Troy Gustavson's Blog

Back from "vacation"

2006-10-15T09:25:00.000-04:00

Yes, I know it's been months since my last post. And I have but two excuses: 1) Sloth; and 2) Inattention.

Would that I could say that I've been busy with other matters -- and, to a certain extent, I have: overseas travel (in connection with my and the former Joan Giger Walker's 60th birthdays); personal business (rebuilding a house damaged in the hurricanes of 2004); and quasi-public business (Times/Review Summer Tennis Tournament, Southold Citizens for Safe Roads, East End Student Film Project) -- but the truth is I stopped writing mostly because I had a sense no one was reading this blog, which was something of a letdown after years of regular reader reaction to my Suffolk Times column. But now I've come to the (belated) conclusion that I need to maintain this blog for myself and no one else. And that's because I still like to write, even if there's no one else out there to read what I have to say. So please sit back and don't read this.

The most excitement I've had in a long time came at (can you guess?) Cross Sound Ferry's Orient Point terminal last week. My nephew, Nelson Walker III, and I were there in connection with a documentary film Southold Citizens for Safe Roads is making on the ferry traffic issue. Nelson is the filmmaker (with previous projects screened on The Sundance Channel and a current project pending for inclusion in this winter's Sundance Film Festival) and I was serving as his driver, caterer (in other words, I sprung for lunch) and key grip, whatever that is.

Let us set the scene: Nelson was standing atop a big mound of dirt/sand/stone that CSF has piled up on the edge of the bay beach, just east of the ferry docks. He was filming the east parking lot and the so-called "Trust Property," where CSF seeks to locate an additional 451 parking spaces. I was waiting in my pickup truck. We'd been there less than five minutes when another pickup pulled up, and a fellow wearing an Orient Fire Department baseball cap identified himself as an employee of the ferry company and asked us what we were doing. Long story short: he didn't like what we were doing and asked us to leave, which we immediately did. (I personally have a little trouble with his invocation of Homeland Security concerns with our photographing a parking lot and an empty field -- having seen, just that morning, en route on the ferry from New London to Orient, literally dozens of tourists photographing the John H -- but we did not argue.) We departed immediately for Orient Point itself, where we shot some scenic footage of ferries passing one another in the waters off the Orient Point lighthouse.

Upon our return to the terminus of Route 25, however, we were intercepted by two Southold Police Department patrol cars. After asking to see my driver's license, one of the officers informed me that I was henceforth banned from going on Cross Sound Ferry property. Why, I asked. Because of my "past problems" with the ferry company, he replied. What problems, I asked. I don't recall that he gave a satisfactory answer, but my suspicion is that my past public criticism of the ferry company and the traffic its ferries generate was at the root of the problem. I did not complain at the time -- probably because he was carrying a 9mm handgun -- that he did not appear to be mediating a difference of opinion between a ferry company employee and the aforementioned film crew, but instead appeared to be representing only the ferry company's point of view. But I did tell him I would need to see the order in writing because I had never caused a scene or presented any sort of a threat on a CSF boat or at one of its terminals. Besides, isn't this the same company that invokes interstate commerce every time Southold Town government wants to impose any sort of controls (read: zoning) on its operations? In other words, is CSF a public carrier or not? And can they ban a passenger simply because they don't like what he has to say? I wouldn't mind getting answers to those questions in a court of law.

So far, that cop's so-called order hasn't been tested, mostly because I have not returned to the CSF terminal since discussing the matter with Police Chief Ty Cochran. I told him we have no intention of returning to film the terminal or ferries -- mostly because we already have the footage we need, but also because CSF asked us to cease and desist.

Stay tuned for updates. Joan and I no doubt will need to use the ferry again one of these days, and it will be interesting to see if they've got my name in their reservations computer as a potential terrorist threat.

*****************

Two recent letters to the editor of The Suffolk Times merit correction/clarification, although I don't choose to correct/clarify in the paper's pages themselves because the ferry issue already has taken up more than enough ink. But blogspace is free, so here goes.

Dear Bill Albertson: It absolutely frightens me to think that Southold Town's vulnerable waterways were under your jurisdiction when you were a Southold Town Trustee. (I also wonder if you're one of those former town officials who have been granted a lifetime free pass on Cross Sound Ferry. Are you?) Your dangerously simplistic take on the ferry traffic issue has done this town a great disservice. Case in point: Your Oct. 12 letter to the editor. What makes you think ferry traffic wasn't the major contributor to the traffic jam that occurred after the recent accident on the Orient-East Marion Causeway? A local resident may have caused the initial accident, but the miles-long traffic backup certainly wasn't due to local traffic. It was a result of ferry traffic, pure and simple. And where's your concern for the emergency vehicles whose path was blocked in the aftermath of the accident, or for the potential emergency evacuation of our community? If Cross Sound Ferry can't be blamed for the traffic cited in your letter, who can?

Dear Carolyn Kramkowski: How reassuring to have your take on the ferry traffic issue all the way from Murray, Kentucky. And what does controlling parking on the shoulder of a state road have to do with the fact that I use the ferry myself? Nice try, but you have not succeeded in confusing the issue. Despite Cross Sound Ferry's persistent attempt at disinformation, this debate is not about ending ferry service between Long Island and Southeastern Connecticut. It is about controlling the traffic that has increased by 1,200% while Southold's population has increased by 12%. FYI, Ms. K.: When Joan and I moved here in 1977, there were about a dozens car ferries a day; now, in the summertime, there can be upwards to 60 ferries a day, including the gamblers' express fast ferries. No, we're not moving... but you might as well stay in Kentucky if you have such little regard for the future of Southold Town.

