Tuckahoe Village Departments

TUCKAHOE TALK
With Mayor John Fitzpatrick

Blowin' in the Wind

December, 2008

In the next few years our nation’s wealth will either shrink or at the least stagnate. Fiscal constraints will definitely continue, but the future dilemma may be the search to offset evaporating worldwide natural resources. Municipalities like Tuckahoe have taken baby steps towards a more energy aware viewpoint, but ultimately it will be the thoughts and actions of individuals that shape the future.

(Based on my opening, this may sound like an article you might not feel like reading, but I ask you to press on. The reason I mention depleting resources is not to debate the implications of "Peak Oil" or any of the other, taken for granted resources.)

While the world invests in the potential of wind and solar power as an energy alternative, I am reminded of a wind issue much closer to home, right here in Tuckahoe. Before you get too concerned, no one is looking to place a windmill in our village. But I do have an ongoing debate that I just can’t shake with a few ladies of our Village. This particular group continually lobbies me on the merits of clotheslines… yes, clotheslines.

It seems years ago Tuckahoe had the discussion of banning clotheslines, and to my understanding this issue brought about quite a stir. While I was running for office, a few specific elder stateswomen of Tuckahoe asked my opinion on this past topic. My answer has sparked a two-year running debate. My position is that although clotheslines aren’t aesthetically pleasing, I would never vote to outlaw them. This might stem from the fact that my wife, a European by birth, loves clotheslines. Apparently, however, this answer wasn’t good enough; they want me to love clotheslines.

When my wife, Kate and I moved into our 100+-year-old home, it indeed had a clothesline. One day I found it waving in full glory, bursting with sheets and towels. The look of apprehension that crept across my face prompted her to read my mind. She quickly promised I would never see any undergarments flying from this line in our new backyard. However, one day when she thought I wasn’t around she broke that promise. The mysterious disappearance of that line was remedied with a retractable across the basement. Kate still complains that in addition to the energy waste, she misses the smell of sheets hung out in the spring. Environmentally, the world may see the return of the clothesline; but I will never be a fan of underwear blowing in the wind.

"The Clothesline Lobby", as I call them, remarkably consists of many residents willing to vocalize their feelings. Those who are against these devices may number even more, but find no need to strike up a conversation with me regarding their use. It seems that regardless of my indifference to the topic, the clothesline advocates persist with providing me information as to the merits of these devices, even as our days are filled with more important business. When I indicate there is no need to lobby, since there are no rules against clotheslines, they respond there are merely raising awareness.

I am fond of pointing out that with any type of initiative - education is the key. So, to show my impartiality to the matter at hand I agreed to post a few facts. The clothes dryer is typically the second-biggest electricity-using appliance after the refrigerator costing $85 to operate annually. Over its expected lifetime of 18 years, the average dryer will cost $1,530 to operate. Electric heated models cost more than their gas counterparts. While I don’t particularly believe this bolsters the case to hang a clothesline; I remain cognizant that energy conscious people may yet change our minds and world.

Some feel visible clotheslines are infradig or lowbrow. I wouldn’t go that far, but it has me wondering if it is just the visible part that concerns people. It certainly remains a big part of it for me. The visual aspect of our neighbors’ world has led to varying complaints to my office from time to time. Some matters we can address. For instance, when the balconies at the Tower Club were being used to store odd things like old toilet bowls, a letter was sent asking to please address this unsightliness. However, I also recall a section of our Village asking us to step in regarding a resident who turned the front yard into a vegetable garden. Obviously, there was nothing we could do or would do concerning this matter. Scarce resources may one day see lawns replaced by vegetable gardens and clotheslines may become the norm yet again. I am not quite sure it will ever be fashionable, but who knows, it maybe necessity.