EAST PATCHOGUE

Mold issues at Vineyard View

I am a mother and grandmother of residents at the Conifer [Vineyard View] apartments in Greenport. They moved into their two-bedroom apartment when it first opened during COVID. They had problems from the beginning. A leak from the roof created a big bubble in the ceiling in their kitchen. Since then they have had other problems in the bathroom and the master bedroom. My daughter and granddaughter both have asthma. My daughter has been sleeping in the living room on an air mattress for months now due to getting ill from the mold. It is sad that residents are afraid to speak up due to concerns of losing their apartments, which are their homes.

This is a growing problem on Long Island due to the fact that landlords do not have to renew tenant’s leases and are not required to tell them why. With the exorbitant rent increases on the island they have nowhere affordable to live. With those two factors, the landlords can neglect these tenants’ apartments, allowing the landlord to make improvements only to the vacant apartments. This makes it impossible for those living there to improve their living conditions for fear of losing “their homes.”

Where is the proof, you say? The fact that Conifer intends to put only three tenants at a time up in a hotel for three to six weeks during the repair work. Meanwhile, the other tenants continue to live in unhealthy living conditions until they get to them. This could be months and months of living this way. Perhaps Conifer hopes they will move out on their own. Does that seem reasonable to you?

Linda Vatsis

CUTCHOGUE

A man of distinction

The Cutchogue New Suffolk Board of Park Commissioners, both present and past, want to publicly acknowledge the retirement of a true public servant.

Fred Kaelin has elected to retire from his position with the park district this month. He has served the residents of Cutchogue and New Suffolk with distinction since the early 1990s, attending meetings, handling payroll, taking minutes, paying bills and keeping the operations of the parks in order. He has accomplished all of this in a professional manner, quietly working behind the scenes to bring integrity and order to our operations.

Even more amazing has been his ability to complete the responsibilities of his position while working with the ever changing personalities of the many elected commissioners who have rotated in and out of office over the years. Fred has been relied upon to provide history, continuity and lessons learned from past experiences, both positive and negative, to the commissioners as they made decisions over the years.

Fred is an honorable person who demonstrates class and dignity in everything that he does for our community.

Thank you, Fred, for your years of dedicated service to Cutchogue and New Suffolk.

Board of Commissioners Cutchogue-New Suffolk Park District

SOUTHOLD

Votes matter

I cannot even imagine the hell going on for the families of the children and educators killed in Georgia — and the collateral damage to all the families in the community.

We do have the power of the vote to send a message to our politicians that we do not support the gun pushers.

Our congressman’s record is plain: Guns of America, 100% in 2023; NRA, 92% in 2022; New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, 100% in 2020 I cannot comprehend supporting a candidate who votes against banning assault weapons, but I guess some politicians close their eyes and open their pockets before they vote.

I only hope that voters in our district vote for anyone who supports banning assault weapons. They are all our children.

Rosellen Storm

CUTCHOGUE

Somber thought

Sept. 15, 1944, D-Day, Peleliu Island.

K-3-1 2nd PLT, USMC, 45 men. 19 KIA, 21 WIA, 1 still MIA. 17-year-old Edward Borowski. I point this out because Friday, Sept. 20, is National POW/MIA Recognition Day and to underscore the wording “freedom is not free.”

Even today there are fellow citizens held against their will and servicemen and -women paying the price for your freedom. We owe them all a debt of gratitude. Our American Legion Post in Southold flies both the American and POW/MIA flags each day to honor the gift and cost of freedom.

Bob Bittner

MATTITUCK

Cops support Trump

In response to the letter ‘Does the red really support the blue?’ (Aug. 29), note that the National Association of Police Organizations has already endorsed Trump and Suffolk PBA endorsed Trump in August. A quick internet search yields many local and state police organizations endorsing Trump. PBA groups used to focus exclusively on contract issues so would endorse the party offering more goodies (i.e., Democrats). In recent years the tide has turned to cops wanting what we all want: safe communities. Another search on the internet yields stories about the current law enforcement recruitment crises pointing to causes including protests against cops in large Democrat-run cities, Biden’s unsecured borders, which has allowed criminals into America unchecked, and Harris’ favorite defund the police movement and no bail laws. I think police are wise enough to see which candidate supports the blue.

Nancy Norjen

ORIENT

We paid the tariff

A while back, Tom and I bought an appliance under warranty. Within a year it failed, so we returned to the store and it was replaced.

All good. Except we were given a $90 bill, the “China tariff.” China didn’t pay that tariff, we did. The Trump tariff. Now he’s at it again. He has proposed a 10% tariff (sometimes he says 20%) on all nondomestic goods sold in the US and a 60% tariff on Chinese goods.

Running mate Vance is saying that economists disagree about the effects of tariffs. Wrong. Economists unanimously agree that U.S. tariffs are a tax on American consumers (per Michael Hiltzik in the Los Angeles Times). Just as they did before, countries facing new tariffs would impose retaliatory ones on U.S. goods sold in their countries. In 2018 Trump’s steel and aluminum imports tariffs caused retaliatory tariffs from Canada, China, the European Union, India, Mexico and Turkey.

The American Action Forum, a center-right think tank, has projected an annual additional cost per household of $1,700 to $2,350 for the 10% tariff and an additional $1,950 for the China one. And we know that U.S. producers will raise prices to take advantage of diminished competition, so we consumers will still be paying more. I don’t want that; I don’t want a tariff war. It’s very bad for me — and for U.S. Don’t be fooled.