Trucks 9, Cars 7

2006-05-27T11:08:00.000-04:00

It has become an annual rite of spring for a few friends of ours to gather on the front porch of Shelley Scoggin's Front Street, Greenport, health food store, The Market, on the Friday evening of Memorial Day weekend to welcome in the new "season." (This year, there also was an extra/added attraction: Shelley's birthday, which fell on Friday, May 26.)

So it was that about a dozen of us assembled again this year on a drizzly and foggy Friday eve. The weather may have been sketchy, but there was something magical about the scene: what with the carousel across the street in Mitchell Park, glowing in the mist; the Shelter Island ferry criss-crossing in the background; the new, beautiful Greenport theater sign ablaze "down street"; and the wail of a LIRR train whistle serving as the background music. Only in Greenport...

And then there was the annual "count," a game we began several years ago as a means of measuring how far Greenport has come since we moved here in the dark ages of the '70s. It began years ago with seeing how many Mercedes Benz would pass by on Front Street in a five-minute span. Memory fails, but I think the count the first year was one or two Benz. More recently, we'd try to see how many people we could name as they drove by in their cars. At first, it seemed like we could ID every third or fourth driver, but by last May we were down to every 10th or 15th. Clearly, Greenport was changing; Greenport had been "discovered" (again).

This year, we tried a variation on those old themes with a five-minute vehicle count that pitted Mercedes against pickup trucks, the ride of choice of many a North Forker. Can you guess who won? It was touch and go there for the first four minutes, with German luxury cars enjoying a slight lead over pick-ups, but the "natives" rallied in the last minute, finally edging the "visitors," 9-7. (It might have ended up in a tie, but the "judges" declined to award two points to Team Germany for a sleek BMW that parked illegally in front of a fire hydrant while its driver chatted on his cell phone.)

Same old Greenport... for now, at least.

Editor's Note: 30 years in the life of The Suffolk Times

2006-05-26T17:54:00.000-04:00

(On Thursday, May 25, I was invited to speak at a meeting of the Stirling Historical Society in Greenport. Following are excerpts from my remarks, entitled: “Editor’s Note: 30 Years in the Life of The Suffolk Times.”)

Good evening.

I’d like to first thank Barbara Moorhouse for extending the invitation for me to speak tonight and for providing a very helpful outline for my remarks – including such tough topics as why in the world did The Suffolk Times ever decide to move from Greenport. But I’ll get to that later.

I’d also like to thank my wife and partner, Joan Gustavson — who’s sitting right over there — for helping with research for my remarks tonight, and for being with me every step of the way, and often a step or two ahead, for the 30 years we have owned the newspaper. Also, thanks to Poppy Johnson at Floyd Memorial Library for helping with the research, which is based largely on “Greenport Yesterday and Today — the diary of a country newspaper,” written in 1972 by Elsie Knapp Corwin, wife of longtime publisher Fred Corwin.

It’s particularly fitting that we take a look back at The Suffolk Times at this time because the paper will mark its 150th anniversary next year. It was founded here in Greenport as The Suffolk Weekly Times on Aug. 27, 1857, by 27-year-old John J. Riddell. His first editorial indicated that the newspaper would be founded on Republican principles, including a strong commitment to the abolition of slavery, and he went off to serve in the Union Army in the Civil War while he still owned the paper...

In 1863, The Times office was located on Front Street near Railroad Avenue. And it apparently had several other locations in the village before moving in the first decade of the 1900s to 429 Main St., where it remained until 1988.

Under Riddell, in 1863, an annual subscription cost $2. It was mailed free anywhere in Suffolk County. We found a historical reference to mailing outside Suffolk costing 13¢ a year, but we obviously need to double check that questionable fact. (By way of comparison, an annual subscription to The Suffolk Times now costs $35 in Suffolk County and $44 out of county.)

We don’t know as much about subsequent publishers as we know about John Riddell, but we can tell you their names and their years of ownership:

Bill Davis and William Duvall published the paper jointly from 1868-1874.

Lucius Young, 1874-1875.

Llewellyn F. Terry, 1875-1906.

John L. Kahler & C.W. Van Nostrand, 1906-08.

Kahler broke ground at 429 Main St. in 1909 and owned the paper until 1919.

Ralph W. Thomas, 1919-1920.

Margaret Thomas (his daughter) 1920-1922.

F. Langton "Fred" Corwin & Lewis Gladding, 1922, after which Corwin took over for the next 47 years, until 1969.

In 1925, Corwin was warned that his newspaper would fail because he was not a member of the Klu Klux Klan, which was active on the North Fork at that time. (The editor of the Traveler-Watchman was a member of the KKK.) One anecdote about Fred Corwin that I heard repeated many times was that he had four great loves in life: his wife, Elsie; The Suffolk Times, Rotary and his daily martini at the bar at Mitchell’s — and not necessarily in that order.

Barbara & Stuart Dorman, 1968-1977

Under the Dormans in the late 1960s, the paper changed from an eight-page broadsheet to a tabloid. They established an offset printing plant in Flanders with the publishers of The East Hampton Star and The Southampton Press, and also began to broaden the paper’s focus from Greenport to Southold Town. That transition was aided by several large planning and environmental battles, most notably the one over LILCO’s proposed Jamesport nuclear power plant, which The Suffolk Times opposed. Long-time Suffolk Times contributor Ronnie Wacker, who passed away recently, was the lead reporter on that story.

