Letters to the editor: Let’s climb out of the mess together

Cutchogue

Let’s climb out of the mess together

America and our Greatest Generation saved the world. Now, four generations, later the political divide within our country hampers its continued growth and well being. Ronald Reagan told us “Freedom is never more than one generation away”; we are seeing that freedom slip with each passing day, because the political party system is more important to our representatives than the people!

And it is our fault because we keep voting for the same rascals, sometimes for a lifetime. Our first president set a precedent, not because he couldn’t be elected for life but because he wanted public office to be seen as service to the people and not seen as elected royalty.

He warned us of partisanship and political parties. Had we only heeded his vision we might not now be living his nightmare. We, together, can only ask our representatives to “do the right thing,” ask them to listen to their hearts and not the party when they vote! For if it does not feel right in their heart it certainly cannot be right. Remind them of this often.

Happy Birthday, America! We’ve come a long way, with miles yet to go. B

Bob Bittner

Aquebogue

Digitizing has great potential

Great job to the Town of Riverhead for considering digitizing its records and permitting process. I saw the benefit of this digitization firsthand when I lived in Florida. When I was modifying my home I received a copy of my original building plans via email within hours of my request.

However, before moving ahead with this, I recommend the following:

• Issue a competitive Request for Proposal. At $1.7 million, the costs are significant to set the system up — and $100,000/year to maintain the system. There may be other companies that are qualified to do this and may do so at lower cost.
• Define the costs savings for the system. Define what town positions will be eliminated and any new positions that will need to be hired

Although a great idea, I recommend the town go through a competitive process to award this system, and get commitments for the town labor cost savings, before proceeding.

Bob Klein

Smithtown

Sickened by Soloviev

I understand the desire for increased property tax revenue. But what’s next after you build luxury homes that families who have lived out there for decades can never afford? You’re going to allow big box stores next? Chain restaurants next?

I’m sick and tired of the ultra-wealthy behaving as though they are gods. You had a beautiful serene location where people already spend money. You’re going to f— it up by allowing a man who does not live there tell you what should be done with beautiful open farmland that is vanishing by the minute. If your administration is so hell-bent on development, then make it affordable for families who have lived there for generations and not just for wealthy people to come play for three months a year.

The greed that wealthy people demonstrate is nauseating to those of us who still work a day for our livelihood. Please, dear God, stop being impressed by the size of this man’s wallet. Stop fawning over wealthy people as if your proximity to them is going to make you the same wealth they have. It’s not — and you look ridiculous.

I am a permit expediter and have been in this field since 1984. So yeah, that makes me old. Old enough to remember the Hamptons before Farrell stamped their name on everything.

Merrirose Reilly

Southold

To the Town Board

I respectfully urge the Southold Town Board to reject any resolution proposed by the Public Safety Task Force that would prohibit or unnecessarily discourage the Southold Town Police Department from lawfully cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or other federal law enforcement agencies when such cooperation is authorized under federal and New York State law.

The Southold Town Police Department exists to protect the safety of everyone in our community. While immigration enforcement is primarily a federal responsibility, there are circumstances where cooperation between local and federal law enforcement serves an important public safety purpose, particularly when individuals arrested for or convicted of serious criminal offenses are involved.

Public safety is strengthened when local, state, and federal agencies communicate and coordinate within the limits of the law. Preventing lawful cooperation could unnecessarily limit the ability of law enforcement to share information and respond effectively to criminal activity.

At the same time, any cooperation should always respect constitutional rights, due process, and the dignity of every individual. Law abiding residents should continue to feel confident reporting crimes, seeking emergency assistance, and working with local police without fear of discrimination.

For these reasons, I respectfully ask the Town Board to reject any proposal that would restrict the Police Department from exercising lawful discretion in cooperating with federal authorities. Instead, I encourage the Board to support policies that preserve local decision making, promote appropriate interagency cooperation, and prioritize the safety and security of everyone who lives, works, and visits the Town of Southold.

Jason Taggart

Orient

Farming is our prosperity

Is your view of North Fork that open land is to be bought, sold, converted to its highest market value? Or do you see fields, woods, vineyards and farms as assets with value in themselves?

Look around. Farming is our prosperity, supporting jobs, restaurants, tourism and the farm-centric lifestyle we cherish. One measure: we remain among the highest agricultural revenue producers in New York State.

Does farming help lower our taxes? Yes. Farmland contributes more in taxes than it requires in public services, multiple studies have found, while residential requires schools, police, emergency services, roads, and other costly municipal infrastructure.
Viable agriculture also requires critical mass, I learned as a board member of the Peconic Land Trust. Farmers depend on the network of workers, suppliers, equipment, and services that support them. Fragment farmland, farms disappear.

