Letters

I’m writing in response to the article “Signs Encouraging Residents To Vote in Favor of Marsden Purchase Are Defaced in Sag Harbor Village” [27east.com, April 12]. While I do not condone anyone placing stickers on others’ signs, the article reports the placement of three stickers with perfect accuracy — two blocked the date, one blocked the QR code — while omitting critical facts required for balanced reporting.

For example, the article states that “after realizing it would be tied up in procedural matters for many more months, with no guarantee of board approval, the district pulled out of the deal and decided to try to buy the land on its own.”

That only tells one side of the story, since the Town Board offered to approve the $6 million expenditure as long as the Board of Education agreed to only develop 2.5 acres of the 4 acres of land. The article does not mention that offer.

The article also states that Michele Liot “is the administrator of a Facebook group of roughly 175 parents who are united in their support of the purchase for the school district.” However, the article does not mention the Instagram account of the group sagcitizens, which currently has 270 followers.

The article does briefly mention the opposition, stating, “Many residents have also been outspoken in their opposition to the purchase. Many of them live on or near Marsden Street.” Yet 521 people voted no in the first referendum in November, so it simply is not possible that the opposition all lives on or near Marsden Street.

In a small town where the Marsden Street acquisition is a very divisive issue, there should be fair and balanced reporting that covers both sides of the story. Otherwise, our local newspaper fails to uphold the central purpose of journalism and fuels the divide in the community.

Lauren Friedman

Sag Harbor