The Dormans bought The News-Review of Riverhead (est. 1868) in 1976, and the added burden of publishing two papers and Stuart’s declining health caused them to sell in 1977. That’s where the Gustavsons and Joan’s brother David come in... (David subsequently sold his interest in the company to us in 1980.)

I thought it might be interesting to look back at our first editorial, which was published on January 5, 1978. It was entitled "What We Stand For," and reads as follows:

"The changing of the guard at The Suffolk Times hopefully will be taken for what it is: a natural evolution. Newspapers are bigger than their owners, and the Times will be here a long time after we've all played out our part in its life.

"Nevertheless, the community has a right to know what we stand for. And that will be up to you — our readers — to determine over a period of time. What follows is offered to help you keep score in the months and years ahead.

"We stand for truth. The truth will always be our guiding light.

"We stand for excellence. There is always room for improvement, but we intend to build upon the record of excellence that has become the standard at The Times.

"We stand for fairness. If we fail to be even-handed in our reporting and editorial policy, we hope it will be because we are human and not in the business of grinding axes.

"We stand for self-determination. The right of the individual to determine his own fate — beyond the influences of outside forces — is supreme in our eyes. And that goes for outside forces who would over-develop our diminishing farmland, supply power to points west by despoiling the North Fork's natural resources and endangering its people, or bring interstate ferry service to a village that has serious reservations about that service.

"We stand for non-partisanship. It doesn't matter to us whether someone is a Democrat, a Republican or an Independent. Honesty, integrity and performance are what matters.

"That is what we stand for. Now it's up to you to determine whether we live up to our word."

I am perhaps proudest of The Suffolk Times' support for farmland preservation, two-acre and five-acre zoning, historic preservation and architectural review, and the 2% land transfer tax, which has generated hundreds of millions of dollars for farmland, open space and parkland preservation on the East End. And I’m also proud to say The Suffolk Times started talking about that before anyone else, more than a decade before it became a reality in the 1990s.

I'm also very proud of the recognition the paper and its staff members have received from state and national press associations over the years — including being judged the best community weekly in its circulation category statewide and nationally... (At this point in my remarks, I acknowledged four Suffolk Times staff members/columnists who have been with the paper since before we came on the scene in 1977: Staff photographer Judy Ahrens, "Focus on Nature" columnists Paul and Barbara Stoutenburgh, and "North Fork Outdoors" columnist Martin Garrell.)

The hardest decision we ever had to make was to move our office from Greenport to Mattituck in 1988. We love Greenport and wanted to stay. We loved the sense of community, being able to walk to the bank, post office and lunch. But we dould not find an existing building large enough, and we also were serving a readership that extended from Orient Point to Wading River. We decided on Mattituck because it is halfway between Greenport and Riverhead, the the move eventually allowed us to add two more community weeklies, The Shelter Island Reporter and The North Shore Sun, which covers the area between Wading River and Port Jefferson. At the time we moved, we asked out readers to judge us not by our address, but by the paper we put out each week, and thankfully they did.

Over the decades, I hope we proved that we were not fly by night and are dedicated to the preservation and betterment of this community we, our children and grandchildren are proud to call home...

Finally, there have been many dire predictions in recent years about the future of the newspaper industry. But I'm bullish on the future — particularly the future of community weeklies — with or without the presence of the World Wide Web. As long as we continue to do what we do — focus exclusively on the people of Southold Town, I believe there always will be a place for The Suffolk Times — even if the paper eventually is delivered every Thursday via satellite to your wristwatch...

Another new stop light

2006-05-26T16:49:00.000-04:00

So there's another new stop light in Southold Town -- this one at the intersection of Route 48 and Youngs Avenue in Southold. There's no doubt that it is needed -- this is a dangerous intersection with a history of serious accidents, including fatalities -- in part because it is the closest major intersection to the Founders Village senior citizens housing complex to the immediate south.

But there's another reason it's needed: the ferry traffic. Is there really any doubt that the significant increase in traffic on Routes 48 and 25 (east of Greenport) in recent years is directly attributable to the ferry? At peak times, Cross Sound Ferry is capable of dumpting 6,000 vehicles a day (!) on our local roads, and we all know a high proportion of them are passing back and forth through Southold (and Peconic and Cutchogue and Mattituck) on Route 48. And that begs the question: Would this stop light have been necessary if ferry traffic hadn't increased by 1,200% since the fast ferry went into service in 1995 (while Southold's population increased by 12%)? I think we all know the answer to that one.

This morning, at a work session at the Town Hall Annex in Southold, the Town Board debated installing yet another stop light at yet another dangerous intersection -- Route 48 and Westphalia Road in Mattituck. You've got to give the council a lot of credit for attempting to mitigate the impact of ferry traffic, but isn't this really just another case of treating the symptom instead of the disease.

Until Cross Sound Ferry traffic is brought under control, all the stop lights in the world won't solve this particular problem.

The Truth Squad, Updated

2006-05-17T14:53:00.000-04:00

Back about 35 years ago, when I was a young whippersnapper, I worked as a press aide on the campaign of Ray Broderick, Republican candidate for governor of Pennsylvania. (Yes, ye doubters, I DID work for a Republican once upon a time!) It was a challenging campaign -- one which taught me many of the things NOT to do when running for office -- but we did have some fun. And perhaps the most fun surrounded my participation in the so-called "Truth Squad," a self-appointed trio of Broderick supporters who barn-stormed around the state in the wake of the Democratic candidate, Milton Shapp, who went on to a resounding victory that November. Our job was to shadow Shapp's campaign appearances and to set the record straight when he misspoke or took an unfair poke at our candidate. We held dozens of ad hoc press conferences around the state, but I'd say we ended up meeting as many bartenders as journalists. (The "Truth Squad" ordeal did not seem to hinder our career paths, however; Steve McEwen served as district attorney of Delaware County, Pa., and later as a state court judge, Henry FitzPatrick had a distinguished career as an attorney, and my next job was as press secretary to U.S. Senator Dick Schweiker of Pennsylvania.)

