Comments on: Clam Wars Rage in Oyster Bay

By: yeahdoug

yeahdoug — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 02:46:08 +0000

@Love Shellfish – You clearly have a personal interest here to get personal and call me not bright. Maybe you work for flowers or sleep with one of the owners I don’t know and I don’t care…. But I will explain my two line comment in more simple terms so someone with your intellect can understand. When I said the public would not see a clam or oyster from flowers I meant for free or in public waters… of course their product is in local stores and restaurants… they’re an oyster/clam company that’s how they make money. I was wrong in assuming that would be obviously clear. What I was trying to say was they grow oysters and clams for the good of the company. The baymen have a seed program that grows over 4 million clams and 1/2 million oysters every year for the public…. any resident can go and get a non-commercial clam license and get clams and oysters for free… the clams and oysters the baymen grow are for anyone who wants to go get them. Someone like you who says they “love shellfish” should look into getting a license and getting some for free…. And if you do, thank the baymen for the hard work they do to keep the clams/oysters in the harbor for EVERYONE. So again what’s good for the baymen is good for you…. if you want it to be. Flowers has no benefit to you or the town except the pretty boats to look at on the water and contributions to political campaigns (I wonder why the town is on flowers side… hmmm). The statement that the baymen only care about money is funny… I know you don’t care about money at your job, you don’t care about getting paid. The baymen are family men who are trying to make a living in a traditional dying profession… so yes they care about money…. when its 15 degrees out and they need to pay the mortgage…. out on the water you’ll see them, because yes, they care about money. Enjoy your clam chowder in your nice warm house on that same cold day. Lastly, the fact that you think the article is one sided is funny…. the town and flowers did not and will not comment, because they are in the wrong and know it…. they had a chance to give there side and choose not to…. again what’s good for flowers. The baymen’s side is the truth… they put it all out on the table and the town and flowers say “No Comment”. WHAT ARE THEY SCARED OF? THE TRUTH…. THE BAYMEN! So “@ love shellfish” eat some clam/oysters and buy them from all the baymen you know… I bet they’ll give you a good deal.

By: Love Shellfish

Love Shellfish — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 00:47:13 +0000

@ yeahdoug – You’re obviously not too bright. You wrote that the public will never see any shellfish that are harvested by Flower. Flower supplies 94% of New York’s Oysters to bars, restaurants, and seafood stores. So, just how exactly are Flower’s shellfish never going to be seen by a local resident ? Are you telling me that local residents never eat seafood at local restaurants ? The local residents never buy shellfish from seafood stores either ? Seems to me that the locals are seeing quite a number of Flower’s shellfish. Think, before you post things that aren’t true. And your other statement about the Bayman only looking out for what’s best for the town and the public is bullsh**. I know most of the Bayman, and all they give a sh** about is making money. And lastly, the first poster here (Craig S.) was correct when he stated that the press is being one-sided with this story. I always say there are 3 sides to every story……….your side, his side, and the truth.

By: maceo

maceo — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 23:58:58 +0000

Why does T.O.B. Still allow flowers to move stakes when clearly everyone knows it is illegal. Today every stakes was being adjusted. While clam diggers are hard at work to make a living, (by no mechanical means) they have to watch as their public waters are decreased right in front of them and then for what? To watch a dredge boat to dredge on public waters.

By: Ben There

Ben There — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 06:50:10 +0000

IMHO, Town of Oyster Bay officials and boards are the Nassau equivalent of Suffolk’s Brookhaven… except many (not all or most) guilty officials there went to jail. Here, it is all about how many clams you are willing to give to whom for what. Corruption and malfeasance may have peaked in 2000-2003 with the Zoning/Variance Board that on one day would refuse even simple landscaping permitted in Town ordinances if some envious adjacent fruitcake “activist” objected for personal reasons but secretly promised downstream bloc voting. On the next, a horrendous, obscene commercial project opposed by a line of neighbors would be approved in violation of regs and sense if secretly someone knew someone and the fix was in. SNAFU

By: TAXPAYINGCITIZEN

TAXPAYINGCITIZEN — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 12:28:43 +0000

What would Billy Joel say?Hell,I’ll ask him at his motorcycle shop.

By: maceo

maceo — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 18:29:07 +0000

Marine life is what is important here. All marine life that is being destroyed by this company has no voice. The North Oyster Baymen’s Association has to be that voice. I’m glad they are exposing the truth.

By: Bob Rheault

Bob Rheault — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 18:26:22 +0000

Allegations about the impacts of hydraulic dredging are unfounded. Ask Dr. Ron Goldberg at the NMFS Lab in Milford who just completed a multi-year study looking for impacts. Read the chapter on mechanical harvest impacts in the book Shellfish Aquaculture and the Environment.

By: Cate

Cate — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 23:31:09 +0000

@ Craig, Flowers won’t answer any questions! The Baymen have been seeking answers for years, and Flowers and their Friends, FOB & TOB and Neil Bergen won’t answer one!
Flowers has the biggest scam going! They answer to no one and those that should really be questioning them, again FOB and TOB, simply bury their heads in the muck they churn up in the bay and take their payoffs.
How much money have we as tax payers in the Town of Oyster Bay, and Nassau County have had to pay when the Flowers Oyster Co. pays pennies to lease land, land that they willie nillie mark without proper surveys or the company that is supposed to place those stakes, and make millions? Where is the justice in this?

By: Cathy

Cathy — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 22:14:25 +0000

Great article. I feel it was very well balanced eveyone had a chance to comment,it seems they choose not to. I would like to know why the woman from Friends of the Bay said“I have to choose my words wisely here, because the owner of Frank M. Flowers [David Relyea] is one of our board members,” says Friends of the Bay’s executive director, Patricia Aitken, when asked whether her group would support a cessation of Flower’s hydraulic dredging. Isn’t her main concern the Bay ???? Or Dave Relyea ????

By: Mary

Mary — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 15:32:59 +0000

Friends of the Bay or Friends of Flowers? I know I certainly wouldn’t want to say anthing negative about a company that is a huge donor to my organization. Face facts, Friends of the Bay is nothing but Flowers puppets. Money will always buy you friends, but foing the right thing isn’t good for Friends of the Bay’s pocket book!!
Good luck Baymen! I wish you well in dealing with these corupt “do gooders” and the Flowers that have just about everyone in their pocket!

By: yeahdoug

yeahdoug — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 01:40:19 +0000

The baymen are looking out for whats best for the town and the public…. any clam they clam dig any town resident can also dig…. whats good for them is good for everyone in the town. Whats good for the oyster company is good for the oyster company… the public will never see one clam or oyster from them.

By: Craig S

Craig S — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 00:58:33 +0000

Seems like the press is being a little one sided here. How is this a balanced story?