Gold Stars and Dunce Caps

Gold Star: Several of them, in fact, after an agreement in Albany finally will put in place long-overdue protection for historic burial sites. It’s hard to imagine that unmarked graves — whether they hold the remains of early settlers, war casualties or Native Americans — had no such protection until the moment Governor Kathy Hochul earned her star by adding her signature to the legislation. State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. gets a star, too, for doggedly pursuing a measure he has said is about “justice and healing,” particularly among Indigenous people. And big stars for the Shinnecock Graves Protection Warrior Society, founded in 2016, and the many tribal activists before them who fought so hard, for so long, for such a simple, sensible set of guidelines to preserve the dignity of those who came before us all and are laid to rest, making them the truest owners of that soil.

Dunce Cap: To Southampton Town officials, for concluding that blinking lights on County Road 39 weren’t effective enough to bother with this summer. Look, it’s an expensive undertaking, and it could well be that blinking traffic lights are not a panacea. But it’s time for someone other than Highway Superintendent Charlie McArdle — who has done an exemplary job of keeping the matter in the spotlight — to do some heavy thinking about traffic solutions. The answer can no longer be merely “it doesn’t work” — that must be followed by, “… so we’re going to try this instead.” Status quo is simply unacceptable, and, as McArdle has demonstrated, there are strategies that work, even small ones. Find some.

Gold Star: To Sag Harbor Village, for getting Main Street nicely repaved and lined well in advance of the traffic season. Government always gets called out when it does things poorly — we also should take note when a big project, like paving the business district, is done quickly, efficiently and on schedule. The village will put its best foot forward this summer, and Sag Harbor should applaud the fine job underfoot. That said, the paving of busy streets just beyond the business district this week — in the days before the start of the holiday weekend? Less thrilled.

Dunce Cap: To East Hampton Town officials and aviation interests who agreed to return East Hampton Airport’s flight route to the so-called “November route,” which will, once again, bring helicopters in low and loud over the heavily populated areas of Noyac and Sag Harbor. Last year was far from perfect; there is no perfect when it comes to managing airport noise. But the new routes last summer seemed less onerous. If 2023 is another summer of “Apocalypse Now” for neighboring communities, East Hampton should be ready to rethink this decision once again.

Gold Star: To the Village of Southampton, for creating several new bike lanes that will give cyclists a safe way to get around the downtown area and even to and from the village beaches this summer. It’s been part of the village’s master plan for two decades — and something the public generally supports. Finally, it’s getting done, and everyone on two wheels should tip a hat to Village Hall as they pass.

Gold Star: To the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, for finding a way to keep the South Fork Commuter Connection on track. Heading into summer, Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. had raised the alarm that the Cannonball out of Manhattan on Fridays would eliminate the Friday train service so crucial to local commuters. But thanks to an expansion of service and new schedules for the opening of Grand Central Madison runs for the Long Island Rail Road trains, the MTA made sure the Friday trains are year round. The loss of Friday trains last summer was a “major inconvenience,” Thiele noted. Credit to him, and to the MTA, for making sure this option is available five days a week.

Dunce Cap: To the Sagaponack Village Board, for a proposal to ban dogs from Gibson Lane Beach. There are good reasons to restrict unleashed dogs on beaches, and owners need to keep a close eye on them, but it seems ridiculous to ban the pooches altogether just because one might have gotten a little too frisky with the mayor. Limits are defensible; bans are an overreaction. That said, for dog owners who fail to monitor their four-legged friends at the beach, keeping them away from strangers and plover nests, and who won’t pick up after them? We’ve got a dunce cap for you as well.

Gold Star: To voters in the majority of East End school districts, for putting kids first and adopting school budgets, especially for homeowners in a few districts that will see significant tax increases this year. Wainscott, the lone holdout, faces a unique situation — even a contingency budget won’t be all that different from what was proposed and voted down. In other districts, voters made the correct choice to recognize the difficulties of balancing a district budget, with soaring insurance costs and other factors in play. Just one additional point: Consolidation would go a long way toward leveling out the ups and downs that smaller school districts face at budget time.

Gold Star: To Aflac, for coming through with a new sign for Flanders, “Home of the Big Duck,” after the original sign was stolen in February. Sure, it was a great branding opportunity — but give the company credit for not demanding to have its own logo branded across the sign. That makes it a gift we can truly all celebrate, and it makes it that much more satisfying to throw a gold star to Aflac for picking up the duck bill. (Sorry.)