I've been thinking about the Truth Squad lately in connection with Cross Sound Ferry's attempt to sway public opinion on the North Fork ferry controversy. And since DA McEwen and Judge Fitzpatrick aren't currently available, I'm taking it upon myself to set the record straight on some of Cross Sound's most outrageous recent assertions. All I can conclude is that the ferry company is running very scared if it feels it must distort the truth like this in order to protect its franchise.

BIG LIE No. 1: Southold Town and ferry opponents seek to shut down Cross Sound Ferry. THE SIMPLE TRUTH: Nobody in their right mind advocates shutting down the ferry. It provides a vital transportation link to southern New England, and it is a resource that can -- within moderation and in accord with the town's standards and regulations -- continue to serve the people of Southold and eastern Long Island for generations to come. But its unregulated growth -- and the envionmental, economic and social negatives that flow from that growth -- must be brought under control. And that is what the town is attempting to do through its recent court action, the pending traffic study it has authorized, and the legislative action that is likely to result.

BIG LIE No. 2: Ferry traffic is an issue only in Orient and East Marion. THE SIMPLE TRUTH: Traffic headed to and from the ferry terminal at Orient Point does not magically materialize or evaporate at the blinker light on the North Road in Greenport. The vast majority of vehicles are heading to and from the South Fork via the North Ferry or Riverhead, or to and from Riverhead, Brookhaven and points west on the Main and North roads. If you're concerned about the increase in traffic on the Main Road in Mattituck, for example, look to Cross Sound Ferry as the single most significant contributing factor.

BIG LIE No. 3: A small, vocal handful of ferry opponents have forced the Town Board to seek remedial action on the ferry. THE SIMPLE TRUTH: More than 800 Southold Town residents -- from every hamlet from Laurel to Orient -- signed the petition that finally spurred the Town Board into action last summer. In addition, about 600 people attended the Labor Day 2005 ferry traffic rally at Orient Point. Town Board members are acting now to protect the interests of the people they represent.

BIG LIE No. 4: Increased traffic on the North Fork is due to increased tourism and Southold's population growth, not to the ferries. THE SIMPLE TRUTH: During the same time that Southold's population increased by approximately 12%, ferry traffic increased by more than 1,000%! To borrow a much-quoted phrase from political consultant James Carville, it's about the ferry, stupid!

BIG LIE No. 5: Cross Sound is your "hometown ferry." THE SIMPLE TRUTH: All of its paid advertisements, mass mailings, website propaganda, self-serving gift giving and media apologists not withstanding, this is a multi-million-dollar, out-of-state corporation that is slowly but surely ruining our town. Don't kid yourself: this is a case of big money versus the people of Southold. And the will of the people will prevail in the end, as it almost always does.

Grumpy Old Men

2006-04-17T10:46:00.000-04:00

Based on this entry and my prior posting on this blog (on my run-in at Laurel Lake), I'm starting to suspect that I may be suffering from Grumpy Old Man Syndrome. It is for you, dear reader, to decide.

Following is the full text of a April 13 letter to the editor of The Suffolk Times from former Southold Town Trustee Bill Albertson, who represents a not-insignificant body of thought in Southold Town: those who believe that since Cross Sound Ferry "has always been here," anything the company does is just fine with them. I, on the other hand, represent the body of thought that holds that the 1,200% increase in ferry traffic that has taken place over the past decide, if left unchecked, surely will lead to the ultimate destruction of Southold Town as we know it and love it. (And I do not believe, nor does anyone in their right mind believe, that the ferry should be "shut down," as the company has so disingenuously claimed in its recent PR blitz.) Thus my response to his letter, also below, which I have submitted for publication in the paper this week.

CON: BILL ALBERTSON

Take back our park (headline)
Southold
To the Editor:

The "Take Back Our Roads" group is holding a fund-raiser at Founders Landing. Let's hope April 15 is not a warm, beautiful day, when the taxpayers of this park district might be blocked from the beach they maintain.
I guess it makes a difference whose roads are blocked and who blocks them.

Bill Albertson

PRO: TROY GUSTAVSON

Short, but sour (suggested headline)
Orient
To the Editor:

Bill Albertson's letters to the editor are often short but sweet. Last week's letter, however, was short but sour.

Under the heading "Take back our park," he lamented the fact the Southold Citizens for Safe Roads (SCSR) was holding a fundraiser at the Southold Park District's Founders Landing Wharf House. Here are the facts, Mr. Albertson:

The Wharf House is available for rental by taxpaying residents of the park district. As owners of a home in the district (my late mother's), my wife, Joan, and I applied for and received approval to rent the space. We personally paid $500 for that privilege, a sum that presumably benefits all residents of the park district.

Mr. Albertson, who refers to Founders Landing as "our park," may be interested to know that hundreds of residents of the park district supported the efforts of SCSR to control ferry traffic by signing the petition that led to Southold Town's pending court action against Cross Sound Ferry and/or by participating in our Labor Day protest at Orient Point. And several of those same residents attended the event last Saturday.

Finally, Mr. Albertson is more than welcomed to rent "our" Poquatuck Hall way out here in Orient any time he wishes, just as long as he's willing, as Joan and I were, to put his money where his mouth is.

