Mr. Townsend pictured in 1987. (Courtesy photo)
Joe Townsend Jr. was the third person we met when my wife, Joan, and I moved to the North Fork in 1977. That’s because he was the nephew of the first two people we met, Barbara and Stuart Dorman, publishers of The Suffolk Times, the community newspaper we purchased in partnership with Joan’s brother David. READ
A colleague of mine at this newspaper used to refer to the North Fork’s easternmost hamlet as The People’s Republic of Orient. The implication was that residents of Orient considered themselves and their hamlet separate and apart from the rest of Southold Town — a humorous suggestion that was, at the very least, partially reality-based. READ
The next time you pass the intersection of North Road and Horton Lane in Southold, take a quick gander to the northwest at the property occupied by Lucas Ford. If things had turned out otherwise some 30 years ago, that vista would be very different today. Instead of an auto dealership, the four-acre parcel might have been occupied by an indoor tennis facility, but that scenario was not to be. READ
We always knew Rob White had arrived at The Suffolk Times office because our mascot, an aged chocolate Lab named Maggie, would begin barking as he approached the front door.
New Suffolk resident Rob White, a man of myriad talents — ranging from painting, to illustrating, to editorial cartooning, to landscape architecture and substance abuse counseling — died Wednesday, Nov. 4, at Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead. He was 70. READ
I experienced a déjà vu moment the other day as I played tennis across the net from Paul May, one of the 11 children of Southold resident John May, who died Aug. 21 at the age of 87. READ
With the passing of “Focus on Nature” columnist Paul Stoutenburgh, the recent retirement of Louisa Hargrave’s “The Oeno Files” wine column and the previous semi-retirement of my own “The Observer” column, there’s just one columnist left standing when it comes to continuous longevity of service to this newspaper. (more…)
I have never liked that intersection. Ever since our daughter and her family moved from East Marion to Cutchogue several years ago, the former Joan Giger Walker and I have found ourselves several times a week at the blinker light on the corner of Depot Lane and Route 48 in Cutchogue.
John Williams. (Credit: Marty Heitner)
If you’ve lived on the North Fork for a while, you probably have driven past it numerous times. It’s at the southwest corner of Front and Fourth streets in Greenport, and it’s currently known as The Captain’s Cottage in its most recent iteration as a rental cottage. But before that the little white frame building was the home of Williams & Company, the advertising and public relations firm, and, concurrently and somewhat improbably, the headquarters of the National SCRABBLE ® Association. (more…)
(Credit: File photo)
“What do they want me to do, dress up like Donald Duck and wave to the crowd…” —David Kapell
Back in the day, in the late ’70s, I was involved in founding and organizing something called The Great North Fork Foot Race. In the early years, the race started in “downtown” Greenport and was thus criticized by some village merchants because Front and Main streets were closed to vehicular traffic during the start. For 10 minutes. On the weekend before Memorial Day.
Fast-forward to the July 4th weekend of 2015, when significant portions of Front and Main streets will be closed for eight hours a day for four days in connection with the Greenport Tall Ships Challenge 2015.
Had this year’s event been proposed during the administrations of Joe Townsend Jr., George Hubbard Sr., Steve Clarke or even David Kapell, it would have made very good sense. The village sorely needed to be promoted back then, even on holiday weekends. But in 2015, in the new and improved Greenport, on the otherwise busiest weekend of the year? I’m not so sure. (In fairness, I should note that Greenport officials did not have a say on the date the event would be held. It has to fit with the Tall Ships of America Challenge, which is stopping here between its stays in New York City and Newport, R.I.)
I also was involved in the formation of the Greenport Maritime Festival in the late ’80s, and we deliberately chose mid- to late September in order to extend “the season” beyond Labor Day. But does it make good sense to invite 40,000 visitors to the village on a midsummer weekend when “the average merchant can hardly do any more business than they already do,” in the words of one village merchant I spoke to this week? Again, I’m not so sure.
There are many, many good reasons for inviting the tall ships to Greenport. As one longtime village resident I surveyed put it: “I for one am looking forward to seeing [the tall ships] and having such magnificence come to me. Now there is really no need to leave the North Fork.”
The event also is clearly consistent with the village’s proud maritime heritage, which goes back hundreds of years and includes, more recently, the Regina Maris, the Simon Bolivar, America’s Sail and the tall ships races. And there’s no doubt, barring a weather catastrophe, that certain local businesses — restaurants, gift shops and the like — will benefit significantly. But what about the core businesses like the IGA and Colonial Drugs and Hoppy’s Cleaners? How will they fare when their regular customers are forced to walk several blocks to access them? For four days.
I asked Dave Kapell about this, largely because of his unique perspective as a former mayor and current business owner. And this is what he had to say: “I might as well shut [my antiques business] down. We’re used to it because of the Maritime Festival, and that event essentially shuts my business down. It’s one thing to do it the last weekend of September, but another on the Fourth of July. And this thing is four days long.”
He continued: “And if I don’t utilize the space in front of my business, they may rent it to an outside vendor. What do they want me to do, dress up like Donald Duck and wave to the crowd as it goes by?”
Another village merchant, Shelley Scoggin of The Market health food store, wrote in an email: “I will lose my big grocery shoppers, but I’m sure we will make a lot of money, but with a more intense crowd. One sandwich at a time … I hope the village is making money on this.”
Oh, yes, the money. As I understand it, the Village of Greenport is fronting $275,000 (of taxpayers’ dollars) to bring in the six tall ships, with the Business Improvement District committed to covering $100,000 of that amount via sponsorship fees. The village also will collect all revenues from ticket sales (ranging from $5 to $15 per ticket) and vendor fees (at $375 to $500 per day for food vendors, depending on the size of their booth; $250 per day for artisan/craft vendors; and $75 per day for nonprofit vendors). If the crowd estimates are accurate — an average 10,000 visitors a day over four days — the village’s investment may well turn out to be financially prudent, and that doesn’t take into account the goodwill generated and the fact that potentially thousands of first-time visitors will be introduced to the myriad attractions of Greenport.
But what if, as one of my friends has suggested, instead of investing in gala events like the tall ships fest, the village made comparable tourism-friendly investments in beautification, litter control, additional public parking and restrooms? Wouldn’t that be more beneficial in the long run?
I really, truly hope the Greenport Tall Ships Challenge 2015 is a huge success. I hope to view the procession of ships as they enter and depart the harbor, but, like most of the “locals” I’ve talked to, I’ll be avoiding Greenport’s business district that weekend.
The author is the former co-owner and publisher of Times Review Media Group. He can be reached at [email protected].