampton Meals on Wheels
Some Stellar People
East Hampton
December 20, 2024
Dear David,
People are resilient. It could be the time of year, the festive atmosphere, the crisp air, the twinkling lights on the trees, and that amazing full moon. We are small compared to the vast universe. It’s humbling. In the midst of the state of the world and the big changes coming in the new year in our own country, it can be a lot.
But people are smiling at one another. I am offering a smile in shops and on sidewalks. We don’t know what struggles are behind their curtains. A simple smile could change a day. It is the season of miracles, after all. Peace will hopefully come to those in far away regions. It’s time.
Meanwhile, locally, some stellar people have recently gone on to that celestial plane. Phyllis Italiano will surely be missed. I had the pleasure of meeting her in 2011 when she nominated me to run for town trustee. I didn’t win, but I won a friend. Phyllis, who I fondly called “Mrs. Robinson’s sister,” while at a campaign event where she said, “You know how the celebrities are!” I surely didn’t, but I was looking around for any. And in that moment it clicked- the voice, her eyes, O.M.G.! “You’re Mrs. Robinson’s sister!” She laughed her hearty laugh and we became instant friends.
I was on her show “The Democratic View,” on LTV twice. Once for my work with a neighborhood group to save our aquifer. Another time as an author of a novel about domestic violence. I had worked at The Retreat. Phyllis was smart, passionate, a great swimmer, an activist, and a straight shooter. I’m grateful we crossed paths. You’re a star in the sky now, Phyllis.
Another person gone, who touched many in our town for years, was the amazing Larry Penny. What a man. We met poring over maps in Village Hall, and I learned so much about the history of where we live and how to preserve and protect. A quiet man with a powerhouse mind. A writer. A nature lover. He was the head of the Natural Resources Department, but I saw him communing with pot bellied pigs in my backyard one summer. Nobody but my husband could go into the pig’s coral. One of our pigs, Daisy, could be aggressive. And yet there he was, Larry, sitting cross-legged in the dirt while the pigs were as calm as yogis beside him.
My son and daughter in law worked with him that summer out in the field. I’m told it was their favorite time; learning under Larry was a gift. We stayed in touch for years. He followed our fight to save the groundwater and he quietly championed our cause. I was honored to know him. His light will shine on as another star in the wintry sky. Good night, Larry.
I wish all of you readers and writers a beautiful healthy holiday season and peace and love in the new year. When we gaze at the night sky, aren’t we all the same?
Remembering,
NANCI LAGARENNE
On the Agenda
East Hampton Village
December 29, 2024
Hi David,
I’ve been catching up on East Hampton Village’s hyper-local happenings.
I didn’t realize the Dec. 18 board of trustees meeting occurred. It is too bad that the “new and improved” website’s listserv is not running. Jerry, can you investigate it?
On a rainy Saturday, I viewed LTV’s stream and was most interested in the three board discussions on the agenda. The first topic was legislating regulations at village beaches and their environs. Most surprising and disturbing was that the current village code did not include rules for Parking Lot 1, lockers, and the pavilion area. This lack of oversight is a pressing issue that directly impacts the health and safety of the beach patrons. It’s crucial that the board prioritizes this matter over other less urgent tasks. Party planning can certainly wait, but not the safety of our community.
The discussion continued to vehicle speeds in parking areas. The National Highway Safety Council recommends a speed limit of between 5 and 10 miles per hour. Given the size of Lot 1, I’d err on the 5-m.p.h. limit. It is probably most prudent. The deputy mayor recommended the speed limit be “strictly enforced.” I agree, but unfortunately the only way to enforce this would be to install a speed camera to capture the license plate and generate a ticket. Remember, the vehicle owner receives the ticket, not the driver.
As the area is already under video surveillance, adding a ticketing component with Marcos Baladron’s digital expertise should not be difficult. By the way, the Lot 1 entrance signage configurations (cones, stop signs, and chair placement) must be consistent — finishing my parking comment.