Sincerely,
Troy Gustavson

Welcome to Laurel Lake, Neighbor

2006-04-15T04:58:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite assignments for The Suffolk Times has been researching and writing some of the "Hidden Hikes" series on short walks on the North Fork. Southold Town and Suffolk County have done an excellent job of carving out little corners of parkland suitable for short hikes at places like Dam Pond in East Marion, both sides of Arshamomaque Pond in Greenport and Southold, Inlet Pond in Greenport, and Downs Creek in Cutchogue, to name a few.

Recently, I decided to check out the Laurel Lake preserve, where the Peconic Land Trust succeeded in knitting together a series of private and public land holdings to "preserve" the area around the freshwater lake. But did the Land Trust really succeed?, that is the question.

I parked at the Department of Environmental Conservation fishing access area, which is tucked behind the Southold Town information booth and Little League fields in Laurel, on the north side of the Main Road about one-quarter mile west of the LIRR overpass. There's a kiosk at the parking area with information about fishing at Laurel Lake, but so far it has no trail map or information like the other areas cited above.

The paths into the lake looked a little tired and neglected -- again, in decided contrast to the preserves maintained by Southold Town and Suffolk County. There were indications that the area may have been used, historically, as an unofficial "dump," with lots of aging trash still visible on the side of the paths. And there also was some heavy equipment activity behind the former "camp" just west of the railroad overpass, an area where, as I understand it, they intend to provide a new access point to the Laurel Lake preserve.

My plan was to walk, counter-clockwise, around the perimeter of Laurel Lake. Although the trails were unmarked, at this time of year (with foliage still comparatively light) I was able to follow the edge of the lake around to several lakeside cottages that dot the eastern shoreline. So far, so good.

Once I passed a U.S. Geological Survey monitoring station on the southeast shoreline, the path exited a metal gate onto the dirt road that runs south to north from Laurel Lake to Sound Avenue, just west of the four-lane highway. As I understand it, most of the preserved parkland is east of this right-of-way, but, again, my purpose to walk around the lake to the west. So a few hundred yards north on the right-of-way, I branched off on a dirt road that appeared to follow the shoreline. The land on either side of the road was marked with "no trespassing" signs, but there was no indication that the road itself was off limits. Within a few hundred yards, I asked a man working in his yard if he knew how I could walk around the lake. "Take a left at the top of that hill," he said, pointing to the north, "and follow the power lines all the way to Aldrich Lane." Nice guy.

Not nearly so nice was the guy I met at the top of the hill, who passed me in the opposite direction in his pick-up truck, then backed up to confront me. "You're on private property," he said in a most unneighborly tone. Said I: "Sorry about that, but I'm just trying to walk around the lake, and your neighbor over there told me to follow these power lines." Replied he: "This is private property. Get out."

Hmmmm. Rather than provoke the confrontation that, as it turned out, was to come, I opted to backtrack to the main Laurel Lake right-of-way in search of an alternate route. But as I walked out, this not-so-friendly neighbor trailed me in his pickup truck, driving slowly about 15 feet behind me as I retraced my steps. I stopped to motion him ahead -- after all, I was leaving, as requested -- but he persisted in shadowing me, which caused me to stop again and give him a meaningful stare. Upon which he inquired: "What's your f-ing problem?" I replied: "You, sir," or words to that effect. Which led to an exchange of unpleastantries by both parties. (I admit it, the mook was really bugging me by now.) And the self-appointed Neighborhood Watcher continued to trail me in his truck as I walked north toward Sound Avenue. (Aside: If this right-of-way provides the only public access from the north to the "new" Laurel Lake preserve, was I still on "private" property.")

Eventually, with this idiot still in tow, I branched off to the west on a path that follows the main overhead power lines from east to west down the spine of the North Fork. I tried cutting back toward the lake to the south, but eventually I ran into the backyards of more cottages that line the lake, so I retreated again to the power line path. It was at that point that I called the Southold Town Police on my cell phone to complain about being harassed by Mr. Pick-up Truck, and a very nice young patrolman named Jacobs soon caught up to me as I exited the path at Aldrich Lane.

Long story short: My friend in the pick-up truck was up tight because a neighbor's property had been vandalized overnight, and he thought the 60-something guy with the beard and the $450 Filson coat (that's me) was up to no good. No charges were filed, by either party. And I eventually found my way back to my car by walking south on Aldrich Lane and east on the Main Road. It ended up being an OK one-hour ramble, but it was hardly the walk in the woods I had sought.

So, welcome to Laurel Lake, neighbor. But take with a large grain of salt the claim of the Peconic Land Trust that the entire area has been preserved. Preserved for whom? The vigilante in the pick-up truck? (The cop told me his name, but I've already forgotten it. But I did write down his New York license plate number (1022AA), and he knows who he is.)

Scoped, scanned & sonogrammed

2006-04-06T08:40:00.000-04:00

Ever wonder how we 60-somethings fill our days? It's simple: doctors appointments and medical procedures. I can't say that my experience one week last month was typical, but it was representative of what the Baby Boomer Generation can expect to take up the memory of our Palm Pilots (which we need because our own memories are shaky) in the years to come.

Over the span of seven days -- partly by coincidence, partly on the advice of my primary physician -- I underwent the following medical procedures: 1) a CT (computed tomography) scan of my cardiac functions; 2) a sonogram of my abdomen to determine if I had an aortic aneurism; and 3) a colonoscopy. Talk about your Triple Play!

