Letters to the Editor: Beach decline at Indian Island
Riverhead
Beach decline at Indian Island
Long Island residents are blessed with amazing beaches; however, beach fees have become out of reach for many. There are very few free places to enjoy our beautiful waters. Indian Island County Park is one of them and has been a hidden gem in Riverhead for many years, a great place for all to enjoy, with free mid-week admission to the park.
However, this summer season, a new trend has been rearing its ugly head. Visitors who have no respect for the beautiful environment or for other visitors to the park have unfortunately become the norm.
The beach sand has become littered with trash, broken bottles, beer cans, etc. I experienced families setting illegal cage traps in the water with chicken legs as bait; families with dogs allowing them to defecate in the water; large groups of people gathering in the beach picnic area, playing music so loud it can be heard anywhere along the entire shore. These are just some of the examples.
What happened to common courtesy, to understanding the need to take care of our natural resources? As our community grows and diversifies, we need to protect our resources, not destroy them. Kindness, respect and consideration for others are the keys, so we can all enjoy this beautiful park together.
Barbara Dobson
Syosset
Northville Commons
Riverhead has a real chance right now to do something good for the people who live and work there. The Northville Commons proposal, led by First Baptist Church and Georgica Green Ventures, would bring 80 affordable apartments, eight for-sale condos and a new community center to land the church has owned for decades. This project checks every box: It’s local, it’s thoughtful and it’s badly needed.
People keep saying we need more affordable places to live. Well, here it is. The state is already backing it with $1 million in infrastructure funding. The only thing standing in the way is a zoning change from the Town Board.
This isn’t about big developers trying to cash in. This is about a local church using its land to give back to the community. The housing would go to working folks who are getting priced out and people making between $57,000 and $130,000 a year. That’s our teachers, our health care workers, our small business employees. Right now, many of them can’t find a place to live on the East End, or they’re stuck commuting long distances just to keep their jobs.
I know some people have concerns, but saying “no” to every project won’t fix anything. We can’t keep talking about the housing crisis and then turning around and rejecting real solutions when they come along. This plan has been updated; it’s more modest than the version from 2013 and it comes with major community benefits.
It’s time for Riverhead to step up. The Town Board should say yes to Northville Commons. Yes to affordable homes. Yes to giving people a real shot at staying in the town they love.
Hunter Gross
Long Island Housing Coalition
Wading River
A key question for La Lota
Here is a “Town Hall” question for Congressman Nick Lalota: Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution assigns the control of tariffs to Congress. POTUS has a limited role during “emergencies,” but Congress controls that, too. So far Americans (individuals and companies) have paid $152 billion in tariffs (effectively taxes) since Trump took office. With the Aug. 1 additions, tariff costs will skyrocket. All we have seen are handful of new agreements with vague, difficult to measure promises, while we pay billions, watch prices rise and see companies suffer right now! As a member of the tariff-controlling branch of government, your silence indicates that you approve of what is being done to Americans and have given YOUR constitutional responsibility to Donald Trump. Is that correct? Please reply, as voters are interested.
Alan Daters
Southold
Thank you
On Monday, Aug. 4, I pulled into the IGA after taking my Boston terrier puppy for a long walk. I was going to run into the IGA to grab some mixed greens and when I opened my door about 5:30 p.m., my little Boston terrier bolted. I want to thank all the wonderful neighbors who assisted in protecting and securing my beautiful little puppy. I moved to Southold six years ago and the beautiful sense of community is amazing. To all those drivers who patiently allowed “Parker” to transverse Main Road safely, I thank you!
Michael Sturgis
Southold
Stalled tree code
Trees should be treated as part of the town infrastructure, given all the ecosystem services they provide. One service not explained in the stalled tree code article was canopy interception, which ultimately reduces flooding and stormwater runoff, both of which help to keep our bays clean. Tree canopy prevents a large amount of water from reaching the ground. (Think about how we naturally seek shelter under a canopy when it rains — this is canopy interception.) The town should encourage residents to keep their trees and replace their lawns with native plants by providing property tax relief. The loss of tax revenue from a property that provides valuable ecosystem services for the entire community will be more than made up for compared to the amount the town will spend on mitigation when these ecosystem services are removed by tree loss and lawns.
Jeannette Dumas
Greenport
Peconic Landing enters the dark ages
Computers have been removed from the library at Peconic Landing.
I love Peconic Landing. I love the food and the people and the programs. I loved the library, with its two computers and a printer. But it has been decided that the library computers represent a security threat, and they have been removed. It seems someone compromised the system.
We have been told that “there will never again be computers in the library.” This does not take into account the fact that many residents do not have computers and/or printers, or transportation to a public library, and they need to research articles and download forms and documents .
We have a competent computer staff who should be able to provide the necessary system security rather than the draconian “remedy” of removing the computers and depriving everyone of their use.
Michele Chaussabel
Cutchogue
Transparency is a priority
The Town of Southold and Supervisor Krupski recently held a “State of the Town” event. He gave a substantive and transparent speech and took questions from the audience. The town departments each reported on their activity from the past year.
Please take a moment to read the report. It contains important information on code enforcement, permits issued by the Building Department, and a wealth of other useful data. However, the report is not prominently featured on the Town’s website. To locate it, type “State of the Town” into the site’s search bar. Easy enough; the challenge is that residents have to know what to search for. Did you?
Transparency only matters if people know the information is available. If I’m elected Town Clerk this November — I’m running against the current clerk — I will make it a priority to publicize this event more effectively and ensure that both the recorded address and the full report are easy to find on the town’s website and social media channels. (This year, I shared direct links on my campaign Facebook page.)
