Shelter Island Reporter Letters to the Editor: Sept. 4, 2025
IMPORTANT MEETING ON WATER
To the Editor:
Please come and learn how you can do your part to help protect our water quality. This is important and useful information for each of us on Shelter Island.
Please join us at the Sept. 4 Water Quality Improvement Advisory Board (WQIAB) meeting at 6 p.m. at Shelter Island Town Hall in person or via ZOOM.
Rachel Friedman, the Water Quality Outreach Specialist with the Peconic Estuary Partnership, will give a presentation to help homeowners understand why upgrading their septic systems is key to protecting our water quality. Additionally, the grant application process will be explained in detail, step by step.
Learn how you can get financial help replacing your outdated septic system with an Innovative Alternative (I/A) Onsite Wastewater Treatment System (OWTS) by utilizing Suffolk County and New York State grants, along with an additional rebate available to Shelter Island residents.
Please come with any questions that you may have about this process and stay after the presentation if you would like the opportunity to have one-on-one assistance with your application.
We encourage everyone to join us in this important effort to protect our water quality.
You can register for Zoom attendance through the Shelter Island Town Website.
We look forward to seeing you on Sept. 4 at 6 p.m.
ALICE DEUPREE, Menantic Creek Keepers Conservancy
CANDIDATE’S PITCH
To the Editor:
While I’m excited that we are slowly moving forward on the 10 rental units of workforce housing, and I’m also proud of the year-round housing we’ve been able to create with the ADU PLUS One grants, it’s essential to acknowledge that there is still much more to do.
These are the first efforts creating housing in 29 years, so there’s a great need. Future areas that I see that I’d like us to address: first, housing for seniors, and also lower-income housing options, home ownership, and down payment assistance.
Why has the Community Housing Board (CHB) focused on these projects (ADUs and rentals)? Because we have been guided by the three priorities the community gave us in the Community Housing Plan. ADUs, workforce rental housing, and learning more about the actual housing needs of the community. It’s not for CHB to decide, or the Town Board for that matter. We must be instruments to realize the community’s goals, not our own. That ethos is what I will bring to the Town Board if elected this fall.
I am proud of the work we’ve done and the incredible team I’ve had the privilege to lead. We found $3.5 million for ADUs; we moved forward with workforce rental housing; and we’ve secured grant funding to complete an extensive housing assessment to be completed next year, ahead of the scheduled five-year cycle of revisiting the housing plan.
I’ve found allies in unexpected and often bi-partisan places. I’ve drawn fire from some in my own party. But policy will always be more important to me than politics.
I’ve proven I can get things done for Shelter Island. Big things. Hard things. Complicated things.
I’d like to ask for your vote this November because I’m excited to do more, to help this island I love realize its goals. Let’s build this together!
ELIZABETH HANLEY, Chairwoman, Community Housing Board, candidate for Town Board
WHY I’M RUNNING FOR HIGHWAY SUPERINTENDENT
To the Editor:
I’m Michael Reiter, candidate for highway superintendent.
As campaign season begins, I want to be clear: I’m running for something, not against anyone or anything. I’m running for our hometown, for my grandchildren and yours. I want to safeguard Island life and ensure a strong future for all of us.
I recently launched my website, ReiterForHighwaySuperintendent.com, and I’ve been humbled to see my priorities echoed by other campaigns. That’s a good thing, because these aren’t just my priorities alone; they’re the priorities of Shelter Island.
Safety is my top priority. Having served alongside my fellow Islanders for decades to keep our community safe, I understand the important role the Highway Department plays in our daily lives. It’s time to get back to basics and ensure the department serves everyone.
We need safer town landings with plans tailored to each site, particularly to guarantee firetruck access. We need safe roads, better biking and walking access, and a Recycling Center that once again serves our community with pride.
We deserve straightforward financial management. I will make sure our budget is managed responsibly. I bring experience as a Fire Commissioner and a cooperative approach to leadership. I will work to restore the Recycling Center as a safe and welcoming place. I will keep our promises to the community, and I will always be open to listening.