The sonogram and colonoscopy were regularly scheduled, based on my family's medical history of aortic aneurisms of the abdomen (known as AAA's) and a prior "scoping" that discovered non-malignant polyps in my colon, but the CT scan of the heart came as something of a surprise. In fact, it came by invitation -- and it was FREE! -- because my cardiologist, Dr. Thomas Falco of East End Cardiology of Riverhead and Greenport, knew I was a journalist and was looking for some ink for his practice's new $1.5 million scanner, the only one of its kind in Suffolk County. What follows here (under the headline of SCANNED) is my account of that procedure, as published in the March 15 editions of The Suffolk Times and The News-Review. It is reprinted here with permission, and is followed by heretofore unpublished accounts of the colonoscopy (SCOPED) and AAA procedures (SONOGRAMMED).

SCANNED

New CT scanner revolutionizes cardiac diagnostics

By Troy Gustavson

RIVERHEAD--Imagine yourself a compact disc about to slide into a giant, human-size Phillips compact disc player. That's the sense I got last Friday morning as nurse Kate Berry and CT scan technologist Steve Tumbiolo guided me into East End Cardiology's new, $1.5 million CT scanner at the seven-physician practice's East Main Street headquarters.

Actually, the nurse and the technologist were looking through a glass partition on the other side of a lead-lined wall, but only because the scanner itself emits low levels of radiation. The procedure itself is quick, comfortable and nonintrusive, with only an intravenous tube needed to administer the contrast material that results in heretofore-unattainable images of the inner structure and workings of the heart. And the Royal Phillips Electronics scanner itself is roomy compared to the coffin-like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines that have become so prevalent in recent times. Fear not, claustrophobes.

Dr. John Pearson and Dr. Thomas Falco, the founding members of the medical practice, sound a little like boys with a new computer game when they talk about their new CT (for computed tomography) cardiac scanner, the only one of its kind in Suffolk County. But although their enthusiasm for the new machine borders on awe, it's hardly a kid's game and the stakes can mean the difference between life and sudden death.

That may well have been the case, they say, with a North Fork man who recently underwent the procedure. He had high blood pressure and a family history of heart disease but no other obvious symptoms. What the scanner found was a 90% blockage of a coronary artery, resulting in the implantation of an arterial stent that opened the blockage. Neither doctor went so far as to evoke the "ticking time bomb" analogy, but clearly the patient in question had been a candidate for a massive heart attack.

According to a Sept. 5, 2005, article in Time magazine, three studies have shown that cardiac CT is 90% accurate in picking up such blockages.

The computer-generated images -- the product of 64 separate detectors, or "cameras," as Dr. Falco calls them -- are so vivid and precise, in fact, that other medical problems can be diagnosed in the process. On the first day East End Cardiology's scanner was used, the doctors discovered a tumor in a female patient's lungs, and a second lung cancer later was diagnosed in another patient.

"This is the holy grail because it shows the coronaries in such detail," said Dr. Pearson. "You can risk assess very accurately and determine whether a [heart] by-pass is indicated."

So far, Drs. Pearson and Falco are the only staff members trained to complete the "post-processing" of the scanned images, which can take as long as 30 minutes or more. But eventually, with practice, they expect that time to be cut to less than half that amount, with the duties possibly shared by staff technologists and registered nurses. But only the doctors will conduct the final assessment of the images and provide the subsequent diagnoses.

Drs. Pearson and Falco have devoted about a year and a half to research, training and installation, having traveled to Ohio, South Carolina, Georgia and Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City in the process. The overall cost, including the renovations necessary to create a lead-lined room, now is approaching $2 million, which means the procedure itself is not inexpensive. So far, only Medicare covers the $750 cost, but private insurers are expected to come around as the new technology proves itself, both doctors maintain. And besides, the cost of a cardiac catheterization, the procedure previously preferred to diagnose blocked arteries, can run as high as $6,000.

On Friday, after Dr. Falco had "processed" the images from the heart scans of my wife, Joan, and me, he sat down to give us his diagnoses. As we looked at computer images as clear and vibrant as those you might find in an anatomy textbook, he told Joan that her arteries were remarkably free of plaque and calcium. After a slight detour and one or two gulps, during which the images of the partially blocked arteries of an otherwise unidentified female patient inadvertently popped up on the computer screen, I was given some good news, too. Although there was some minor evidence of calcium buildup in my arteries, there were no significant blockages. And what's more, there was no calcium to be found on my aorta, which had been diagnosed as "bicuspid," or two-chambered instead of the normal three, more than 30 years ago. So the heart defect I thought I had all these years does not exist. Like I said, good news.

SCOPED

When you hit the age of 50, common sense suggests that you ought to schedule your first colonoscopy. That’s the time in our lives that colon cancer, diverticulitis and other diseases of the colon most often manifest themselves. But a lot of us postpone or even totally avoid the procedure because a) we don’t like the idea of anyone, even a physician, exploring “up/down there” and b) we have heeded the sometimes-exaggerated warnings about the pre-op steps necessary to flush out the bowels.

“Flush” is the operative word here, because you will be spending quite a bit of time in the bathroom after you drink the barely palatable Fleets formula that is prescribed before the operation. That and the day-before fasting that’s required are the only two remotely unpleasant components of the procedure. Based on my personal experience, the colonoscopy itself is non-invasive, painless and over in a flash -- mostly because you’re fast asleep under general anesthesia. In fact, the first time I was scoped, about two years ago, I remember asking the nurse: “How long before it starts?” She replied: “It’s already over, dear.”

That’s when they discovered the small, non-malignant polyps that were removed on the spot by Dr. Joseph Duva at Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead, and that’s why I was scheduled for a follow-up procedure there last month. (If there had been no polyps the first time around, I probably would not have been scheduled for my second procedure for another five years.) Most recently, there were no complications, and Dr. Duva this time issued a clean bill of health. Whew!

