Opinion

Equal Time: Sensationalized story got it wrong

In a last-ditch effort to respond to the outrageous fallacies erroneously stated in this paper, I am writing to set the record straight once again, as it seems that the Town of Southold and this newspaper are incapable of checking facts and writing an unbiased article about me or my business, Go-Green Sanitation.

Last week’s article was filled with so many incorrect statements it’s difficult to know where to start setting the record straight.
First let me state that the events of March 11 in no way involved Go-Green Sanitation. They were directed at a different company completely, though that is never mentioned in the article. No residential waste of any kind was found at that location. Nor was my home involved in any way. What were there were commercial containers that were being stored on property owned by myself.

I was in the process of renting a commercial yard for storage in Riverhead that was set for April 1. I had already been in contact with the DEC and Southampton code enforcement and they were fully aware of the situation and my attempts to come into full compliance. They had given me until April 21, which is when this issue was to be resolved.

Second, let me state that these boxes were being stored there until they could be transported to a transfer station. There was no transferring of any materials taking place, regardless of what the newspaper wants to turn it into.

Thirdly, as far as the “parkland” is concerned, the property I own (which was incorrectly stated as my residence) is a flag lot that abuts town property. There are no stakes, fencing or any other markers denoting the town property line. Some of the containers stored on that side of my property were overlapped onto the town’s property according to their maps, as there were no property line indications. It was a simple mistake made.

Fourth, as far as any court date we have with Southold Town, we are unaware of it. We have never received a ticket or a summons or any other official documents from Southold Town to date. I would like to think that a court date would require us to be notified in some sort of official capacity other than an article in the local paper.

In closing, I’d like to ask why a story that didn’t have anything to do with Southold Town or any business operating in Southold Town is front page news? This whole episode reeks of bias, self-interest and sensationalism. This incident took place in Southampton Town and it is a four-inch column in the middle of the Southampton paper. I’d like everyone to know that the issue is settled with both DEC and Southampton code enforcement, the containers have been moved and we are in full compliance.

Mr. Fisher owns and operates Go-Green Sanitation and resides in Flanders.

Editor’s note: Southold Town zoning inspector Damon Rallis contends that Mr. Fisher was served on March 1 with a ticket for allegedly violating the town’s recycling code. The case was to be heard in Town Justice Court on March 18, but Mr. Fisher was not in attendance. According to the Justice Court and the town attorney’s office, Town Justice William Price then ordered that a criminal summons be issued to Mr. Fisher compelling him to answer the charge.