The next topic on the agenda was trustee compensation, which appeared to be part of a “grassroots” movement initiated by Marcos. A few data points:
Since the Newtown party came into power, the village payroll has increased by 49 percent — $8.8 million to $13.1 million, excluding benefits and overhead. Marcos’s team salaries (growing from 7 to 9) increased by over $211,000, and Marcos’s salary alone increased by over $40,000.
David, I am in favor of salary increases for trustees. However, I believe these increases should be based on clear roles, responsibilities, accountability, and performance metrics. This approach will ensure fairness in the compensation system. I propose a structured consulting approach addressing trustee compensation — beginning with a request for qualifications, or R.F.Q., followed by a request for proposals, or R.F.P). This structured process will ensure transparency — a key tenet of the Larsen administration. Jerry?
Thank you,
DAVID GANZ
Willing to Fight
East Hampton
December 23, 2024
To the Editor,
I am writing this in hopes of getting the new Windmill Village low income housing extension project going. I am not a person that complains much, live and let live. There are two things that bother me: one — taking care of our children (day care, schooling, and health care); two — the elderly (health care , nutrition and most importantly a place to live.) These are unquestionably the most important priorities this community must maintain at its highest level.
I know what it is like feeling stressed out thinking about where the hell you are going to live. Rents keep going up, the wife gets sick, and your landlord just told you that he’s not renting this year; his kids are coming out for the summer.
I live with 39 other senior families, some single, some couples, on five acres of land. I am on the advocacy committee that fought for getting the density changed from eight apartments on an acre to 12 units on an acre. And I know what it is like being on a waiting list — hoping you get a call that your name has come up. So all of us on the committee and the rest of the tenants are in favor of bringing in 20 new apartments because of the great need — over 400 seniors in East Hampton who cannot afford to rent here. And we realize that it is going to be more crowded, more cars, more everything. We are willing to fight for those on the waiting list because we know what it is like to be in that situation. But we want to have a say as to where the apartments go.
We have had plans drawn up for a couple of years. We met with Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc, Kathy Burke Gonzalez, David Lys, Tom Flight, and Ian Calder Piedmonte, and they all liked the plans. We have been talking about this project for over four years. This to me is unacceptable.
To get this job going, take the plan that we have (which I thought was great) and get this project going. To hold it up over some trees or moving some buildings is nuts. If we take down some trees, we will replace them. I know of two properties where every tree was cut down. What’s wrong with this picture?
Look, a lot of people know me in this town. I am an easy-going guy, and I have many friends. Bottom line: I was in the service and fought for this country so we can have freedom of speech. My friends and my country are behind me. So let’s try real hard to get this done. We invite the Planning Department to come and meet with us on-site so we can solve this problem.
Thank you so much,
LEE O’TOOLE
East and Westbound
Southampton
December 23, 2024
To the Editor,
Are you as exasperated as I am with the never-ending traffic jams? Do you share my frustration with the constant tailgating and speeding on our roads?
I haven’t seen any efforts to address the problem that makes sense or can be accomplished within the next 20 years. Sure, a bypass road along the railroad tracks could be accomplished someday. Another strategy, like building an elevated highway above route County Road 39 and Montauk Highway will never get locals approvals and will cost too much money.
As a local business owner, I travel the roads every day out here and I have a few thoughts that could return the bypass 39 and Montauk Highway to the pleasant and efficient roadways they used to be using existing technology, modifying existing traffic signals, and installing speed bumps and traffic circles at strategic locations.
We currently have stop lights that create massive backups and congestion with no constant flow. If the C.R.39-Montauk highway’s speed limit were strictly enforced, it would be an instant success. Quogue is known for its “Don’t even think about speeding in our village” policy, which works because they enforce it. If Quogue can do it, why can’t we?