If you’re 50 or older and have not had a colonoscopy, you really ought to discuss the matter right away with your primary physician. Colorectal cancer has the third highest incidence of any cancer for American men, and that means there’s really no good excuse for putting off your first colonoscopy.

SONOGRAMMED

Aortic aneurisms of the abdomen are generally far less common than cancers of the colon, but such has not been the case with my immediate family. Both of my late parents had AAA’s, and my father died from complications following his AAA surgery at University Hospital in Stony Brook. My mother’s experience at Southampton Hospital had a happy ending; her aneurism was repaired without incident and she was released from the hospital after about two days, as I recall. Nevertheless, an aneurism (or bulge) in the abdominal aorta can be a ticking time bomb that leads to sudden death if the aneurism bursts, and surgery is indicated once the aneurism reaches a certain diameter. (The procedure, which is invasive and intricate, involves containing the bulge with a stent.)

Compared to the CT scan and colonoscopy, the sonogram was a piece of cake. I had mine at East End Radiology in Riverhead, and the procedure involved “taking a picture” of my aorta with sound waves. The technician first prepped my abdomen with a slimy substance that felt like motor oil, then slid a device that looked like an upside down hand-held microphone back and forth across my stomach. I’m a little ticklish, particularly around my ribs, so the experience was just slightly uncomfortable. But it lasted less than 15 minutes, and once again the diagnosis was good: no bulge (so far). And I didn’t even have to take my shoes and socks off.

COMING NEXT WEEK:

A visit to the dermatologist! But not to worry: You won’t be readying about it on this blog.

The ferry, etc.

2006-03-24T09:31:00.000-05:00

If you have followed my column in The Suffolk Times in recent years, you know that I have a special interest in Cross Sound Ferry (CSF) and the vehicular traffic it generates on the North Fork. In fact, I recently stepped down from writing the column because of my involvement with Southold Citizens for Safe Roads (SCSR), the citizens' group whose slogan is "Southold Town -- a destination, not a corridor." (I did not want my activism to be confused in any way with The Suffolk Times' news coverage or editorial stances on this issue. Although my wife, Joan, and I retired more than a year ago, and thus no longer have a say in news or editorial matters, there remained the appearance of a conflict because we still own the business.)

So what follows here are the opinions of Troy Gustavson, private citizen, not Troy Gustavson, journalist. And the truth is I've been spending quite a lot of time recently thinking about the ferry traffic problem and how to best address it. First and foremost, I'm gratified that Southold Town has finally gotten involved. Its suit to force CSF to comply with local zoning was long overdue, and offers a great opportunity for success, I think, due to the recent court decision that upheld East Hampton Town's right to regulate ferry operations. If East Hampton can do it, so can Southold.

In the short term, another goal is to counteract Cross Sound's recent propaganda campaign to paint Southold's initiative as an attempt to put the ferry company out of business. That is totally bogus, and a gross misrepresentation of the town's, and SCSR's, intentions. One more time: No one wants to end ferry service to New London. The ferry provides a very imporant link to southern New England, and nobody wants to see it go away -- although many of us favor moving the passengers-only fast ferry service, designed mostly to feed gamblers the Native American casinos in southeastern Connecticut, out of Southold Town. All we are trying to do is bring the uncontrolled growth of ferry traffic under control, and hopefully to have other jurisdictions (read: East Hampton, Southampton and Brookhaven towns) assume their fair share of the burden -- keeping in mind that the vast majority of ferry traffic is heading to and from those towns.

Another component of CSF's BIG LIE is that only residents of Orient and East Marion care about, or are affected by, the ferry traffic problem. While it's true that ferry traffic is more visable in these communities, does anyone really think these vehicles vanish and appear miraculously at the blinker light in Greenport as they head west and east through our community? No, they are contributing significantly to the increasingly heavy traffic being experienced in Greenport, Southold, Peconic, Cutchogue and Mattituck, and this certainty is underscored as follows: a majority of the 800-plus signatories on the SCSR petition presented to the Town Board last summer reside west of East Marion. This is a townwide problem, not an Orient-East Marion only problem.

Recently, I've been spending many of my "retirement" mornings drafting various ads, documents and fund-raising appeals for SCSR. So, with an eye on avoiding duplication of effort -- and with credit to other SCSR members, most notably president Freddie Wachsberger, for their input and counsel -- what follows are some recent offerings on this topic:

SPRING FLING AD

Spring & summer are right around the corner…
…and so is the ferry traffic!

Take Back Our Roads Spring Fling
Party/Rally/Fundraiser

Save the date: Saturday, April 15, 4-6 p.m.
Founders Landing Wharf House, Hobart Road, Southold

Please come to show Town Hall that it’s not just Orient & East Marion that care about this issue.

Highlights: Silent auction featuring local artworks, gift certificates & more • 50/50 drawing • North Fork wine tasting • hors d'’oeuvres by D’Latte

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT AD

It’s a ferry tale
The Southold Town Board is doing the right thing in its suit to limit Cross Sound Ferry (CSF) traffic that makes our roads unsafe, damages our environment, and threatens our quality of life.

Southold cannot match the casino-enriched bankroll CSF has invested in its propaganda campaign to convince people that the town wants to shut down the ferry. And that’s a lie. What we want to do is control it. And we support the town in exercising its responsibility to control unregulated ferry traffic, something the recent East Hampton court decision upholds as a town’s absolute right.

