Letters to the Editor: Your ‘facts’ are just sloppy reporting

GREENPORT
It’s complicated

I am in support of the former Greenport mayor’s thoughtful op-ed (“Putting the cart before the horse in Greenport,” Sept. 21). The issues being addressed by village officials strike at many considerations. There are concepts of the real world effects on alienability, equity, beneficial interest, role of government in planning and zoning, sustainable parking, the judicious use of power, reducing the costs of business and creative and critical thinking.

Alienability is the right to transfer real property; equity is fairness; beneficial interests are those owed to the non-owners; the role and power of government is complex and includes present and future commercial owners and their business plans.

Communities are often defined by vibrant and accessible downtown districts. The government principally represents the residents but should not be picking commercial winners and losers. Equity must be central. Restrictions (zoning and moratoriums) on commercial property may not affect an actual transfer but could very well impact its value. Land value is only one dimension. Value also includes the present and future use. A merchant who, for example, starts a B&B, collects profits, pays local employees (feeds families), patronizes other businesses and pays taxes — adding vibrancy and value. And the idea of worker housing depends by definition on the existence of workers all year.

With respect to accessibility: the very proposition that a merchant pay the government for the existence of parking is inequitable and improper and a convoluted approach. Downtown parking is a constructive ”appurtenance” in favor of the merchant — it serves the merchant, the merchant does not serve it. It is the duty of the local government to creatively develop and maintain public sustainable, community friendly parking, not increase the cost of doing business, which inevitably increases product or service costs for the consumers. A comprehensive, critical and creative look at all parking (LIRR lot, adjacent dockside parking, HS, South Street lot, Claudio’s area, etc.) is necessary.

On-street one-way diagonal parking can be helpful too. Shuttle service is often viable and many of all these efforts can include the economic support of the businesses collectively in accomplishing sustainable parking and traffic calming. Supporting businesses in all forms, when done equitably, serves the entire greater Greenport area.

Michael Butler

MATTITUCK
Firehouse vote should go down

For over 40 years, I have lived in Mattituck and served as a proud member of the Mattituck Fire Department as a firefighter and EMT (critical care). I am writing this as an individual taxpayer and not as a member of the MFD and opinions expressed are my own.

On Oct. 24, the public will be asked to approve a $15.5 million dollar expansion of the Mattituck firehouse. The current Board of Fire Commissioners is severely out of touch and disillusioned for putting up a vote for $4 million dollars MORE than a defeated vote. Why would any board of elected officials INCREASE the bond amount after a defeat rather than regroup, listen to the community and put up a new vote for a lower amount?

In order to sway the public’s opinion to vote FOR the expansion, the Board of Fire Commissioners spent thousands of dollars to hire a public relations firm that developed Facebook campaigns and mailings – all at taxpayer expense.

So in keeping with the campaign developed by the PR firm, – “DID YOU KNOW” that: 

• MFD spends $538,261 more than Cutchogue Fire Department spends, and $402,121 more than Southold FD does — and Southold does more calls than MFD?

• MFD employs a district manager that earns an annual salary of $98,000 and received a 6.6% increase this past year?

• MFD is the only North Fork fire department that employs PAID EMTs? All other departments are staffed by volunteers.

• MFD employs an EMS supervisor that lives outside of the district? Why can’t the district manager do this?

• The expanded firehouse will be the largest fire house (16,192 square feet) on the North Fork yet answers fewer? calls than Greenport and Southold?

• The vast majority of calls answered by MFD are ambulance calls and not fire calls?

• The proposed expansion includes a large commercial kitchen that will be used on average once a month for department meetings?

• After the failure of the first bond vote in June 2022, the Board of Fire Commissioners passed a resolution to not allow absentee ballots to be cast in this bond vote, depriving elderly, disabled, and working adults from voting in this election if they’re not able to physically get to the firehouse between the hours of 3 and 9 p.m.?

We can’t recruit or retain volunteer members because our taxes are too high. That should be apparent to the Board of Fire Commissioners and they should be doing everything they can to LOWER taxes, not raise them. Shame on them for putting forth such a ridiculous proposal. I encourage those taxpayers of the Mattituck Fire District that can physically get to the firehouse and have not been denied the opportunity to vote via an absentee ballot to VOTE NO on Oct. 24.

Jerry Diffley

Southold
Your ‘facts’ are just sloppy reporting

I try my best to be as open-minded as possible. I try to tease out the facts from fiction when presented with anything that is derived from news organizations on the left or right. Who has the time to “fact-check” news organizations with their reporting? We rely on them to take the extra step and dig deep into a story before they publish it, but sadly so many take the easy road of salacious headlines to draw the attention of readers. 

I’m sad to say the editors of The Suffolk Times are guilty of this trap. They falsely conflated the evils of book burning with the thoughtful choice of removing pornographic material masquerading as children’s books from public schools. 

Did you notice that the paper did not list the titles or the content of the “300” banned books? What would you do if you went to the Southold school library and right on the magazine rack you found the latest copies of Playboy morphed into a comic book themed magazine? Take the time to look up just two examples of books that Gov. Ron DeSantis referred to as “banned:” “Gender Queer” or “Flamer.” Do you believe these “books” are appropriate for our local schools? If you do, then explain that to our local parents in print. The paper simply said, “Many have themes relating to sexuality that very small numbers of adults do not want children exposed to.” Where is your statistic for this? Are you saying the adults at The Suffolk Times support themes relating to sexuality being promoted in our local schools like “Gender Queer” and “Flamer?” 

The paper also parroted the legacy media’s talking points by cherrypicking one element of Florida’s slavery curriculum by stating, “Florida will now teach that slavery had its benefits.” Frankly, this is lazy reporting. Please thoughtfully explain your point of view with concrete examples in context and forgo the one sentence fits all method of reporting. The Suffolk Times editors’ lack of evidence to support their Oct. 5, 2023, “Our View” is the same method Hitler’s propaganda minister utilized to justify the attacks on the Jews. Joseph Goebbels in the propaganda newspaper Das Reich said without context or proof, “The historic responsibility of world Jewry for the outbreak and widening of this war has been proven so clearly that it does not need to be talked about any further.” Yes, simply say a thing and it is true. 

Charles Sanders
Mr. Sanders is past commander of American Legion Post 803.