Consider this: Eliminating red and green lights and replacing them with only flashing yellow, artificial intelligence traffic-flow cameras would allow eastbound and westbound traffic to flow smoothly because motorists will be exiting off C.R.39-Montauk Highway. traveling to and from East Hampton. All streets entering C.R. 39-Montauk Highway that have stop signs, which most have anyway will be replaced with electronic signs which in real time will assist the driver when it is safe or not to enter and merge into the flow of traffic. All cameras, speed bumps, traffic circles, electronic stop signs will be monitoring and assessing the flow of traffic every inch of C.R. 39-Montauk Highway, 24-7 and communicating to you the driver on your phone, iPad, laptop, or car screen how you’re doing. If there is an accident, you will be notified immediately on your device where the next best place to exit and take a different route.
Signage posted on the Sunrise Highway starting at the Westhampton Beach exit would say, :You’re about to enter a no-speeding, zero tolerance zone for the next 20 miles. You will be ticketed electronically, and fines start at $750.” (You could even pay for your e-ticket with your phone.) Offenders will be published in the local papers. This will show everybody the towns are serious.
More warning signs before arriving at the Lobster Inn and a speed bump or two will have an immediate impact by slowing down traffic. If you obey the speed limit, you will be rewarded by making it from Southampton to East Hampton in 35 minutes — guaranteed!
An interactive public service message and G.P.S. map brought to you by the Towns of Southampton and East Hampton would send a message to your phone when you pass Westhampton Beach going east, informing you of the rules and updated information for the next 15 miles, such as how long it will take to arrive at your destination; the consequences if you don’t obey the speed limit; no stopping on the by-pass, only slowing down to get off; where speed bumps are located, exit locations, and traffic circles; suggestions for taking the back roads all in real-time so you can see what’s ahead, and accidents and delays.
Say goodbye to speeding, cutting in front of oncoming cars, and desperate poorly timed high-risk maneuvers because now there is no more delayed or bumper-to-bumper traffic!
If this model is going to work it will be 100 percent dependent on drivers to obey the speed limit and be patient — or continue to live with what we have now which is congestion and chaos!
It may not be possible to implement 100 percent of this plan from Southampton to East Hampton because of some difficult intersections, but what if 50 percent were? It would certainly be far better than what we all have now. What do we have to lose?
PETER ZEGLER
Road to Perdition
East Hampton
December 29, 2024
To the Editor,
It is not unusual for those on the losing end of an election to declare the nation on the road to perdition. So I was delighted to find the following from Emerson’s Journal from 1857:
“Because our education is defective, because we are superficial & ill-read, we are forced to make the most of that position, of ignorance; to idolize ignorance.”
How freeing to know that it’s been ever thus.
TOM MACKEY
Suffered Greatly
Montauk
December 21, 2024
Dear David,
I was delighted to read that our newly appointed President Musk is going to privatize Social Security. It is about time that someone took some measures to eliminate the huge checks that lazy, feeble-minded retirees and millions of orphans receive every month. American taxpayers are tired of these people living extravagant lifestyles, as evidenced by frequently eating at McDonald’s and ordering Quarter Pounders with Cheese. The nerve!
I was also happy to read that President Musk intends to slash the federal taxes on corporations and individuals. We all know that corporate America took it on the chin during the past-pandemic by refusing to increase profits by increasing prices on most of their products. At the same time American millionaires and billionaires suffered greatly due to some increases in the price of staples like cereal, eggs, bacon, milk, cheese, and tomatoes. Thousands of the wealthy were forced to cut back on the number of household staff (butlers, private chefs, cleaners, nannies, personal assistants, et al.).
Some of the wealthy were rumored to have sold their Aston Martins and Ferraris and replaced them with VW Jettas (known for great miles per gallon!) and Hyundai Elantras. Quite a few started cooking their own meals and cutting their own lawns to save a few dollars. This was very traumatic for these people who were used to living a life of privilege that they earned by attending exclusive private schools and getting an Ivy League education. Their trust funds were also very helpful.
Now that President Musk is in command of the U.S.A., there is only one way that we can go. For example, my government sources tell me that Mr. Musk is going to require that the Pledge of Allegiance in schools be replaced by a few lines of a modified Janis Joplin song:
“Oh lord, won’t you buy me a Tesla or Mercedes Benz?
My friends all drive Porsches,
I must make amends.”
