August 20, 2006
Call it the War in the Woods. Or perhaps the Brawl in the Barrens.
A cable TV show last weekend that began as a lovefest, with Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy thanking pine-barrens champion Richard Amper for helping reform the process for buying open space, soured badly by the end.
"This is an extremist and that's the problem," an irate Levy said of Amper. "We need balance, not extremism."
Of course, Levy's attack came only after Amper, the executive director of the Long Island Pines Barrens Society, intimated that the county executive was in the thrall of developers who gave him $35,000 in campaign donations in the past three months. He also chastised Levy for "riding the fence ... at a time when he needs to triple the amount of land saved for open space."
Off the air, things only got worse. Amper, later recounting the moment, said Levy poked his finger at his face and said, "You're dead. Our relationship is over and don't bother to ever call my office again." Levy maintains he made no mention of Amper's mortality, but acknowledged, "I told him I don't think he'll be able to have the same kind of relationship ... when he talks this kind of nonsense."
Such blowtorch talk is nothing new for either Levy, arguably Long Island's most popular politician, or Amper, who has been the chief mouthpiece for the region's biggest motherhood issue, which is land preservation. Neither lacks self-esteem, each has utter confidence he can spin the public his way, and it is rare for either to back down. "I don't want to get between those two gorillas," said one environmental leader who did not wish to be identified.
At issue is the latest environmental campaign, dubbed "Last Stand," to preserve half of the remaining 70,000 acres of Suffolk's open space and farmland. Backers say that what's left of Long Island will be built out by 2015, which means the decision to buy up land must be made in the next three to four years. Builders, meanwhile, fear that further public purchases will only drive up the land costs, making new homes even less affordable.
Levy says Amper frustrates many officials who are trying to do the right thing. "He's always throwing bombs and nothing is ever enough," he said, adding Amper "goes so over the top, he loses his credibility."
The county executive says he revived the county's land program, which had been on "life support" at the end of the administration of his predecessor Robert Gaffney after a scandal in which his top real estate aide was working for a developer who sold land to the county at allegedly inflated prices.
In the past 2 1/2 years, Levy said the county has created a new department to handle land purchases; put an environmentalist in charge, and better than doubled the acreage Gaffney bought -- more than 2,500 acres, three times the size of Central Park. He also put $50-million in county money toward a Legacy Fund for further purchases. Other environmentalists have recognized his accomplishments and the New York League of Conservation Voters honored him at a fundraiser in Baiting Hollow Saturday. "We're terrific fans of Mr. Levy," said Marcia Bystryn, the group's executive director.
Levy has done good, Amper said, but he insisted the comparison with the last administration is skewed. "It's like a relief agency coming in and saying they could do better than FEMA after Hurricane Katrina," he said.
Amper says Levy needs to fill a half dozen vacancies in the real estate department, dramatically ramp up to meet the 35,000 acre goal, and make a commitment to extend the quarter cent sales tax to the year 2030, 10 years beyond the expiration date so that the county can borrow against it.
Levy, meanwhile, said he is open to a possible sale tax extension, though he noted the problem is not money, but finding enough willing sellers. He also chided Amper for criticizing his donations from developers when the pine barrens group also takes money from builders such as Jan Burman and Reckson Associates.
Others, such as Kevin McDonald of the Nature Conservancy, say Amper may be provocative, but remains valuable to the cause and Levy, while "fiscally conservative," is also strong on the environment. He expects the rift to soon pass over. "If I had a dime for every official that Dick Amper has angered, I'd have enough money to buy all the open space myself," he said.
Call it the War in the Woods. Or perhaps the Brawl in the Barrens.
A cable TV show last weekend that began as a lovefest, with Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy thanking pine-barrens champion Richard Amper for helping reform the process for buying open space, soured badly by the end.
"This is an extremist and that's the problem," an irate Levy said of Amper. "We need balance, not extremism."
Of course, Levy's attack came only after Amper, the executive director of the Long Island Pines Barrens Society, intimated that the county executive was in the thrall of developers who gave him $35,000 in campaign donations in the past three months. He also chastised Levy for "riding the fence ... at a time when he needs to triple the amount of land saved for open space."
Off the air, things only got worse. Amper, later recounting the moment, said Levy poked his finger at his face and said, "You're dead. Our relationship is over and don't bother to ever call my office again." Levy maintains he made no mention of Amper's mortality, but acknowledged, "I told him I don't think he'll be able to have the same kind of relationship ... when he talks this kind of nonsense."
Such blowtorch talk is nothing new for either Levy, arguably Long Island's most popular politician, or Amper, who has been the chief mouthpiece for the region's biggest motherhood issue, which is land preservation. Neither lacks self-esteem, each has utter confidence he can spin the public his way, and it is rare for either to back down. "I don't want to get between those two gorillas," said one environmental leader who did not wish to be identified.
At issue is the latest environmental campaign, dubbed "Last Stand," to preserve half of the remaining 70,000 acres of Suffolk's open space and farmland. Backers say that what's left of Long Island will be built out by 2015, which means the decision to buy up land must be made in the next three to four years. Builders, meanwhile, fear that further public purchases will only drive up the land costs, making new homes even less affordable.
Levy says Amper frustrates many officials who are trying to do the right thing. "He's always throwing bombs and nothing is ever enough," he said, adding Amper "goes so over the top, he loses his credibility."
The county executive says he revived the county's land program, which had been on "life support" at the end of the administration of his predecessor Robert Gaffney after a scandal in which his top real estate aide was working for a developer who sold land to the county at allegedly inflated prices.
In the past 2 1/2 years, Levy said the county has created a new department to handle land purchases; put an environmentalist in charge, and better than doubled the acreage Gaffney bought -- more than 2,500 acres, three times the size of Central Park. He also put $50-million in county money toward a Legacy Fund for further purchases. Other environmentalists have recognized his accomplishments and the New York League of Conservation Voters honored him at a fundraiser in Baiting Hollow Saturday. "We're terrific fans of Mr. Levy," said Marcia Bystryn, the group's executive director.
Levy has done good, Amper said, but he insisted the comparison with the last administration is skewed. "It's like a relief agency coming in and saying they could do better than FEMA after Hurricane Katrina," he said.
Amper says Levy needs to fill a half dozen vacancies in the real estate department, dramatically ramp up to meet the 35,000 acre goal, and make a commitment to extend the quarter cent sales tax to the year 2030, 10 years beyond the expiration date so that the county can borrow against it.
Levy, meanwhile, said he is open to a possible sale tax extension, though he noted the problem is not money, but finding enough willing sellers. He also chided Amper for criticizing his donations from developers when the pine barrens group also takes money from builders such as Jan Burman and Reckson Associates.
Others, such as Kevin McDonald of the Nature Conservancy, say Amper may be provocative, but remains valuable to the cause and Levy, while "fiscally conservative," is also strong on the environment. He expects the rift to soon pass over. "If I had a dime for every official that Dick Amper has angered, I'd have enough money to buy all the open space myself," he said.
