Letters

I commend the editorial staff for your March 23 edition of the “27Speaks” podcast: “Assemblyman Thiele on Housing and Preservation.” His appearance was in response to your previous editorial [“A New Perspective,” March 2] and “27Speaks” episode discussing the Community Preservation Fund’s impact over the past 24 years and the present deficit of attainable housing.

First of all, it’s always good to hear Assemblyman Thiele share his balanced views on preservation and housing. He has championed both issues on the East End for over 25 years.

What I most enjoyed was listening to you all have a thoughtful and well-rounded conversation about the issues we are facing around finding the balance between preservation, the market forces of luxury development, the clear need for local community housing, and NIMBY-ism.

Shortly after listening to the podcast, I came across an article on 27east: “Quiogue Housing Hearing Set; 104 Units Proposed” [March 22], about an upcoming hearing on that proposed development, which we, at East End YIMBY, have been supporting for over two years.

In the nearly 800-word article, your reporter uses about 40 percent of the article to describe the proposal, then dedicates over 50 percent of the article to what the opposition was saying, including regurgitating comments made by Planning Board members who were covered in your reporter’s last article on the development. Use of terms such as “dubbed” and “lauded” made it clear that this article was sympathetic to the opposition. Twenty-six words (about 3 percent) were written as a reference to what “supporters” had to say.

At the last hearing, several prominent community members and business owners came out to speak in support of The Preserve at South Country. Young people spoke about how they hoped to be able to live and work in the area but didn’t have much hope unless this, and other attainable housing, were built throughout the town.

As an editorial board, you appear to be committed to discussing all sides of issues on “27Speaks” — don’t you hold your reporters to the same standard? How will we ever come together to find remedies to our housing crisis if the voices of the opposition are amplified and the voices of the supporters are dismissed?

We are in such a bind here on the East End. Our heritage industries of fishing, farming, tourism and the arts are in danger of collapsing because residents who work in those industries are being forced out by downzoning, escalating market prices and NIMBY-ism. How can we solve these challenges if all sides don’t get equal time in our community news?

Michael Daly

East End YIMBY

Sag Harbor