Forget about chickens in every pot, we will have Teslas in every driveway!
Cheers,
BRIAN POPE
LaLota Doesn’t Care
Springs
December 20, 2024
Dear David,
As we prepare to have our government shut down, let’s see how we got here and what our congressman, Nick LaLota, voted for. The bipartisan agreement to continue government funding until March was torpedoed by Elon Musk’s tweets, backed by Donald Trump’s approval. Musk and Trump demanded a new budget agreement that would have killed funding for research on childhood cancers, for hurricane and other disaster aid, and for vital relief for farmers.
It would have also raised the debt ceiling by $5 trillion so that Trump can hand another gigantic tax break to his billionaire buddies. This will skyrocket the debt our children and grandchildren will have to pay. Freedom Caucus Representative Chip Roy, a Texas Republican who voted “no,” told his fellow Republicans: “I am absolutely sickened by a party that campaigns on fiscal responsibility and has the temerity to go forward to the American people and say you think this is fiscally responsible.”
Maybe that would be okay if the debt ceiling were raised for actually investing in America — like providing free or low-cost childcare so parents could work without worrying how to pay for it. Or forgiving student debt so young people can afford to marry, have kids and buy houses, and old people can have their entire Social Security payment without it being garnished to pay back student loans. Or, here’s a crazy idea: giving Medicare to everyone (and don’t privatize it to boost insurance company profits) — free universal health care like the rest of the developed world has.
But Nick LaLota doesn’t care about kids with cancer, or farmers who need assistance. He doesn’t care about hurricane relief, even though he represents a district that is one of the most vulnerable in America to hurricanes. Have you noticed your property insurance bill lately? It’s soaring because Long Island homes are at “extreme” risk of wind and “severe” risk for flooding.
Last I saw, Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, wasn’t elected by the American people. But Trump has no interest in actual governing; he just cares about power and money. So he’s happy to back up Musk’s threats in return for Musk’s money and good will. It would be so pathetic, if it weren’t so dangerous to us all. And our pathetic Congressman Nick LaLota is happy to vote for that.
FRANCESCA RHEANNON
‘Beautiful People’
Montauk
December 21, 2024
To the Editor,
My recent Guestwords essay, “Beautiful People in an Ugly World,” offered my earnest, heartfelt belief that Palestinians in general are a gentle, peaceful people. That prompted a full frontal attack, not with military might, but rather 3,200-plus punishing words laced with the rhetoric of the Israeli propaganda machine. It would be an understatement to say I touched a nerve. I wondered why such an uproar; then it occurred to me: If you entertain the idea that Palestinians are “beautiful people,” you then have to question Israel’s egregiously disproportionate attacks on Gaza.
Jim Vrettos’s two letters to the editor pose lots of questions, most of which I address here, but he doesn’t have the courtesy to first answer my questions posed in my piece. One of his main criticisms is that my essay could have been more balanced. Keep in mind that my essay argues that Palestinians are unfairly judged and the narrative of the conflict is overwhelmingly from the Israeli government’s point-of-view. Within this context, my message by nature has to be unbalanced in order to achieve a balanced perspective.
I was asked how “beautiful people” could perpetrate the actions of Oct. 7. That question was answered in my Guestwords essay, but I’ll offer an additional thought from Norman Finkelstein, a Jewish-American political scientist on the Holocaust and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He noted in a recent interview, “If you are to persist in the inhuman treatment of people don’t express shock if the inhuman treatment of people results in an inhuman reaction.”
Regarding Hebron, it is not a hostile city and Palestinians are not a hostile people. I’m “living” proof of that. The suggestion that nearby troops, whom I never saw, may be pacifying the city is ridiculous, but if that were true then why is Israel annihilating or displacing every Palestinian in Gaza when these alleged hostile people can be so easily pacified?
Ironically, the only signs of animosity I experienced in Palestine were at an Israeli checkpoint going into the Ibrahimi Mosque and in the old city where settlers routinely throw garbage from their upper apartments down upon Palestinians in their marketplace. I can produce photos of the latter.
