Shelter Island Reporter Letters to the Editor
Shared values
To the Editor:
I have followed the short-term rental (STR) news in the Reporter this past year, as well as attending the public meeting this past Friday.
There are pros and cons on both sides of the STR argument. However, the current law in its present form is draconian. I encourage the Town Board to repeal it and start anew.
As a homeowner on the Island for nearly 50 years, I don’t recall an issue more divisive in our community. Change is hard, and the nature of our second home and tourist economy has changed. We can’t freeze what worked 25 years ago, when mothers and their children spent one or two months here, and the fathers arrived every Friday on the “Daddy Ferry.” With both spouses often working today, a long weekend or a one-week vacation is what most families can arrange.
As for the Islanders who live, work or vacation on the Island, and need to rent out their homes or cottages to supplement their mortgage payments and income, let’s support them in their efforts to attract respectful renters who will contribute to the Island businesses and restaurants. If we want to foster a sustainable economy and vibrant community we need to appeal to our common shared values, not our differences.
The entities that buy houses to use as hotels and don’t live here, should have some form of thoughtful regulation. The existing laws on the books regarding noise, parking, etc., need to be enforced, for everyone. Our struggling middle class, which is the heart of this community, needs encouragement, not jail time.
The elite who don’t like change may consider adjusting their world view, one that is comprehensive, not sanctioned.
Karen Kiaer
Shelter Island
An attack on zoning
To the Editor:
As I said at the hearing last Friday, I didn’t plan on speaking but the imbalance and negativity was extraordinary, so I will say it again: My family has been here a very, very long time, but this isn’t a contest of who has been here the longest.
I applaud the Town Board for working so hard and so long on this legislation to regulate short-term rentals. This is a complicated issue and Shelter Island can’t afford to stick its head in the sand and not see where anti-regulation is an attack on our zoning. Why have any regulations? Why have any laws?
This is not about noise and party houses. Houses are not hotels and reasonable regulation is not draconian. Let our elected officials pass this revision and move on to more important issues.
Heather Clark Reylek
Shelter Island
Editor’s note: Ms. Reylek is chairwoman of the Shelter Island Democratic Committee
Divisive times
To the Editor:
Anyone interested in what non-homeowner-occupied rentals do to a community, I suggest reading the article in the New Yorker issue of April 22 by Rebecca Mead, “Air BNB Invasion of Barcelona.”
And yes, Virginia, companies — aka corporations, LLCs — are buying houses on Shelter Island for the sole purpose of financial gain by renting them out on a short-term basis.
If you live in your home you can rent rooms 365 days a year or rent your cottage or annex, as long as you live on the property. You live there! It makes a big difference. And if you own more than one house you may only rent one of them for short terms.
Town officials work tirelessly to provide equitable, fair laws for the greater good; personal attacks, anonymous letters, threats to remove officials from office do not help us move forward in these divisive times.
Jean H. Lawless
Shelter Island
Support the residents
To the Editor:
This Sunday, please pick an enormous bouquet of lilacs (or two) for your beautiful mother (or woman you love) at my farmhouse at 46 West Neck Road — white picket fence, on the town golf course.
Anna Edwards Lewis planted over 100 glorious lilac plants in the 1960s and 1970s to ring the entire property.
Mothers are precious pillars of society. A mother’s love is never unsure; we begin our lives within her. If you have a hard-working mother who cared and provided for your family, like my incredibly practical mother and Irish grandmothers, you are fortunate. I hear my mother in my 5-year-old son’s words now when he says, “Mommy, can we have ice cream at the IGA if it’s on sale?”
Women provide and are behind 80 percent of the Island’s short term rentals (STRs) (airbnb statistic, 2017). Behind every successful business on the Island you will find women — and even solely women-owned businesses. These businesses feed families, send children to college, pay the bill at Costco, keep the lights on, employ hundreds of Islanders, pay town taxes, donate to excellent causes that help our community — and they rely upon tourism.
