This week in Shelter Island history
A packed Town Hall in January 2004 to protest a plan to give Town Board members power to review commercial site plans for new businesses or existing businesses making major changes.
50 YEARS AGO IN HISTORY
Singer and actress Jeanette MacDonald died at age 61.President Lyndon Johnson and the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., in the midst of a push to pass major civil rights legislation in congress, discussed appointing a Negro to the Cabinet.
“How to Murder Your Wife” was one of the most viewed movies in the United States.
Petula Clark’s “Downtown,” which topped music charts in the United Kingdom a few weeks earlier, rose to number two on music charts in the United States.
James Michener’s “The Source” — a story that took readers back thousands of years in the Holy Land and traces the history of the Jewish people through to the founding of Israel — was the top selling book.
And on Shelter Island …
50 YEARS AGO
Welcome back, Congressman
Congressman Otis Pike was beginning to serve another term. The Reporter editorial in mid-January congratulated him for being a man whose actions and votes were dictated by what he thought was best for the country and his district. He “does not hesitate to shake loose political ties if it is necessary to accomplish the end result he seeks,” the Reporter editorialized.
POSTSCRIPT: At the start of this month, newly elected Congressman Lee Zeldin appeared on Fox News and has been criticized by some, including Times Review Managing Editor Grant Parpan, for comments that played to the Republican congressional hierarchy.
30 YEARS AGO
Deer Harvest totals 33
That was the headline 30 years ago as the deer hunting season was reaching its final week. That number represented kills on both Shelter Island and North Haven, 17 of which were on town-managed sites.
Another 17 were taken at Mashomack Preserve. Specially trained dogs aided in the hunt that year.
Mike Scheibel, who at the time was a Department of Environmental Conservation wildlife biologist, said the deer taken were healthy with a lot of fat on them. Some had what was described as “an unusual amount of ticks” on them.
POSTSCRIPT: The latest statistics from this year’s hunt showed 86 deer taken from town-managed sites and 103 killed at Mashomack Preserve.
20 YEARS AGO
Heights in a stew over chickens
Twenty years ago, residents of Shelter Island Heights were complaining about being awakened by a flock of noisy chickens that apparently had flown into town during a Christmas nor’easter. Town Board members were hearing complaints with no easy answer about how to rid the area of the flock. Councilman Hal McGee urged his colleagues “not to lay an egg in solving the vexing problem,” but suggested a plan to “outfox the fowls.”
POSTSCRIPT: Just a week ago, foxes in the Heights killed two chickens.
10 YEARS AGO
Crowd rejects commercial site plan review
A standing-room crowd packed Town Hall to protest a proposal to require site plan review for all new businesses and existing businesses making major changes to their premises. Speakers argued that they didn’t trust town officials and saw the proposal as an obstacle for Island businesses. Under the proposal, the Town Board would have had the responsibility to review site plans.
“The Town Board’s trying to get involved in every aspect of our lives,” said local real estate broker John Quigley. He blamed one or two board members for ”pushing your will on us and if we’re not here to fight every inch, we lose.”
POSTSCRIPT: Unlike Planning Boards in neighboring communities, Shelter Island’s Planning Board doesn’t do site reviews and deals primarily with subdivisions and lot line changes. In those other communities, site plans reviews deal with residential and commercial properties, giving neighbors an opportunity to weigh in on aspects of proposal that sometimes result in agreements to make changes to offset potential issues neighbors have cited.
On Shelter Island, the opportunity for neighbors to weigh in occurs if a plan requires an exemption from the town’s zoning code.