Let me now turn to the letters from Rabbi Franklin, Mr. Ashner, and Mr. Russo. I found it disheartening that YouTube analytics indicates none of them, nor Mr. Vrettos, used the hyperlink in the essay to view the short, student films, totaling just 12 minutes. My Palestinian students used this peaceful form of expression to voice what it’s like to grow up under occupation for 17 years and you don’t take a few minutes to listen. When peaceful means such as this are ignored, don’t wonder why more violent forms of expression sometimes arise.
Regarding Mr. Ashner’s assertion that Israel offered the Palestinians a juicy peace offering at the Camp David summit in 2000. True, the claim did appear in some U.S. papers as the summit unfolded and for a short period thereafter even though no physical document was ever produced. That claim turned out to be untrue and has generally been abandoned. For those interested in the subject check out “Camp David: a tragedy of errors” in the U.K. Guardian or “Lost in the Woods: A Camp David Retrospective” by the Carnegie Endowment.
As for Mr. Russo’s history lesson, he hopscotches through the ages like a frog under the influence of too many martinis. He jumps from “4,000 years ago” to 1948 like Bob Beamon’s long jump at the 1968 Olympics, never considering that Palestinians remained on that land through all those centuries. You can’t return to a land thousands of years later like you own the place without getting people riled up. The Zionists movement into Palestine started in the late 1800s and yet, if Palestinians were violent people why weren’t they violently confronted instead of generally welcomed?
Mr. Russo conveniently uses the United Nations as justification for the land-grab even though Israel has repeatedly undermined the institution. Here’s what the U.N. has to say on the matter: “As early as December 1948, the UN General Assembly called for refugee return, property restitution and compensation (resolution 194 (II)). However, 75 years later, despite countless UN resolutions, the rights of the Palestinians continue to be denied. According to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees more than 5 million Palestine refugees are scattered throughout the Middle East. Today, Palestinians continue to be dispossessed and displaced by Israeli settlements, evictions, land confiscation and home demolitions.”
Rabbi Franklin in his letter spurns my three-week trip to Palestine (Franklin calls it “a weeklong trip”) as inadequate to formulate a credible opinion of the Palestinian people. I not only spent a great deal of time with the students attending my six filmmaking workshops and continue to do so remotely, I also met with prominent business leaders, as well as department heads and the president of Hebron University. In addition to my time in Hebron, I visited Jerusalem and Bethlehem, including the Aida refugee camp, as well as small villages on the outskirts of Hebron.
I spent every waking hour with these people seven days a week; that’s roughly 200 hours. You can typically get a Ph.D. in various fields in 60 to 120 hours. Of course, I don’t expect a doctorate, but I do feel my opinions have merit and a religious leader in the community should be the last person to be so closed-minded and dismissive in response to them.
Rabbi Franklin’s veiled repudiation of my knowledge of history is extraordinary since he knows nothing about me. Meanwhile, his recommendation of three books to better inform people of the history of the region are all written by Israelis. No mention is made of a current New York Times bestseller in its 33rd week on the list titled, “The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine” by Rashid Khalidi, a recently retired, Palestinian professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University. President Biden was recently photographed carrying the book.
Rabbi Franklin goes so far as to suggest I should have been censored! His justification is my comment that Hamas removed all references to aggression toward Israel in their revised charter of 2017. This is not only true, it also represented a huge change in Hamas’ attitude and maybe a watershed moment. This “nuance” appears to have eluded the rabbi. This softening of Hamas’ violent rhetoric offered and still offers a concession on which to construct a path to peace, yet, it is rarely, if ever, mentioned. Instead the more incendiary 1988 charter is the one Israel, the U.S. government, and American media repeatedly reference because it supports the demonization of Hamas and Palestinians in general to justify the ongoing war crimes. Here is a link to the entire charter for interested readers: middleeasteye.net/news/hamas-2017-document-full.
I do agree with the rabbi that reading is important, but also common sense goes a long ways. Take for instance, the reference that’s mentioned in the rabbi’s and Mr. Ashner’s letters that Oct. 7 reflects upon all Palestinians. Are we to believe five million Palestinians got together one night to plan the attack?
