Letters

The Better Vote

Today, East Quogue votes to incorporate into a village or remain a hamlet. Please consider the following questions in response to letters in last week’s Southampton Press.

If the committee for the incorporation of East Quogue has done its due diligence, why are there so many questions unanswered? Review the letter from Bob DeLuca, president, Group for the East End [“Unanswered Questions,” Letters, October 10] and those posed by resident Rosemary Turitto [“What’s The Rush,” Letters, October 10], including her wise observation: “What’s the rush?”

I find curious inconsistencies by proponents of the village. Forming a village in East Quogue won’t solve the problem of not having a seat at the table of the Westhampton School Board. How can we keep taxes low when adding another level of government increases taxes by $50 per home?

Southampton Town is responsible for decreasing the density to 5-acre zoning in the Pine Barrens area. Do we need a village to “maintain our existing zoning”? How will the village change our zoning laws?

A committee member says this is about the golf course and the $13.6 million East Quogue lost when “The Hills at Southampton” was defeated. This is at odds with a committee co-chair, who states that “if we had incorporated years ago, the golf course could have been prevented by a village board,” and “Incorporation can prevent unwanted development in the future.”

This lack of coordination on the committee forewarns us of the disharmony in the makeup of a village board. Our Civic Association has been around for decades, responsible for scholarships, the park, concerts, etc … and their opinion matters. Please go to eqcivic.org. They are against incorporation.

In his Viewpoint [“Years Of Broken Promises Lead To Incorporation Effort,” Letters, October 10], Skip Heaney, who is a committee member, says, “Five years ago, I would have opposed incorporation of East Quogue as a village.” Among issues he has with Southampton is, after town officials were asked for a feasibility study to consider how property owners in East Quogue might reduce nitrogen waste into Shinnecock Bay, “the town entertained a pilot program in Hampton Bays, and committed over $5 million in CPF funds for water quality projects to the villages of Westhampton Beach, Southampton, and Sag Harbor.”

Hampton Bays is not a village.

As town supervisor, Skip (my neighbor and president of Shinnecock Shores Association — a position I held several years ago) did many good things for East Quogue. A village was not required then.

I posit: The Southampton Town leadership is the problem. We don’t need a village. We need the correct people running Southampton Town. That is a vote that will make a difference. Maybe in another five years, Skip will see it differently.

Please vote against East Quogue Village. This is not a solution but a creation of new problems.

Vicki Greenbaum

East Quogue