Gold Star: To the Sag Harbor Village Board, Mayor Jim Larocca, landscape architect Ed Hollander and all of the businesses that have worked cooperatively to make the John Steinbeck Waterfront Park a reality. The park reopens on Thursday and will give residents a beautiful open space to enjoy Sag Harbor’s waterfront. In a region where that kind of luxury is traditionally reserved for wealthy, private homeowners, it is nice to see waterfront land preserved for public use. Steinbeck would be thrilled.

Gold Star: To The Church, for continuing to support local students through programming and exhibits like “Sag Harbor in Focus.” Artists April Gornik and Eric Fischl have been tireless supporters of the greater Sag Harbor community, and their nonprofit arts incubator has taken on their generous philosophy. It is a community asset like no other.

Gold Star: To Springs School residents who approved a critical budget that went above the state-mandated tax levy cap. Springs School suffers from a lack of a commercial district to lessen the burden on taxpayers in funding its public school. Tuition for students to attend East Hampton High School is significant, and until there are real talks about consolidation of school districts on the South Fork, to even suggest voting against a school budget in a district like Springs is entirely irresponsible. Kudos to the majority of taxpayers who put students and teachers first this year.

Dunce Cap: To the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Long Island Rail Road and East Hampton Town, for failing to address the deteriorating condition of the Cranberry Hole Road bridge years ago. It’s been eight years since a state report spotlighted the bridge as being in dangerously poor condition — and enduring abuse far beyond what it was designed to sustain, thanks to traffic from vehicles far beyond the bridge’s weight limit. The bridge is a tiny span, relatively speaking, and the work could have easily been done over a quiet offseason. Instead, the bridge is looking like it might be unusable for an entire summer season. Fingers will point, but all three share the dunce cap for this development.

Dunce Cap: To Southampton Town officials, for reckless spending. The town paid $1.7 million on acreage off Flanders Road to advance plans to create a sewer district. They bought the land across the street from the proposed sewage treatment plant to use as a constructed wetland. Then they learned that one of the reviewing agencies, the State Department of Environmental Conservation, didn’t find the strategy acceptable. Another $2 million was allocated for another property on the same side of Flanders Road as the treatment plant. That’s $3.7 million total. Speaking to the Flanders Riverside Northampton Civic Association last week, Janice Scherer, the town’s land use and development administrator, said the ability to use the site for infrastructure rather than having to traverse Flanders Road will “save” about $1.5 million. Perhaps — but not buying land the town can’t use would have saved $1.7 million.

Gold Star: To the Springs Fire District, for indicating that they will seek permission to relocate a cell tower on their property away from neighboring homes and build one in compliance with town setback rules. A new tower is important, but it needs to be properly sited. Instead of fighting, the district countered a lot of complaints preemptively. However …

Dunce Cap: To neighbors of the Springs Fire District property, who say they still plan to fight the proposal — despite the likely futility in such a move. Better cell service is desperately needed in Springs, and federal rules protecting the installation of such facilities as a public utility have made it clear that challenging cell tower projects because you don’t want to see one near your house is a losing battle, as residents in two other East Hampton neighborhoods have discovered. It’s time to embrace a compromise solution — and 21st century technology.

Gold Star: To Paul DeRobertis for 50 years serving Southampton Village residents and visitors pizza and more at Paul’s Italian Restaurant. May he enjoy his well-deserved retirement. And another to the new owner, Rashid Sulehri, for paying tribute by keeping the Paul’s name intact as the eatery enters a new generation.

Gold Star: To the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center, which is celebrating 25 years of bringing performing arts to the village after finding a new use for a former cinema — and revitalizing the village. The PAC is now such an iconic part of village life, it is a shining example of how such a project can transform not only its own space but the world around it. Here’s to 25 more years — and another, and another.

Gold Star: To Honor Flight Long Island. Since 2007, the nonprofit has been escorting veterans of World War II and the Korean War to visit their memorials in Washington, D.C., free of charge. The organization has recently begun to honor Vietnam War veterans as well, a commitment that is of particular significance because of the scorn, ridicule and poor treatment many veterans of that unpopular war unfairly faced when they returned home. The organization cannot erase the suffering those veterans endured at that time, but the effort to honor them and recognize the value of their service to the country goes a long way when it comes to healing those wounds.