Do you care about this gorgeous island? Support the residents here by supporting STRs. Rentals attract visitors, they fund Kyle’s, every landscaper, Binder Pools, Dan’s Carting, realtors, handy men/women, the IGA, Jack’s Marine, Piccozzi’s, John’s, every contractor, local attorneys, Liberty Automotive, Voigt Autobody, Dot’s Hair Salon, Anna’s Salon, Marika’s, Highlights at the Candlelight Inn, Shepherd Enterprises, Marie Eiffel, SI Pilates, Kraus Tile, Peder Larsen, Go for’s Taxi, Maria’s, Shelter Island Craft brewery, Vine Street, SI Liquors, The Islander, Port, The Dory, The Flying Goat, Bob’s Fish Market, Commander Cody’s, Bliss, Elli’s, Star’s, All Dogged up, Eagle Deli, Piesano’s, The Pharmacy, Clark’s Wine Tasting, Dandy Liquors, North and South ferries. Support them, they need you, and when you spend at their establishment you are helping your neighbors. Mom would approve.
Please visit RepealThisLaw.com and join 1,112 signers on the STR petition at chng.it/XK9FFWGDdJ.
Happy Mother’s Day! I never lived until I became a mother. See you at the Ram’s Head — the most beautiful Mother’s Day brunch on the East Coast.
Kathryn Klenawicus
Shelter Island
No flag, no board
To the Editor:
I would recommend to the Town Board from now on, when they are reciting the pledge of allegiance to our flag, they recite it really slowly to really let it sink in.
This is one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. This new amendment which requires homeowners to register extended family members and friends’ names and contact information to the town and neighbors, clearly violates our rights to privacy. This law is treating us like we are registered sex offenders, and if we do not register — like sex offenders — we are threatened with fines and imprisonment.
If you pass this new amendment to the law, you might as well remove the American flag from every public building on Shelter Island.
Just remember, without the American flag, there is no Town Board.
James McGayhey
Shelter Island
Wake up
To the Editor:
The attendees and speakers at the STR public hearing were thankfully reasonable, respectful and civil — including me!
Unfortunately the same can’t be said for one board member whose obvious disdain for the opinions of our community was apparent. Imagine if you were sitting in someone’s office for an important discussion and the person on the other side of the desk rarely bothered to look at you. Through most of the hearing one councilman in particular did not have the decency or courtesy to even look at the folks that took the time and effort to come and speak to the board. He kept his head down, writing or doodling away almost the entire time, only rising up when one speaker had the audacity to mention his name.
He quickly looked up and prodded the supervisor to make the person stop.
Is this what is to be expected from our elected officials? A public official choosing to be disrespectful by ignoring his constituency at a public hearing that affects us all is not worthy of the position he holds.
Be advised, your property values are declining. The ability to sell your property is diminishing. Our Island’s CPF funds are falling at a rate that significantly exceeds that of the other East End towns. It is the single best data point that demonstrates declining sales and lack of interest for potential buyers.
Why? Our wonderful island has become an unwelcoming place for folks who would like to come and stay for a short while.
Many of us first came to the Island for a few days or a week and fell in love with the place and bought homes here. That opportunity is no longer available without jumping through onerous hoops, both by the property owner and the potential visitors.
Contrary to the point of view of our Board, we are not like the other East End towns. They are busy and vibrant all year long. We are for the most part a summer vacation destination. Our island is desolate in the winter. If we don’t have a busy summer, economic recovery is extremely difficult. This is the path we are being led down. So look up and wake up before it is too late.
Remember, peaceful civil disobedience is as American as apple pie. This is the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Larry Adler
Shelter Island
Myriad hoops
To the Editor:
Some Islanders may find the proposed Rental of Real Property law more than a little ham-handed, nefarious and even, well, creepy. There is plenty in the law to cause one to wonder what exactly is going on or how it might actually work, but the sections of the law addressing exceptions to the general prohibition of temporary occupancy by anyone other than an owner’s immediate family is particularly disconcerting.
The “Homesteaders Hardship Exemption” seemingly provides limited relief to those property owners identified as financially disadvantaged, so long as they are willing to jump through myriad bureaucratic hoops and document — more or less publiclly — that they desperately need to rent out their homes and spare bedrooms in order to put food on their tables.
This exemption can be earned, however, if the owner is granted a STAR exemption, thereby lessening his or her tax burden by about $150 per year. Never mind that the state itself does not mandate that eligible taxpayers participate in the STAR program. And never mind, by the way, that every tax dollar “saved” by STAR participants serves to take another dollar away from programs that provide essential human services. Curiously, some property owners appreciate that such programs need tax dollars in order to thrive.
