Use of 'G' word sparks minor war

Town Councilwoman Theresa Quigley has emerged at the center of a verbal skirmish in East Hampton over the alleged use of the G-word.

A woman in the audience at a town board meeting Thursday accused Quigley of agreeing with a critic at an earlier meeting who said some residents of Springs were engaging in "Gestapo" tactics by spying on their neighbors to find illegal housing.

"It's the G-word. Gestapo," explained Joan Baum, who demanded that Quigley apologize -- and resign her town board seat.

Quigley did not respond to the criticism, and Town Supervisor Bill Wilkinson ruled that it was inappropriate for elected town officials to respond to comments at the part of the board meeting reserved for general comments from the public.

And Quigley did not resign.

The community of Springs has been plagued for years by illegal overcrowded housing, and the bulk of the town's code enforcement actions have been concentrated there.

At several past town board meetings, Springs residents have demanded the town schedule a "housing summit" to discuss the situation.

It was in this heated atmosphere several weeks ago -- as the question of the town's response to the Springs housing problem was debated again -- that a woman from Springs stood up and said she could not tolerate neighbors spying on each other, saying it was a Gestapo tactic -- a reference to ruthless, secretive policing in Nazi Germany.

In an aside, a town official said, Quigley told another town board member that she sympathized. It started the firestorm that led to Thursday night's demand that Quigley resign.