For months, I’ve been preparing quietly, and now it’s time to bring that work into the open. Let’s make this a fair and honest race, focused on what truly matters: the safety, well-being, and future of Shelter Island. I’ll put people before politics and self-interest. When I’m elected, I will work for you.
I look forward to seeing you around town.
MICHAEL REITER, Candidate for Shelter Island Highway Superintendent
SUPPORT FOR GOODING
To the Editor:
Gordon Gooding has an outstanding environmental record, reflecting his leadership with the Community Preservation Fund, which demonstrates his determination to control development rather than continue the explosive over-development on the Island that we have seen under the recent Siller-Williams administrations.
Gordon supports affordable housing and has taken a leadership position in assuring that negotiations about affordable housing are transparent to all Islanders. He supports I/A septic systems in the town center, instead of prolonging the discussion for years, and at the same time, he wants to keep the Suffolk County Water Authority at bay.
Gordon wants to rein in our town budget, which this year increased more than 10% percent over the previous year, which was itself 8% higher than the previous year. The current administration claims it is difficult to control the budget because a substantial portion of it is allocated to wages and benefits. This is nonsense. Did any of you receive a salary or pension increase of 10%?
Gordon compelled the current administration to eliminate a costly town attorney who allegedly had conflicts of interest, which had necessitated hiring expensive supplemental attorneys. Gordon has also pushed to settle costly litigation that had been hidden for years, and he is working to improve the Town Codes so that this island does not lose as often in court when sued.
Gordon works to make the Town Board transparent. That is why he insists as many Town Board issues as possible be discussed in public, contrary to the current administration, which constantly calls executive sessions. And the very first Thursday of the month at 10 a.m., Gordon is at the Islander listening to Islanders. Gordon makes himself available to listen, and he actually listens. Let’s have a new start.
LYNNE WEIKART, Member, Shelter Island, Democratic Committee
SENIOR HOUSING
To the Editor:
At the work session on Aug. 26, Community Development Long Island (CDLI) spoke about the housing project. The proposed plan continues to grow more convoluted, with still no approximate cost or timeline provided.
Lifetime Island resident Joy Bausman spoke about our struggling seniors and inquired where they fit into this program. Liz Hanley made it clear that the plan is intended for middle income families — not seniors — when she stated, “This is not who this project is serving.” I believe her comment may be incorrect, because if a senior falls into the middle-income bracket, why wouldn’t they qualify for housing?
It’s time to change the plan to get it done. I believe the Town should start by building two houses now on the lot at 69 North Ferry Road. We have $1.2 million available. I also believe that the houses should include basements, which are not part of the proposed plan. A two-bedroom house can be converted into a four-bedroom by utilizing the basement area — at a much lower cost. That’s family housing! In addition, a two-bedroom house could also be built for our seniors on that same lot, as a senior may need a caregiver. One-bedroom houses do not solve our issues.
Liz Hanley and the CHB have done incredible work on this plan. I simply have a different vision for what our community housing project should include. I have a proposal in which a struggling senior, after selling their home, could contribute a portion of the proceeds in exchange for life rights to a new community home at a discounted rent.
I don’t see a need to sign the Pro-Housing Communities Model Resolution. If you, too, disagree with this plan, you may want to speak up/write and let the board know now.
THOMAS CRONIN, Candidate for Town Council
FINANCIAL FILING FAILURE
To the Editor:
Reading the recent letters to the editor, it seems like our Town supervisor, who is also the treasurer of the Shelter Island Republican Committee (SIRC) and a licensed accountant, is, or was, more than eight months behind in filing required financial disclosures.
Now that this failure to comply with basic campaign obligations is brought to light, the chair of the SIRC responds flippantly, while the treasurer and supervisor, Ms. Brach-Williams, is silent regarding the lapse.
No explanation, no apology, just the usual lack of transparency. It really is time for a change.
BARBARA BARNES, New York, N.Y.
STANDARD PRACTICE
To the Editor:
In a letter last week Julia Weisenberg responded to a previous week’s letter by Cathy Kenny about financial disclosures not being filed.