Perhaps even more troubling is the second requirement for meeting the Hardship Exemption, which would mandate that applicants submit their tax returns to the town, documenting that they have an annual income either below or at some multiple above the extremely modest Federal Poverty Line. It is unclear exactly which town official(s) would have access to the detailed personal information found in tax returns. And, of course, one might wonder exactly how such sensitive information would be stored and what security precautions would be instituted to ensure absolute confidentiality.
The good news though is that exempted owners would be permitted to rent up to six times per year (while their wealthier or luckier neighbors with guest cottages would be well-positioned to enjoy unlimited rentals).
Oh well, at least there will be fewer family reunions on Shelter Island.
Joseph Kelly
Shelter Island
Quality of life
To the Editor:
The issue of short-term rentals first came to the Town Board when a resident complained that there were a few problems with noise and said that he had a right to know who his neighbors are. This sentiment was echoed by a lady at last week’s Town Board public hearing.
We do not have a “right” to know. In fact, your neighbors have an absolute “right” to privacy. Only convicted sex offenders must disclose their identity to neighbors.
Some folks here fear all strangers. Americans, as law abiding citizens, are all free to live and travel to any place in our country. That includes Shelter Island.
Hopefully, the board will abandon this law. If they decide to rewrite it, then they must remove the “Presumption of Rental” clause. We are not felons on probation. Expecting me to prove that friends in my home, while I’m not there, are not renters, is extremely intrusive and is effectively an illegal taking of property.
The “Homestead Law” is meant to help a primary resident avoid eviction when facing foreclosure. It is not intended to just supplement income. The board should forgo the Homestead Law and implement exemptions for all homeowners of a certain annual income, no matter their residency status.
The only other island that I have been to where neighbors were encouraged to watch and inform on neighbors was the island of communist Cuba. This is the purpose of the special “Confidential Complaint” form that is attached to this law.
There are quality of life issues the board should confront. The economic wellbeing of citizens here is threatened by this law.
Property assessments have been lowered by 5.25 percent across the Island because home sales are down. That means our taxes are lower but funding the town budget and the CPF also suffer. Less tourists and fewer new homeowners means less business for everyone.
The tick issue continues to affect our economy. Science and the experience of other island communities proves that completely removing the deer is the solution. Our Deer and Tick committee has stated that it is a matter of political will.
Having a tick-borne disease, or dying from it, will also affect your quality of life. True public servants will someday have the courage to acknowledge this reality.
The board does not need to waste any more time on short-term rentals.
Vincent Novak
Shelter Island
911
To the Editor:
Last week I got myself all tangled up in the Shelter Island local Facebook page. Now I know more than I need to know about the Housing Board, that is looking for a new member and a leader. No further comment, just that they’re not very transparent, especially considering taxpayer dollars will come into play somehow.
I decided to look to the minutes of this board on the town website. Very interesting. Back in November there was mention of a project manager. Is there a project pending? Then in January, there was mention of leased land. Why Gardiner’s Bay Country Club and the town don’t get together for affordable housing is a mystery. Why can’t garden apartments be built?
I read the Reporter’s website history story today, especially the “50 years ago” column and “10 years ago.” Dark skies legislation was before the board and two councilmen argued that, “for so few problems, neighbors could settle their differences without legislation.” It passed three to two. Too bad!
Shelter Island is a vacation destination and has been for many years and will remain that. Short term rentals in no way affect the populace to a degree that there needs to be legislation. Stop it now
Call the cops!
Georgiana Ketcham
Shelter Island
For free
To the Editor:
I’d like to thank Ms. Lagudis for her letter to the editor (“Just the facts,” May 2). You’re so right, lets keep to the facts.
First: North Carolina has many ferry companies. The North Carolina website on ferries states: “Services for most of North Carolina’s seven ferry routes are free.” That is a fact your rate payers and the public officials of New York State need to be aware of.
Why are we being subjected to rate increases because we live here on the Island? If we have to go to a doctor on the North Fork we’re charged for it. I wonder how poor ole North Carolina can run most of their seven ferry routes for free?
Perhaps we all need to stay closer to the facts. Like the rates to travel on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel — over 20 miles of roadway for about what [non-residents] pay to get to Greenport.
Richard Krause
Shelter Island
