Southold

Our town clock

Kudos to those who thought to install a historic-looking clock in Southold’s Town Park. It is a nice addition, until you look closer. Instead of reading “Southold 1640,” it says “Southold Rotary 1948.” In addition to making it an ugly advertisement, it belies three criteria of Rotary’s own Four Way Test and is inappropriate in our town park. The Rotary should redo the clock face to turn it into an interesting and accurate enhancement to our charming hamlet.

David Phillips

Orient

Huge mistake

So let me get this right. I have to pay to park on Main Street and Front Street and other streets? I called Greenport Village Hall to get some info. I was told that I’d have to scan the bar code on the sign and they’ll prompt me. I’m a senior and don’t get this stuff and half the time I don’t have my phone with me! This is a huge mistake! I used to go to East Hampton for dining and shopping. I stopped going when I got a parking ticket. This crap is gonna do so much damage to Greenport and its business owners. This is not how you welcome tourists! People will stop coming, that’s for sure. But the state has tons of money to waste on a circle that is an abomination! Why not give the town the money to fix the sidewalks etc.?
My friend got an $80 ticket when she parked in front of Claudio’s. There were no cars in town that day, and she had no idea what was going on! I don’t think I’ll be going to Blue Duck, Aldo’s, Kessie’s or other stores that I love and frequent, as often as I used to. Businesses will suffer for sure! BAD idea! I love Greenport and many days I sit in the park with a book and a coffee, and then walk around, shop, and just enjoy the town. I’m not paying $3.50 an hour to sit in the park or spend money.
Barbara Latham

Smithtown

Veto this bill, Gov. Hochul

I use products containing 7-OH, one of the naturally occurring compounds in the kratom plant, to manage chronic pain from a 2018 car wreck that left me with three broken vertebrae and screws in my spine. I’m glad I found it. Before I did, the pain made it harder to get through ordinary days and live my life.

Now New York State has passed S.8925-A/A.9156-B, a bill that could leave many Long Islanders like me without options. Gov. Hochul should veto it.

The bill would ban any kratom product where 7-OH exceeds 2% of total alkaloids. That could remove products that help chronic pain patients function, without giving people like me a realistic alternative.
Lawmakers passed this bill without a single public hearing. A policy this consequential should not reach the governor’s desk without hearing from the people it would most affect.

New York should go after the right problems: products with no labels, no testing, and no accountability. But a 2% alkaloid cap does nothing about those problems.

Gov. Hochul should veto S.8925-A/A.9156-B and send lawmakers back to the table to pass a better bill that protects consumers without abandoning patients who are just trying to get through the day.

John Rocissano

Rocky Point

Endorsements that matter

Two recent endorsements of congressional candidate Chris Gallant reflect that he is the right choice for NY-1. The first was 1199SEIU, the largest healthcare workers union in the country. It includes a broad coalition of over 450,000 healthcare professionals. Not only does it represent workers, advocating for their benefits and security, but it also has been a powerful advocate for patients. Across levels of government, it maintains a strong legislative agenda and endorses political candidates aligned with its membership and patient care.

Why endorse Chris? Undoubtedly a major concern for members has been the recent federal healthcare cuts. The ACA Enhanced Premium Tax Credit was also allowed to expire. Thousands of our ACA reliant neighbors in Suffolk County are seeing their premiums skyrocket. Alongside the hot inflation numbers we saw in the June CPI report, it is likely that many cannot bear the expense. Even for those not at risk, this means sicker and less financially stable friends and family and more strained local healthcare systems. For healthcare workers this means an even harder job.

Chris supports reversing the damage caused by the 2025 federal spending bill and expanding Medicare, moving us in a direction aligned with the “Medicare for all who want it” system proposed by Pete Buttigieg. In fact, Mayor Pete recently also endorsed Chris. As a first responder Chris worked the public health response to the Covid-19 pandemic at the Javits Center field site, giving him insight into the work healthcare professionals do.

Having worked and volunteered in spaces not traditionally associated with the Democratic Party as a veteran and firefighter, he can be an effective messenger for healthcare reform among independents and even some Republicans — crucial if we are to stop the harm to our healthcare system and move toward guaranteeing healthcare as a human right.

Anmol Ghavri

Greenport

What the facts tell us

I want to begin by thanking the many residents who have taken the time to comment publicly about Greenport’s vacant storefronts. The level of engagement shows how deeply people care about the future of our village. With that in mind, I’d like to offer some information for consideration — not to dismiss anyone’s concerns, but to help move the conversation from broad generalizations to what the reporting actually shows.

According to multiple articles in The Suffolk Times, there is no evidence that paid parking has caused business closures or storefront vacancies. The documented reasons are far more concrete: several long-standing businesses closed due to owner retirement, some properties have remained empty because of long-term landlord decisions — and former Mayor Dave Kapell noted in The Suffolk Times that zoning uncertainty and the 2023 commercial development moratorium created a “virtual standstill” in new commercial investment. These are structural issues — not parking-related ones.

The Suffolk Times has also reported that the Greenport BID has made storefront activation its top priority, developing a five-point plan and preparing a formal presentation to the Village Board. That work is already underway, and it deserves recognition.

Greenport’s demand remains strong. What we are experiencing is a period of transition, not decline. If we want to fill these storefronts, we need to focus on the causes that the reporting actually identifies — not the myths that continue to circulate.

Thank you again to everyone who has spoken up. Our community is strongest when we ground our discussions in facts and work together toward solutions.

Mary Bess Phillips
Village of Greenport Trustee

Southold

A community in limbo

Do they wish we never existed? It’s a question that has been weighing on many of us who live in Southold Villas.

Not because anyone has said it out loud. Not because anyone has proposed removing our homes. But because as this process has unfolded, it is hard to escape the feeling that our community has become invisible.

Southold Villas was not an accident. It was planned, approved and supported by the Town of Southold more than 30 years ago as workforce housing. Families built lives here. Children were raised here. Seniors retired here. We became part of the fabric of this town.

Yet when discussions take place about the proposed 6,000-hen egg production facility next door, we hear a great deal about protecting agriculture. We hear about operational needs, access, infrastructure, and what the project requires to function.

What we do not hear much about is the community that is already here.

The question becomes simple: If this operation already existed on this property, would Southold choose that same location today for a workforce housing neighborhood?

Would low- and middle-income families be encouraged to purchase homes directly beside an operational center of such an intensive use? I doubt it. So why are the people who already live here expected to accept it now?

This is not about being against farming. Many residents of this community have deep agricultural roots and understand the importance of preserving farming in Southold.

It’s about whether compatibility still matters. It’s about whether existing neighborhoods deserve consideration. And it’s about whether the people who were placed here through Town planning still matter, too.

Because sometimes, when a community is left out of the conversation, it begins to wonder whether anyone wishes it had never existed at all.

Leslie Herrlin

The post Letters to the Editor: Our town clock appeared first on The Suffolk Times.

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