I don’t understand why the unpaid postal box, which in itself is kind of sloppy on the supervisor’s part, was brought up. I believe all these disclosures are filed online.
I asked around about the party’s different names, and was told that it was an attempt to try to reach out to everyone. When different candidates for new elections come up, apparently it’s standard practice to form new committees for the new candidate’s election. At least that’s what I took from the info.
Not being a card player, I don’t get the reference to “three card monte.”
If all of the disclosures required are filed, the public can see the funding sources, so that’s another statement that is confusing.
Why the obfuscation?
MARYANN MCGINN, Shelter Island
COME TOGETHER
To the Editor:
In the maelstrom of today’s political rivalries, I would like to take a moment to congratulate Amber Brach-Williams and Elizabeth Hanley.
These two impressive women from opposite political parties saw fit to put their various agendas and party differences aside and work together on assuring the Pre-K program could survive for our community. Kudos to these wonderful women and all others who worked to make this happen.
Somewhere in the politics of today, we have lost sight of what is good for this island, our state and even our country. We must re-establish a cooperative spirit and come together to solve problems that arise instead of burying them in arguments and oppositions.
MICHAEL ANGLIN, Shelter Island
UPHOLD THE CONSTITUTION
To the Editor:
I write with great alarm about the loss of due process in our nation. ICE agents are seizing men, women, and children, and are shipping them off to prisons in other countries without notice of charges, a fair hearing, and the chance to defend themselves.
This is not simply deportation; it is criminal kidnapping without the constitutional protections that every person on U.S. soil is entitled to.
The 5th and 14th Amendments are clear: “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” This guarantee is not limited to just citizens, it applies to a lawful immigrant, an illegal immigrant, a visitor from another country, even a criminal.
When masked, unidentified, armed agents grab people off the street and send them away or jail them without trial or hearing, it is disturbingly reminiscent of Hitler’s regime, where Jews and other “undesirables” were shipped to concentration camps in Poland (stripped of humanity, justice and put to death).
Anyone who has sworn to uphold the Constitution (whether federal officers, our Town Board, or our Shelter Island Police) and who supports these kidnappings, is breaking both their oath and the law. If we allow due process to be eroded for the least powerful among us, it is only a matter of time before it is eroded for us all.
Trump wants to be a dictator, and this immorality is part of his plan to destroy our democracy. President Obama asked, “When did this become acceptable?” How do supporters of Donald Trump justify such blatant unlawfulness and cruelty? How do they see it as moral, or “American?”
If you are a Trump supporter, write back to the Editor and tell us how you think this is acceptable.
JAMES DAWSON, Shelter Island
VIOLENCE IN AMERICA
To the Editor:
Based upon available data to August 2025, the Gun Violence Archive reports that there were 503 mass shootings in 2024, and 565 in 2023. These numbers are based on the definition of a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more people are shot or killed, not including the shooter. There is no other country in the world that comes even close.
This is an issue that should not be a political issue. The 2nd Amendment was ratified into law in 1791 as part of the Bill of Rights, which protects the right of people to keep and bear arms. The threats that existed in 1791 have changed and a majority of Americans do not want to strike down the 2nd Amendment.
Nevertheless, a 2025 nationally representative survey conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions found wide support for gun violence prevention policies across political lines and among gun owners and non-owners.
Personally, I no longer want to hear from the Right or the Left, because they have their own agendas and do not have the best interest of the majority: those who seek to compromise and curb gun violence. Mental health issues across the United Sates continue to be a major concern and we as a nation need to do better. The focus should be aimed at providing increased access to mental health resources and stricter gun regulations, namely, better background checks for those purchasing firearms, as well as getting rid of assault weapons. There is no doubt that increased security measures are also needed to help protect all Americans.
As parents, grandparents, and concerned citizens, we owe it to our children to make every effort to safeguard them. It sickens me to read about school shootings … let’s put an end to it.
JIM COLLIGAN, Former councilman, Town of Shelter Island
