Feb 22, 2012 1:30 PM
Hamptons Visitors Council members say an ad placed on the JumboTron in Times Square last year helped spur international visitors to come to the Hamptons. COURTESY ANDREA GURVITZ
A slashed advertising budget could sound the death knell for efforts to promote tourism on the East End, members of the Hamptons Visitors Council said this week, despite an uptick in hotel stays across the area that could signal a much needed boon in the tourism industry.
Faced with a stiff budget cut—the Hamptons Visitors Council received a grant of $20,000 from Southampton Town for 2012, not enough to apply for a matching $30,000 grant from the Long Island Convention and Visitors Bureau—the group has been forced to nix a good portion of advertising efforts this year. In addition, members no longer have the budget to attend travel shows and tourism conventions where they usually promote the East End. The group received $35,000 from the town last year.
Over the years, the... more
Faced with a stiff budget cut—the Hamptons Visitors Council received a grant of $20,000 from Southampton Town for 2012, not enough to apply for a matching $30,000 grant from the Long Island Convention and Visitors Bureau—the group has been forced to nix a good portion of advertising efforts this year. In addition, members no longer have the budget to attend travel shows and tourism conventions where they usually promote the East End. The group received $35,000 from the town last year.
Over the years, the... more
(It seems that the "BIG" part of your signature doesn't refer to brain power.)
Of course the businesses would benefit, duh, it was a sarcastic comment. The problem is that the business community would be better served with someone who really and honestly is more in tune with the business community. Mr. Beck has been a vocal oppoenent of many local businesses before and might be considered ...more a "business subversive", not an advocate. Either you're for all businesses and what they do or you're not. Fighting developers and making negative comments to the newspapers while on the Chamber and other boards conflicts his actions.
Just saying.
PS: "Big" doesn't refer to my brain ;-)
Imagine how our standard of living would be affected without a flourishing local economy, and you’ll realize that it is you who needs them the most.
Smart business people know this, but as with any big group, they're not all smart. It's the dumb, shortsighted, greedy ones that endanger us all and have to be brought up short. This means, in some cases, "fighting developers," as you put it. What it surely does not mean is being "all for businesses and what they do," because some business people haven't the brains to see this. or worse yet they see it but don't care.
Be grateful we have people like Hank Beck who put in enormous amounts of time and effort on these matters, and who do sometimes fight developers, and who don't roll over for whatever the business community proposes, because the business community isn't perfect, any more than any other group.
I've gone on some, but if you want a simple formula for it, just remember: This is Southampton -- The Environment Is The Economy & The Economy Is The Environment.
When you use the word "greedy" be careful. Are you referring to business people that ...more try to squeeze a living from out 4 month season? Second homes are the number one industry in the Hamptons/East End. It drives much of our local economy - people come to their homes and are tourists in their own backyard. That is a glaring fact that you may be ignoring.
Smart business people can come up with a variety of ways to find a balance between economy and the environment if allowed to do so. Between the Civic Associations, CAC and armchair environmentalists we're all in for a rude awakening. Businesses are sure to stop opening businesses here. The local residents and governments do not want tourists here and they give all of them a hard time. I don’t see Mr. Beck going to hearings to support the “ones he likes”!
Please don’t hide your head in the sand hear – let’s call it like it is and not how you see it in your fantasy land.
You're right to say it's a balance between the economy and the environment we're seeking, and that's admittedly a subjective thing. Hank Beck, and you, and I, each have to take our best shot at striking a good balance, and we won't always agree, which is OK.
The fact that a good balance leans sometimes one way and sometimes the other may explain what you perceive ...more as inconsistency in Hank Beck's positions. By "greedy" I mean simply those who would tip the balance too much in favor of their individual interest by, e.g., overloading the land with living, commercial or recreational facilities.
I don't get what you call the "glaring fact" that "people come to their homes and are tourists in their own backyard." What does that mean?
I also don't get your statement that "local residents and governments do not want tourists here." Who are "tourists"? Do you mean daytrippers, weekenders, short-term renters? What segment of the visitor population are "tourists" for this purpose, and why wouldn't locals want them?
Finally, if you're suggesting that "smart business people" don't need the help of "Civic Associations, CAC and armchair environmentalists," I have to disagree. Smart business people are smart enought to know they need community input, partly because it has intrinsic worth, and partly because they're asking for trouble if they ignore it.
