THE SAG HARBOR EXPRESS
ISSUE DATE: 3/20/08 March 2008
Conspiracy Theory
Dear Bryan,
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to Ted Conklin's conspiracy theory about The East Hampton Star's editorial on the Bulova factory conversion. Mr. Conklin's conclusion, that the husband of one of our senior staff members was behind our call for a full environmental impact study, is flat-out wrong.
While it is true that Carissa Katz, a deputy editor at The Star, is married to Jeremy Samuelson of the Group for the East End, which argued in favor of the study, I can assure you that Carissa is scrupulous about keeping any influence from Mr. Samuelson's work out of our newsroom. In any case, as no doubt you can attest, staff spouses generally do not make editorial decisions at newspapers.
Sometimes a bad decision deserves criticism simply because it's a bad decision.
Best regards,
David E. Rattray, Editor
The East Hampton Star
Disturbed by Hospital Move
Dear Mr. Boyhan,
I find it very disturbing that Southampton Hospital is looking for a new location for their hospital on County Road 39. Did the board of directors and the administration look in their own backyard? Imagine working with Stony Brook University and building a state of the art facility for the Southampton area and be connected to a medical school with residents and up to the minute research? The costs I am sure would be a lot less or am I mistaken? Am I missing something here?
Victor Cuello
Sag Harbor
Saving Old Noyac School House
Dear Bryan,
I'm writing this letter to hopefully help save The Old Noyac School House. The majority of the Noyac Civic Council has been actively pursuing the construction of a Community Center for the last six years. The tone of the members at the last meeting was one of desperation. There were many potential sites considered, but the one site that has always been on the table is the site where the Old Noyac School House sits.
Chuck Neuman has been the Noyac Civic Council President for many years, and I believe his intentions are good and that he works diligently to achieve the goals of the Council; but he doesn't seem to care about the history of this building, and neither do many of the other members. I don't think their pursuit of this community center is really for the "community" as much as it is for the members of the Noyac Civic Council. A large majority of the folks that attend those meetings are retired, and Chuck Neuman has convinced them that they need, deserve, and are entitled to a place to gather. Now it has become his and their goal to get this thing built, and they're willing to destroy one of the only historic buildings in Noyac to get it done. One of the members shouted "I just want to see this thing built before I die."
I urge anyone who knows any of the history of that building to write, send photos and share stories about this historic place. In 1885, my grandfather, Josef Witty immigrated to the United States from Poland at the age of 17. My grandmother also immigrated from Poland. They met and married in New York, and soon settled here in Noyac where they raised eight children. My father, Michael J. Witty Sr., and all of his siblings attended the Noyac School. The land behind the school house where this proposed Community Center is to be located was donated to the town by my father and grandfather sometime in the 1940s or early 50s. I believe at that point the school wasn't being used for educational purposes, but it was used for recreation where my father and other men in the community taught kids how to box, play shuffleboard, and the field in the back was for playing ball.
The goal of the Noyac Civic Council is to build a 5000 square foot building with approximately 60 parking spaces on this 1.6 acre site. Here are some of the reasons that this site should NOT be used for a community center.
1. This is a pre-existing, non-conforming lot that is residentially zoned.
2. All of the abutting properties are single family residences.
3. Noyac History: Of the few historical buildings in Noyac, the School House is surely worth preserving.
4. The elevation of the site: The grade of the field behind the School House where the Civic Council would like to place this building is 15 to 20 feet above all of the adjacent homes. (think of a 5000 square foot building towering 15-20 feet over modest 1200 square feet homes that are situated less than 100 feet away)
5. This site is located in the "Aquifer Protection Overlay District", which limits lot clearing. This 5000 square foot building with all of the driveways and walkways needed, (approximately 40,000 square feet of paving) would consume more than 65% of the site.
6. Taxes!!! The Noyac Civic Council has fought the Sag Harbor School budget every chance they get, and the reason they do it is because of the rising property taxes. A 5000 square foot building with all of the sitework will easily cost between $1,500,000 and $2,000,000, and then there will be the costs associated with staffing, maintenance, utilities, insurance, etc. This project can only raise taxes!
7. There are other community centers in Southampton Town, but nowhere else is there a 5000 square foot building with 60 parking spaces with only 75 feet of road frontage jammed on to 1.6 acres in the heart of a residential neighborhood.
8. To build this center here the town would have to ignore all of the setbacks, pyramid laws, lot coverage allowances, which all of us other taxpayers must adhere to. This is simply not fair to the abutting property owners.
I know that many of the Noyac Civic Council members are retired. There are many veterans among them, and I'm sure the others have worked hard and served their communities for decades. It's not my intention to be disrespectful or insensitive to their needs, I simply feel that there is a little piece of history left here in Noyac, and it should be preserved. This piece of property should be taken off the table for any development. If the majority of Noyac residents feel we need a Community Center, then let's continue the search for an appropriate piece of land.
If The Noyac Civic Council really wants to improve Noyac, why don't they try to get some sidewalks and crosswalks installed? There are hundreds of people who live within walking distance to Cromers, Capelletti, the Pantry Deli and the other local businesses, but there are no sidewalks, and walking down Noyac Road is simply too dangerous. Noyac Road has become a highway with no shoulders or curbs. With all of the concerns about "going green" and gasoline approaching $4 per gallon, it seems foolish that we have to start our cars to travel 1/4 mile to get a newspaper or a sandwich. Wouldn't it be nice if we could we could safely walk or ride a bicycle to Trout Pond or Long Beach?
Sincerely,
Patrick WittyNoyac
Help in Superintendent Search
Dear Editor:
The members of the Sa g Harbor Union Free School District Board of Education cordially invite all members of the school community to attend a meeting on Wednesday, April 2, 2008 in Pierson Middle/High School auditorium at 7 p.m. to assist the board in establishing a direction for the selection process for the superintendent of schools. The board is facing the most important task and school board ever faces: replacing its chief school officer. We are confident that you will want to be a part of this process.
The first, and probably the most important, part of the process is to identify the personal and professional qualities and experiences that the Sag Harbor school community would like the new superintendent of schools to possess. At this meeting you will have an opportunity to meet one or more of the search consultants from School Leadership, LLC which has been engaged by the board to assist in the search. The consultants will describe the process and estimated timetable for conducting the search. The remainder of the meeting will be devoted to hearing participant responses to three prompts:
1. From your perspective, what would attract a highly-qualified educator to seek the position of superintendent in our school district?
2. What do you see as some of the major leadership challenges that the new superintendent will face over the next three to five years?
3. What types of prior experiences and personal and professional qualities would you hope the new superintendent will have?
Information from this meeting, and from other meetings with members of the Sag Harbor school community, will be synthesized into a set of search specifications. These specifications will then guide the board of education as it undertakes the search for the new superintendent.
If you are unable to attend this meeting, we would ask that you complete the brief questionnaire available on the district's website: www.sagharborschools.org.
Thank you in advance for providing critical input to this process.
Sincerely,
Theresa M. Samot
Sag Harbor School Board President