Mary Morgan

MATTITUCK

Parting with MAGA merch

The change in attitude is almost palpable. Ever since the explosion of energy that followed the nomination of Kamala Harris for president, supporters of the other guy have a distinctly hangdog look. Our fellow citizens who still have MAGA signs, MAGA flags and other MAGA paraphernalia on their front lawns are beginning to gaze at them with the same sort of repugnance that their more enlightened (OK, “elite”) neighbors have been barely able to suppress. But they should take heart. For those who can no longer stand the sight of their own lawn signs but somehow can’t bring themselves to remove them, there is hope, and a path forward, and a (quasi) local celebrity to point the way.

Anthony Scaramucci, you will remember, served briefly as the former president’s communications director. It is a fact, not widely known, that he was a frequent visitor to the North Fork as a child, spending vacations here with his family. About his former boss’ current campaign, Mr. Scaramucci recently observed that there are only two kinds of people who can hope to benefit from a second Trump administration: billionaires and anarcho-Christian evangelicals. Ask yourselves: Do you fit into either of those categories? If not, consider: Mr. Scaramucci, one of the former president’s staunchest supporters, saw the light and is now one of his fiercest and most vocal critics. Follow his example. He made the switch; so can you. Why not take down those signs and/or flags and bring them over to the town dump for further processing? You can do it, and you have nothing to lose – except those eyesores in your yard.

Dave Warren

BAITING HOLLOW

Who are the real haters?

I have never disparaged my neighbors for what they believe or how they vote. It appears from some recent Letters to the Editor that, despite denying doing that, that’s exactly what was done. Remarks about wearing “a red hat” and invoking hateful and wholly inaccurate references to Nazi Germany. The only message here is if you wear a red hat and have an opinion other than mine your are un-American .

Constant venomous disparagements of the MAGA movement are launched repeatedly by the present president and his VP and many political contenders down the line. I, for one, think NOT wanting to make your nation great is bizarre and counterintuitive. Our nation is composed of our family, our schools, our community, our states, our Olympians. Why should we as American citizens NOT want to strive for greatness? What hope is there for any community that feels it should be inferior or not to have aspirations? Who tells their children to feel negatively about themselves and not to want to compete and to be winners, and to feel guilty if they desire that.

Linking Nazism to MAGA is the epitome of propagandist discourse. Populist pols including Reagan have been criticized for their populism linking same to fascism by opposition for years, because if you have too much pride in the country, it might be infectious, it might make people feel a sense of community — and division is their best strategy against that. People like feeling good about themselves and are naturally drawn to a positive message. Why not feel good about your country and community and family — unless of course someone filled with hatred wants to make you believe otherwise.

The real value of the Trump movement is neither Trump nor the MAGA slogans; it’s the realization that it’s very positive and productive to believe in the goodness of your family and friends and neighbors and want all of them to feel it, live it and certainly enjoy that greatness and fruits of good labors, and to achieve their individual dreams and our nation to realize its goodness and greatness with governance by the people and for the people.

Astrid Lehmann

SOUTHOLD

Rethinking the electoral process

The United States Constitution, Article IV, Section 4, states: “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government …”

When Benjamin Franklin was asked what form of government was decided upon by the Constitutional Convention, he answered: “A Republic, if you can keep it.”

In the recent past, it has been proposed that the presidency be decided upon by a nationwide popular vote, thereby doing away with the Electoral College; this then, not having a Republic form of government.

At present, electors are determined by the popular vote within each state; this then singles out a select few states that determine the presidency, and not having a nationwide referendum.

I am asking if your newspaper would host a public forum on how the president could be elected by keeping the Electoral College concept and still having a nationwide referendum.

I’d like to start with the following: The electors of each state would be determined by the number of senators from each state (2) and the number of congressional seats held by each state (determined by population at the last census).

The elector assignment would be applied to the appropriate candidates as follows: Two electors for the candidate who receives the majority of the popular vote within the state; one elector for each candidate who receives the majority of the popular vote within each congressional district.

This approach would be applied in each state until the majority of required electoral votes is reached.

Jack Faulkner

NEW SUFFOLK

Despicable behavior

I was outraged by the racist and hateful behavior of the person/people whom have been stealing Harris/ Walz signs in New Suffolk and littering our property with ignorant and racially disparaging misinformation.

The fliers combine an out-ofcontext and inaccurate line from a Michelle Obama speech to the DNC along with a photo of her with Oprah Winfrey. It reads: “Irony Alert. Someone worth 70 million and another worth 3 billion telling you: Don’t trust rich people!”

This is what Michelle Obama actually said: “You see, my mom … believed that all children — all people have value. That anyone can succeed if given the opportunity. She and my father did not aspire to be wealthy. In fact, they were suspicious of folks who took more than they needed. They understood that it wasn’t enough for their kids to thrive if everyone else around us was drowning.”

I doubt that whoever is printing this garbage has bothered to read the full quote, or has any idea how extraordinary, ethical, outspoken, intelligent and accomplished these women are.

Go to their philanthropy websites and see how far their generosity goes to uplift those struggling with abuse, mental health and wellness, poverty, education, environmental challenges and disasters. They give and inspire goodness every day. Their earned wealth is shared for humane causes rather than paying off huge personal debts to lawyers, banks and victims of their crimes. They trust and have faith in Kamala Harris to continue to lead with strength, compassion and integrity — and so do I. .

The people littering our neighborhoods with their trash care nothing about facts, reality or truth. Rather, they print lies and prey on racism, sexism and class differences to whip up support for their failed candidate.

If you care about the lasting beauty of the world we have known and the country that has protected us from evil tyrannical bullies, vote for peace, justice and equality.

May the best woman win!

Joni Friedman