To the editor:
In response to Aaron Berdofe’s very misleading March 22 letter to the editor in The Lynn Item, I wonder how, without minutes from the Swampscott Select Board executive sessions, he is able to discern the specific content of those meetings, let alone who is and isn’t transparent. Open Meeting Law forbids every member of the Select Board from divulging substantive information from those meetings.
Similar to his previous fantasy of broad racial problems in Swampscott, he has again relied on conjecture and Facebook venom, coupled here with his personal dislike of the Select Board chair. He would be enlightened by having an open conversation with her rather than reveling in hearsay.
Mr. Berdofe promotes his “affordable housing” agenda from the zoning-insulated comfort of his home in Swampscott’s Precinct 6, on a side street off picturesque Puritan Road. He seems to believe that because the Ocean House occupied land near his current abode, he is well-acquainted with navigating daily life around a nearby giant building and its occupants. Both iterations of the hotel were gone decades before he heard of Swampscott, and during their reign, our town was markedly less thickly settled than today. Not to mention the hotel guests were seasonal and temporary. His analogy has no basis in reason.
When we note that the residents around the new housing project were never included in discussions, Mr. Berdofe’s opinion is again full of speculation and his own hidden prejudices regarding “NIMBYism.” His disdain for a neighborhood a stone’s throw away from the inconveniently looming behemoth on Pitman Road is detestable.
Mr. Berdofe’s sympathy is also quite slim for the “jerked around” VFW Post members. He cavalierly reminds them that the proposed post is within walking distance of the project’s site. Respectfully, though, I have no doubt that a donated building, to be renovated by the town at no cost to veterans, seems preferable to their current post, which they have been unable to keep free of debt.
As one of the most divisive voices in town, Mr. Berdofe should stick to recommending our next wine rather than advising us about working together or who is or isn’t an honest, dedicated volunteer for Swampscott. Of those he mentioned by name, I enthusiastically concur that Kim Martin-Epstein is a brilliant advocate, and she did make a valiant attempt at “dispelling misinformation.” Unfortunately, not enough in attendance at Town Meeting heard or seemed to understand her delineation of the myriad, wonderful services to be provided in the new housing’s community room.
What will be missing on-site is a bar. And, as Mr. Berdofe pointed out, that will be right up the street.
Deb Newman
Swampscott Town Meeting Member