This community doesn't support tourism as a whole, the tourism just happens naturally. The local community and politics doesn't encourage tourism, they don't want it either. They've been chasing it away for decades. We have plenty of real estate offices and banks but we also have many vacant stores on our Main Streets. Access to beaches are severely limited. Public golf courses are rare. What exactly is the draw of tourism here? You can't even rent your home on a weekly basis without being thrown in jail or getting a criminal summons. Most other vacation areas have that type of rental access and are welcoming to tourists.
As for the CAC comment, what exact purpose do they serve? All that they seem to be good for is creating a public controversy lined with misinformation, speculation, rumors and egos. Hardly intrinsic worth in my opinion. "Asking for trouble if they ignore it" seems like what a Wiseguy would say to a merchant who wasn't paying their weekly dues.
To support tourism, is to support business and the entire business community at large whether you like what they do or who they are or what they sell or how they sell it.
In the end, Hank Beck has been divisive to many local businesses and being on the tourism board is contrary to his beliefs and actions.
[1] Now I understand the "tourist in my own back yard" thing, and I acknowledge the contribution the development sector makes to our economy, but still believe they need reasonable regulation, just like any other activity that has a big impact on our lives.
[2] Can't agree that this community doesn't support or want tourism, and don't believe most people here would agree, either -- just my opinion, could be wrong.
[3] Your thoughtless dismissal of CACs is ...more not worthy of you, if I've got you pegged rightly as an intelligent observer. Check out some CAC meetings, and if you have already, check out some more. Civics, too.
[4] "Asking for trouble" is not a Wiseguy-type comment, it's just saying that people can't simply do whatever they wish without any regard to public opinion. Our system delineates areas (buildings, signs, sidewalks, etc., etc.) in which you must follow a code and/or listen to what your neighbors have to say through a comment and hearing process.
[5] This thing about supporting business blindly is like what you said in your first post, and what caused me to respond then. I've got some strong loyalties, as I imagine you do, but there's nothing and no one on this planet that I support without qualification, whatever they do. There has to be judgment.
[6] In the end, what you're saying about Hank Beck being divisive makes me think you've still got it all wrong, as I said in the beginning. People like Hank Beck are the best friends business could have in this economy, because they stand for preserving the environment on which the whole economy depends. This isn't a factory town, where the factory runs regardless of the environment. Again, this is Southampton -- The Environment Is The Economy & The Economy Is The Environment.
As for your pro Environment vis-à-vis Economy statement - there are so many regulations for businesses ...more it can make your head spin. I simply can't see how a retired little old lady from the East Quogue CAC, as an example, has enough clout to form an objective opinion about a particular project. What generally happens is emotions, not facts or law, cloud the process and how does that help the business community? I mean really!
We can't just simply have basic services of benign businesses like a bakery or liquor store. We need balanced progress. Imagine if there were no cell towers - what would people do? It's progress man and maybe, unfortunately for you, it may not agree with your "environmental" mantra, but 2012 is here to stay (and beyond). From the great movie, A Few Good Men, “You can’t handle the truth!”
This all being said, we're going to agree to disagree about the Civic and CAC who apply pressure without facts. You sound like an educated person and are probably an anomaly to the process but I have been to many CAC and Civic meetings - they are not a pleasant thing to sit through. Most of the attendees lean to the negative side of things. The ones who don't care are generally too busy with their lives to attend the meetings. These meetings are also intentionally seeded with naysayers.
This all started with tourism - the cold facts here is that we have a limited economy that is basically driven by the second home industry. Tourists, sadly, are not a welcome bunch and the local government and CAC and Civic would bust a nut if we were to develop the east end as a more touristy destination keeping the environment as our economy - as you put it. You can hardly fish, clam, boat, dock, go to the beach, have a party at your house, BBQ, have a fire pit, have a bonfire, park, listen to a band outside, ...... shall I go on?
So please, if and when you're going to support the local business community and tourism, do it with both eyes open and support it wholeheartedly, not selectively.
I just started my own non-profit. I am going to call it the "Hamptons Sandkeeper". We protect the sand that the wind blows around. How much can I make? Oh wait, before I start this business I better check with the CAC and local Civic Association. We wouldn't want to ruffle any feathers now.