The Westhampton Library board, shorn of three of its five members, has struck back in a letter to the Southampton Press Nov. 5 saying it has been “vilified” in print and open meetings by “radicals” telling “half-truths and lies.”

Joan Levan, resigned board president and board member since 2004, said the library and its patrons have been “hurt by a small group of disgruntled people.”

Residents can be proud of the $7.5 million, five-year-old library that is a “state-of-the-art community center,” she said.

“We have governed it with only one thing in mind: continuing on a path of excellence for our patrons,” she wrote.

Mayor Maria Moore published a letter in the same issue thanking Levan and the other directors who were “selfless and committed” to the library and have overseen the construction of the “beautiful facility our community enjoys today.” Levan was Moore’s campaign manager in 2014.

The SH Press noted under Moore’s letter that her husband Thomas was appointed to the library board Oct. 30. He was then named president of the board, a title he will hold until July 2016. He could be re-elected president. His appointment to the board extends to 2019. The SH Press letters page is only available on the web to subscribers.

New Board “Meet & Greet” Is Dec. 3

Although residents at the meeting Oct. 30 were incredulous that Moore should be on the board at all, saying his presence compromised its independence, the new board is holding a reception for itself from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 3 at the library.

The next regular meeting of the board at which the public can speak will be Wednesday, Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. It will be the first nighttime session of the board which has been meeting at 9: 30 a.m. for many years.

Wendy Wax
Wax

Among citizens speaking at the Oct. 30 meeting, which attracted a record 60+, was Wendy Wax, who writes and illustrates children’s books.

Wax said she was excited about the opening of the WH library five years ago but when she went inside, was disappointed by the lack of books. She feels the renovation gave residents the chance to make the library as beautiful, book-filled, and cozy as the libraries in Quogue, Hampton Bays, Southampton, East Hampton and Center Moriches--regardless of it's being the "community center" that all libraries have shifted to. "But as it turned out, most of the walls were left blank, bookshelves were scarce, and computers and DVDs were the stars of the show."

She also noted that she sometimes writs at the library because she likes being around the "great, warm, helpful staff members."

Wax is the cousin of Wendy Wax of Atlanta, called a “best-selling author of women’s fiction” by USA Today. Books include A Week at the Lake and Christmas at the Beach.

Walls Don’t Make a Prison Nor Books a Library

The uproarious Oct. 30 library board meeting, of which we made an audiotape, although the board itself did not make one, is one hour and ten minutes of citizens demanding new directions of the board and not getting very far.

We’re reminded of the couplet written by English poet Richard Lovelace (1617-1657) while in prison for a brief stay for supporting the crown vs. reformers.

“Stone walls do not a prison make nor iron bars a cage,” he said in a letter to his loved one. He was still “free in his soul” and “in his love,” he wrote to her, even though in jail.

Books do not a library make is the thought we have. They’re important but since technology has put books in the airwaves and nearly infinite research capabilities into people’s pockets via smart phones, new directions by libraries are needed.

Local politics and fear of change have the power to strangle attempts to modernize them.

600 Attended First Eruv Meeting

Some 600 residents packed the Hampton Synagogue on Aug. 13, 2008 to hear what Rabbi Marc Schneier and others had to say about the eruv Jewish religious boundary proposed for WHB. His initial remarks caused almost 200 of them to leave the room. We were among those who stayed.

The point is that the eruv was a complicated subject that needed airing in the library which could have used the large high school auditorium if necessary. There has never been a panel on it nor any type of library exhibit nor even a filing on it in the past eight years.

When asked about the absence of anything on the eruv, library director Danielle Waskiewicz said that in her four years at the library there have been no inquiries on that subject and she specifically asked the reference desk. She feels the subject is this reporter’s “personal agenda.”

That is false because representatives of Jewish People for the Betterment of WHB, representing more than 400 residents, appeared before the WHB Trustees Aug. 6 demanding to know what the trustees were doing in the legal battle vs. the eruv proposed for WHB. They castigated the trustees for keeping a tight lid on information. The Trustees responded by having attorney Brian Sokoloff speak for 55 minutes on the subject Sept. 3. He gave a biased overview of the litigation that only mentioned court decisions in favor of them and neglected to mention the 2001 decision by Judge William Bassler against an eruv in Tenafly, N.J.

WHB’s policy for years has been to low-ball and minimize this controversy since it is not in sync with its goal of promoting WHB as a peaceful, family-oriented “village” (although it’s a village that grows to 15,000-20,000 residents in the summer).

Ignoring the issue has not solved it since WHB now faces $1 million+ in fines and legal costs if it loses the lawsuit brought by the East End Eruv Assn.

Other Subjects Need Addressing

Another major subject that needs exploring in public meetings is the closing of WHB’s only supermarket on Nov. 23. Citizens need to know a lot more about the plans of new owner Best Market and need to coordinate with each other on how to deal with the lack of a local supermarket until next spring. Nearest such market is King Kullen, an 11-mile round-trip.

ellimanThe WHB library can be a community center but it can also be a hotbed of intellectual activity if it wants to be. Some of its $4.1 million in cash/savings could be used to host speakers on topics such as how could our courts be saying that eruvim are “invisible” when they are shown in bold outline on the web? Current library plans are to put $3.1 million into “capital projects” such as finishing attic space.

The economy of WHB, which has seen four of its six gas stations close as well as a dozen restaurants and nightclubs, leaving many empty lots, needs a study. A lot next to the library, which used to house a gas station, has just been cleared and may be used by the library and other civic groups.

The real estate industry is thriving in the Hamptons. The Fall/Winter magazine of Douglas Elliman Real Estate has 316 pages including many articles as well as real estate ads.

Elliman is the largest real estate broker in the New York Met area and the fourth largest firm of its type in the U.S. The Corcoran Group is part of Realogy Holdings, Madison, N.J., $5.52 billion in sales, the largest residential real estate firm in the U.S.

While three of the five trustees of the WH library quit Oct. 30, remaining as VP was Karen Andrews, VP, who is with Corcoran/WHB. Erection of an eruv in WHB and elsewhere could spark a real estate boom, says Dan’s Papers. The real estate industry is a player in this game.