While reading the clerk’s section of the report, I was struck by the second bullet point:
“Laserfiche – Stacey has been working tirelessly to remove personal information such as checks, social security numbers, etc., from public view to prevent identity theft.”
I was immediately concerned: Had the Town published sensitive personal information?
I reached out to the current clerk and, fortunately, the answer is no. Our personal information is not at risk. The sentence referred to staff redacting sensitive data before making documents public. That’s a relief. Still, transparency also depends on clarity and accuracy. If elected, I will prioritize true transparency — something I believe has the current clerk has not done in his three and a half years in office.
Abigail Field
Ms. Field is running for Southold town clerk on the Democratic and Working Families lines.
Greenport
Growing Greenport
Regarding the July 24, 2025, Greenport Village Board meeting: The notion that recent changes to our zoning code are somehow responsible for the high incidence of vacancies in the village is disingenuous and self-serving for certain individuals vested in Greenport’s growth. Of the five speakers cited, three were local real estate agents and two were commercial property/business owners, seeking to promote growth in Greenport by loosening up zoning to attract development dollars.
Our current mayor was elected on a platform of protecting the village from overdevelopment. The new zoning codes serve to preserve what’s left of our traditional character and protect precious waterfront from being developed into condos or hotels.
We have not “lost our way,” we have found it. Contrary to statements made, the zoning changes were carefully thought out, not rushed or reactive, and included community participation.
One speaker called for the village to encourage business owners to invest in the area, like he did. Here is a perfect example of the kind of “growth” Greenport needs and wants. He poured tons of money into improving his property while maintaining its traditional look and feel, without adding square footage or trying to add additional space above the structure. The result: Sterling Square, the pride of the Village.
Yes, bring money into the village to improve, restore and maintain its look and feel. No, don’t add third stories to maximize profits.
A major component of our vacancy rate is the high cost of rent, which is correlated with the ever-rising market values of village real estate. It’s easy to predict what happens to property values when money flows into the village to build it out.
I often hear from old timers that all is lost, “it’s too late” to save Greenport. But all is not lost; there is so much more to lose. Greenport is a special place that somehow has retained the look and feel of a traditional seafaring community. If the recent zoning changes have discouraged big-time investors bringing in their profit-seeking dollars to expand and build out our village, I say, “mission accomplished.”
Paul Henry
Southold
Universities
Could someone with legal knowledge please inform me about which laws Columbia, Harvard, Brown and Duke have broken and what the legal basis is for fining “not for profit” private universities. I also wonder if there were any legal proceedings that found the universities were guilty and what “due process” was involved in determining “guilt” and punishment.
To a simple observer, it appears that all of this was done by Donald Trump’s hatred of universities that don’t toe his line. He seems to believe that he can govern the independent institutions that make up higher education in America. At Columbia, he wants to intervene in the governance of several departments and the university’s discipline of students. At Harvard, he want to stop international student enrollment and examine faculty hiring. None of this falls within the authorities outlined in Article 2 of the Constitution.
Where does the Constitution empower the president to govern universities? The founders created a government of checks and balances. Congress and the courts were designed to limit executive authority. So far, neither the Congress nor the Supreme Court has taken on their responsibility to stop this president’s abuse of power.
Warren Curry
Cutchogue
The real problem
Donald Trump is a problem. But he’s not “the problem.” He’s merely the symptom. Yes, he’s a serial liar who’s proven he can’t be trusted about anything. Yes, he’s deconstructing our government institutions to enable authoritarianism to flourish in America. Yes, he’s a world-class grifter who’s managed to convince his Republican toadies that he ought to be entitled to keep a billion-dollar plane for himself on the taxpayers’ dime. And yes, he’s got a history of palling around with child sexual predators and then using his position as president to block any inquiry into whether he participated in their conduct with underage girls. The list of anti-American moves by this out-of-control administration is exhausting.
But the problem is not Donald Trump, who will be gone in 3.5 years (assuming we survive this fascistic onslaught on our democracy). The real problem is the next guy who succeeds in becoming the head of totalitarian form of government created by Trump & Co. and the people after him who manage to wrangle themselves into the highest office in the land.
Either we stop it now or we all run the risk of becoming that generation of Americans who gave up on America — the people who no longer chose to live under the rule of law. There’s only one way to bring this train to repression to an end. It’s to dramatically change the makeup of our Congress, who will not only stop the train but reverse its course. And that means getting rid of our local MAGA champion, Nick LaLota. Don’t look at how he smiles; look at how he votes. And then remember what you see when you go to the polls next November.
Michael Levy
Southold
Agree to disagree agreeably
For most of my life I’ve had friends with a variety of political affiliations — many with no affiliations. We didn’t always agree on the best candidate or the best course of action, but we agreed that we all wanted what was best for this country.
Something has changed in the last decade. We have become polarized; this had been fostered by politicians and special interests for their own gain. There is a tremendous amount of anger out here. It has cost the lives of a Minnesota state senator and her husband. It leads to daily confrontations. We need to come together again. But how?
First, stop name-calling and labeling people who think differently. Accept that people with different views may have a good reason for it. Seek mutual understanding.
Discuss ideas, not slogans and memes. This will allow you to seek common ground. You or they may even start to see issues differently.
Fact-check your own beliefs and the opposition. Examine your assumptions and see if the facts support them. If something has made you suspicious of experts, consider the motivation. Many people who undermine faith in experts and institutions are profiting from it.
Put up signs, apply bumper stickers and wear T-shirts or hats in support of something. Putting up a vulgar or nasty message about a political opponent doesn’t help improve anything; it just fosters more anger. Don’t denigrate someone else’s signs or bumper stickers.
Modifying our approach to each other won’t fix all the issues we face. It is, however, a step in the right direction.
Barbara Wasilausky
