Letters

Stephen Kotz’s excellent article “Sag Harbor Taken to Court Over Potter Affordable Housing Proposal” [27east.com, October 14] reports the truth about our reasons for filing an Article 78. He accurately portrays our challenge to spot zoning in a contaminated flood zone.

That did not stop the mayor from mischaracterizing us as opponents of affordable housing. He says he cannot find “a single family of any longevity” among the petitioners. When does one become an official resident of the village? How many generations?

The mayor is a relative newcomer to the village; I am celebrating my fourth decade here. I set down roots when Sag Harbor was known as the “un-Hampton,” before it caught the attention of real estate speculators.

Your paper featured the mayor’s claim that the petitioners do not include firefighters, police officers or teachers, in your quote of the day. I must correct that misstatement as well: I am married to an emergency room nurse who risked his own life during the early days of COVID, before we knew how the disease was transmitted. He is my partner in all things, including my petition.

The effort to tar us as classist malcontents is, for want of a better word, a lie.

Our public square already teems with misinformation. I am writing to strike a blow for truth.

Peter J. Acocella

Sag Harbor