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How It's Supposed to Work
Dear Editor:
James Lovell's letter of last week, where he lauds the Town Board for how well they're handling the Foundry Pond mess, made me wonder which Town Board he was talking about. Yes, the TB meeting of October 4 was handled well; Richard Shea did all the talking and dealt admirably with a hostile situation. But according to Mr Lovell, we should "be glad that Supervisor Mazzuca ... (has) got our backs." Is he kidding? OK, suddenly our backs are covered a month before the election, but where was the TB three years and $30,000 of the neighbors' money ago?
It might help to know that James Lovell is the husband of Nancy Montgomery, who was chosen by Mr Mazzuca to run for a seat on the TB. My sympathies to Ms Montgomery - it appears that should she win her seat and Mr Mazzuca win the election, she will be under quite a bit of pressure from home to support the TB, no matter what the circumstances.
Speaking of messes, how about the Derrick Hopkins house at 341 Avery Road? The owners requested a "renovation within the existing footprint." They then tore the house down and built a far larger one, expanding into the Indian Brook buffer. The ancient septic tanks failed, sending the Hopkins family's sewage straight for Indian Brook, which empties directly into Constitution Marsh. The owners wanted to put in new septic tanks but had no permits, since they didn't have permission to build a huge new house in the first place, let alone install septic tanks big enough to service it. But who cares about permits? Somehow brand new tanks were installed, allegedly in the middle of the night. The whole thing is now on Town Attorney Ed Doyle's desk. Will he actually do something about these illegal acts, or will the Hopkinses end up laughing and thumbing their noses at Philipstown?
Mr Lovell asks, "Isn't that how local government is supposed to work?" My answer would be "No." Personally, I am tired of knowing that residents like John Benjamin - who has no profit motive, but only wants to see our pathetic environmental laws respected - has spent the last year and a half writing outraged letters about the Hopkins house, so far with no results. I am tired of hearing horror stories about our shoddy enforcement and our give-the-developer-whateverhe wants-so-he-won't-sue-us legal advice, especially when I'm aware that heiress/egomaniac Patty Hearst is currently starting to build an over- 25,0000 square foot monument to herself on Upper Station Road and has already declared that her lawyer is bigger than ours.
I am tired of wishing that someone who "has our backs" would pick up the phone and say "Listen, Glenn, we know you'll do anything for your clients, but don't you think that by trying to take away Cold Spring's access to its own water supply you're heading for the Ethical Outer Limits?"
Because isn't that how local government is supposed to work?
Suzie Gilbert
Garrison
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