Take Back Our Roads—a coalition of Southold Citizens for Safe Roads, the North Fork Environmental Coalition and the Orient Association— invites community members to its Spring Fling party/rally/fundraiser from 4-7 p.m. on Saturday, April 15, at Founders Landing in Southold. Please attend to let the Town Board know we, not Cross Sound Ferry, are your “good neighbors.”

CAUSEWAY CLEAN-UP AD

(NOTE: This is not an initiative of SCSR, but surely some of the trash on the causeway has been generated by the thousands of cars heading to and from the ferry)

Calling all volunteers!

If you care for the Orient-East Marion Causeway (and think it’s a chock full of litter as we do), please join the

Orient-East Marion Causeway Earth Day Clean-Up
Saturday, April 22 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
(Rain date: Sunday, April 23, same time/same place)

Meet at Latham’s Farmstand in Orient at 10:45 a.m. for instructions. Refreshments will be served following the clean-up.

Southold Town trash bags and orange safety vests will be provided to all volunteers, who are reminded to wear long pants, long sleeves, boots and work gloves.

For further information, call 323-2790.

As always, comments and feedback (including opposing points of view) are most welcome.

The Orient 7-Eleven?

2006-03-18T09:25:00.000-05:00

The following point of view stems, in large part, from last Monday night's Southold Town Planning Board hearing on the Robert Ehrlich property. Although I didn't speak at Town Hall, I'd like to think I was listening carefully, particularly to the arguments put forth by Mr. Ehrlich's attorney, Pat Moore.

The members of the Planning Board are in an unenviable position when it comes to their upcoming vote on this controversial property, located at the corner of Village Lane and Main Road in Orient. They're pretty much damned if they do (approve his application for a 600-square-foot gift shop) and damned if they don't. And damnation is likely to come in the form of law suits filed by Mr. Ehrlich or opponents of the project.

As detailed at the hearing, there are some compelling arguments in Mr. Ehrlich's favor. The property in question is zoned commercial, there are two comparable retail shops immediately to the west of his property, and the proposed use is significantly less intensive than earlier proposals, including one for a coffee house cafe. I'd also say some of the earlier opposition sounded like unadulterated NUMBYism, including the scare tactic that the property could be turned into a 7-Eleven, or some such far more intensive use, if Mr. Ehrlich receives approval for a gift shop.

On the other side of the ledger are some pretty compelling arguments, too, as follows: 1) the property should not have been rezoned from residential to commercial 20 years ago because it abuts, immediately to the east, Orient's federally designated and decidedly residential historic district; 2) it is situated at an already dangerous intersection that has been made more dangerous in recent years by traffic heading to and from the Orient Point ferry; and 3) the proposed use fails to meet the 25-foot setback required by the Town Code.

If Mr. Ehrlich were seeking a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals, it would be difficult to deny. But the Planning Board has a decidedly different charge — to plan with foresight for Southold's future — and I don't think this proposal fits in with anyone's vision (except Mr. Ehrlich's, of course) for the hamlet of Orient or the Town of Southold. In the absence of Town Board action rescinding the earlier zone change — and it's already too late for that — I'd say the planners have no choice but to deny the application.

What's in your wallet, John?

2006-03-16T19:31:00.000-05:00

To borrow a phrase from a Garrett Morris character on the old SNL, "North Fork Bank has been berry, berry good to me, Howard." I, like a lot of people out here, have benefitted from the bank's astounding growth and solid financial performance. And, in fact, I just realized a tidy profit by selling soon after this week's announcement that our "local" bank will be acquired by Capital One. I sold our shares at 29, thank you very much, John Kanas & Co.

But am I the only one who has some reservations about the deal? To wit: The loss of what was once a truly local institution, gobbled up by some anonymous suits from Richmond, Va. Some of us took local pride in seeing that North Fork sign posted throughout the New York metro area, and soon it will be replaced by the Capital One logo. There's something sad about that, don't you think? Or is there no room for such sentiments in the world of banking? And what about the fact that Kanas and his two top aides are likely to cash out at a far higher price than the rest of us? As I understand it, they're guaranteed a share price of over $31, but other shareholders will be paid based on the value of Capital One stock at the time the deal is closed -- and Capital One stock dropped $10 a share immediately after the deal was announced. There has been some criticism in recent times that the NFB board simply rubber stamps what Chairman John wants, and you've got to wonder if the interests of shareholders at large were well represented by this deal. At the very least, I'd say the jury is still out on that one.

Surely John Kanas can take the lion's (or is is the shark's?) share of the credit for bringing NFB from Main Street to Wall Street, but how many tens of millions of dollars must he take away from this deal ($10 million? $50 million? $100 million?) before he is adequately "thanked" for doing what he has been paid very well to do over the years. (The last time I checked, his annual salary was a cool $6 million.)

The Launch

2006-03-13T13:55:00.000-05:00

It is Monday, the day I would normally be preparing to write my column in The Suffolk Times, something I have done pretty much fulltime since December of 1977. But for reasons too numerous to detail here (although available on-line at www.suffolktimes.com; click on "Columns"), my bi-weekly offering will no longer appear in the local newspaper. However, it will appear here, from time to time, in a different form and a different forum, because something tells me the faucet still drips even after it's been turned off. I can't help it: I DO have opinions, and expressing them with my fingertips is too ingrained to stop while my heart still beats. And the nice thing about this particular forum is that I will no longer be limited to "local" subjects, which means my fraternity brother George W. Bush may wish to take cover. The gloves are off, so to speak, which should make it that much easier to keystroke (is that a verb?) these offerings. Stay tuned, dear reader.