Farming is our community, our heritage, our future. We are more than a collection of properties to be traded. Farming strengthens our economy, reduces municipal costs, and is our identity.

It’s time to convene a six-month blue-ribbon commission to find: What is essential to a thriving agricultural economy, and what must we do today to ensure it?

Mary Morgan

Mattituck

Strawberry overkill

I read “Strawberries and Cream of the Shortcake Crop” (June 25) reporting on this year’s Strawberry Festival. As a physician, your readers should have no trouble recognizing my concerns about their strawberry shortcake eating championship.

Certainly this year’s winner Mr. Esper, who ate 21.5 pounds of shortcake in 8 minutes is most impressive. However, I’m sure my primary care physician and cardiologist colleagues on the North Fork will join me to denounce such a shock to the body. Not healthy!

In the future, I would recommend going back to a strawberry pie tasting contest or how far can you throw a strawberry contest.

Philippe Vaillancourt

Southold

Stop pummeling plovers

From our kitchen table we can see the expanse of sandy beach that stretches southeast from South Harbor Town Park along Hog Neck Bay. So this means we can also see all the people who let their unleashed dogs run up and down the beach and through the cordoned-off and clearly marked nesting areas of Piping Plovers, an increasingly rare and threatened species.

It happens almost every day. And it’s almost always men — not teenagers trying to be rebellious, but adult men in their 40s, 50s, and older. It’s not accidental, or inadvertent, because you can’t miss the signs and the roped-off nesting areas. It’s intentional, sometimes aggressively so. Last week, a man told my wife to “Go f— yourself” when she politely pointed out that his large dogs were running through the enclosures and flushing the nesting Plovers. A number of neighbors along the beach have reported similar unfortunate encounters.

I’m not a psychologist or sociologist, so I won’t try to understand or explain why these men feel the urge to behave in ways that distress both their neighbors and these helpless, cute little birds. All I can do is offer this plea: C’mon, guys. We can do better.

Jim Fields

Greenport

What about the IGA?

No one appears to have considered the potential for damaging impacts on the Greenport IGA of the new parking fees that will convert most of downtown Greenport to paid parking. The village-owned IGA parking lot will now be among the only free parking opportunities remaining downtown.

It defies common sense to think that this will not cause powerful new pressure on the IGA lot at the expense of their customers. Rather than pay $3.50/hour, downtown residents along with merchants, employees, and others are likely to consume available free parking. Absent convenient parking, people will drive to the Southold IGA, just as we do now for hardware. This could adversely impact IGA operations and profitability.

In the extreme, we risk pushing out the only supermarket between Orient Point and Southold. We have already lost our hardware store. Do we need to learn this lesson again? The IGA is the crucial anchor store for downtown Greenport.

The timing of the implementation of the entire program is unfortunate in that it compounds the existing problem of store vacancies by imposing what is effectively a new tax on a struggling downtown. But to put the IGA at risk without careful consideration of these impacts may be the most significant threat of the entire program.

I am informed that no outreach to the IGA was undertaken in the development of this plan, nor to date. To implement it now without careful analysis and consideration could prove to be a grave error for the community.

Meanwhile, what’s the rush? Talk to the IGA.

Dave Kapell

Mattituck

Thank you!

Mattituck Jr./Sr. High School would like to thank the entire North Fork community and all the groups and organizations who supported the Class of 2026. Your generosity in providing scholarships and your enthusiastic participation in our events have significantly impacted their lives.

Our Mattituck community has shown our graduates the power of a supportive network and the importance of giving back. Thank you for believing in our students and for being a vital part of their Mattituck High School journey. We are truly fortunate for our kind, generous, and caring North Fork community who helped make graduation 2026 a huge success.

Patrick Burke
Principal

Southold

A note of thanks

On a beautiful Saturday afternoon, June 20, for the third year, the ReWild North Fork chapter held its biennial sustainable garden tour, stretching from Peconic to Calverton. Almost 200 people registered, and the five diverse gardens were busy from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Special thanks go to the 10 hosts who opened their garden gates and welcomed so many visitors — between 50 and 100 at each location! This could not have been such a resounding success without the hard work, expertise and dedication of our 35 volunteers. It is truly inspiring to see selfless individuals from various groups, backgrounds and organizations come together to ensure that such a worthy event comes off without a hitch or complaint.

The mission of ReWild Long Island and the sustainable garden tour reached so many people on the North Fork and beyond. Visitors were informed of the importance of planting native plants, conserving water, reducing — or preferably eliminating — pesticides and fertilizers, eradicating non-native invasive plants and replacing portions of grass lawns with pollinator-friendly areas.

We also want to thank The Suffolk Times, Riverhead News-Review and North Forker for promoting this event and for fabulous coverage of our efforts.

Versha Gupta, Ralph Reinertsen, Nancy DePas Reinertsen
Garden tour team