Furthermore, a reasonably bright individual would likely question whether a small team of Gazans in a blitzkrieg strike into one of the most powerful and brutal, militaristic nations on the planet would have time or the inclination to mutilate bodies and rape women, let alone pre-heat ovens to cook babies. Astute readers would also question why no physical evidence exists in the international community of rape and why no photos or videos of such alleged atrocities have surfaced even though most everyone carries a smartphone with a high-resolution camera. Fortunately, all these assertions largely disappeared in mainstream media after investigative news outlets found them to be fabricated. Sadly, these falsehoods often remain locked within closed minds.
I had hoped that my visit to Palestine would open minds and I still do. I know a great many people believe, as I do, that Palestinians are not the demons they are purported to be, but hesitate to openly express their beliefs for fear of retaliation in one form or another.
Wouldn’t all parties do a better service to the community by being more open-minded to diverse opinions even those that run contrary to their own? I believe we have far more in common than we have differences so let’s focus on the commonality.
Thanks to The Star for courageously allowing everyone to have a word.
JEFF GEWERT
Opposite Sides
East Hampton
December 23, 2024
Dear David,
I appreciate your response to my request for increased transparency and criteria on the Guestwords articles The Star publishes, but my concerns were not really addressed.
Saying that these articles aren’t necessarily The Star’s opinion was somewhat helpful but opens up more questions than it answers. It would be simpler to just say that these articles do or do not reflect The Star’s opinion — be definitive and just leave it at that — can’t have it both ways.
I’m not sure what your citation of David Saxe’s Nov. 30 2023, letter: “A Call for Muscle” published on has to do with the Jeff Gewert article I and others referred to. Mr. Saxe is a well-known leader of the anti cease-fire movement holding weekly protests in Sag Harbor. In the letter, his call for martial arts training for Jews, among other suggestions, harkens back to some of the views that the Jewish Defense League’s Meir Kahane expressed decades ago.
Most American Jews and Israelis rejected much of the militancy, anger, and potential violence Kahane stood for. Perhaps by referring to Saxe’s article, you were trying to indicate the fairness and balance The Star tries to achieve by publishing provocative pieces on provocative topics?
Why not have two Guestwords articles in the same edition, each reflecting provocative views on the same general topic? Mr. Gewert and Mr. Saxe would be perfect — their views on the war on Gaza and on the Palestinian and Arab world are opposite sides of the same coin. In whatever form, I’ll look forward to the next installment of Guestwords.
Regarding the recent swastika findings in Montauk — people of good will of whatever background should share their anger and sadness toward this vicious and hurtful symbol. Anti-Semitism is not always with us and everywhere, as some would want us to believe. Different cultures and different societies vary enormously. Hate crime statistics go up and down — there is variation and we have definite ideas on how to lower them. This is the time for good people of whatever background to stand with their Jewish brothers and sisters who feel particularly hurt and angry.
Although the swastika is commonly thought of as an exclusive insult to Jews, it’s a symbol of white supremacy that threatens the overwhelming majority of people in the world and tens of millions in this country. It can leave Jews, particularly young ones, with a mindset that the world is always against them and that they forever have to be on guard. If they come to accept that fully, there’s no way to make things better and one must live in a continuous fortress-like mental state — and probably a physical one, too. It’s impossible to live a reasonably healthy life and believe that. Same could be said of a young Black child growing up thinking of whites in that way.
Might I suggest to Jeff Hines in response to his letter on littering that we put out an extra garbage can or two on weekends at our beaches during the summer months? This should take care of the overflow — do we really need the police with all they’re expected to do now serve us as litter cops? Better that Jeff help clean up the swastika garbage in Montauk —- no need to refer to New York City as some disgusting place. Do we really need this sort of polarizing rhetoric? What does that statement have to do with anything? Comparing the garbage issues of a city of 8 million or 9 million to a village of 3,000 makes no sense.
Very best as always,
JIM VRETTOS