Dan's Papers - June 27, 2008

Dear Dan,
In an article entitled "McGintee Money" published on May 30, you raised an issue that I believe is important. However you mentioned it so casually that I thought it might be worth discussing, if I may. Both Democrats in East Hampton and Republicans in Southampton perhaps took too much advantage of the "fine print" in the CPF program to use the Fund to cover budget or school district shortfalls. However, even though almost every newspaper, along with Messrs. Thiele and La Valle, all supported Mr. Heaney, he was not re-elected, whereas Mr. McGintee was.
In my opinion a difference does exist between East Hampton and Southampton that may account for the re-election of East Hampton's supervisor. I believe it's easier to win votes in a beautiful Town, and East Hampton is a truly beautiful Town (perhaps in large part due to the efforts of the LVIS and others), whereas a grittiness exists in parts of Southampton that seem to have evolved from bad zoning practices. To lend some credibility to my argument, one should consider Steve Levy's selection of Southampton's former Supervisor as Mr. Levy's new Commissioner of Economic Development and Workforce Housing. I suspect Mr. Levy didn't select Mr. Heaney to bring a "Southampton sensibility" to western Suffolk County especially since Mr. Heaney has stated repeatedly in print that he prefers to live in a high-density suburb presumably similar to those found in western Suffolk with all the attendant visual distractions and pollution.
Here's an example. According to a recent study entitled the East Quogue GEIS, the road in and out of East Quogue is a scenic corridor. Yet along this corridor sand mine operates in the Pine Barrens and services a huge number of trucks six days a week often as late at 8 p.m. Many of the trucks originate from Westhampton Beach and drive past the Westhampton Beach school as well as cut through the Quogue Wildlife Refuge.
If one drives from Southampton to East Hampton or up to Sag Harbor, or if one drives along the North Fork from Aquebogue to Greenport, one will see in an entire day approximately the same number of 18-wheelers that one sees in just a few minutes traveling the roads west of the canal.
If you do a little research, you'll uncover many studies (including one prepared by the Town of Southampton) that describe the deleterious effects of sand mining in the Pine Barrens. You'll also uncover studies that describe the effects of heavy trucking on the respiratory systems of children. Even though every academic, intellectual or environmental argument demonstrates that support for this type of operation should be withheld, no Democrat or Republican, nor any "educator," has expressed concern that I'm aware of.
Unfortunately, the existence of incompatible businesses or development is common in Southampton. However it's homeowners, by virtue of their large numbers, who decide who gets elected.
It remains to be seen whether Mr. McGintee has a future in politics, however, I believe you were insightful to observe that most homeowners do place value on living in a beautiful Town and in fact do wish to preserve the unique beauty of the communities on the East End.

Yours Truly,
P.S. Congratulations on your book. I will read it this summer.
Joe Chierchio
Via e-mail