Letter: Fire Fighter fireboat should stay here

To the editor:

It saddens me that the end appears near for the fireboat Fire Fighter’s stay in Greenport. I think it’s an outstanding idea for a maritime village to have a living piece of maritime history on display on its “working waterfront.”

If you take a look at most major maritime communities — Mystic, Baltimore and New York, to name a few — they all have some sort of floating showpiece that attracts a crowd.

Having the Fire Fighter around would really make Greenport stand out.

In addition, if the Fire Fighter were able to remain at the county-owned dock, all three Southold Town school districts could try to use her as a floating classroom for their curriculum. It saddens me that my son will miss out on the opportunity to have real, hands-on, maritime learning experiences while he is growing up in a community that loves to tout its connection the sea. Finally, I find it very surprising that suddenly there is such a demand for commercial dock space in Greenport. Just a short time ago, The Suffolk Times reported that Greenport (like many other New York ports) is having fewer commercial fishing boats calling it home since the cost to operate in New York State is higher.

Tom Loreto, Cutchogue