LETTER: Face the reality: Blues Factory harbor land is privately owned

To Ozaukee Press:

As the calendar turns and seasons change, dear readers of the Ozaukee Press
can bank on an editorial disparaging Port Washington’s perennial scapegoat, the yet to be developed Blues Factory.  With theme cleverly disguised until the hook is set, one need only skip to the last few paragraphs and bemoan once again being duped into time wasted on the longstanding bane of the editorial section.  

Wielding chainsaw thick hypocrisy, the looming project is skewered as unthinkable while the mega 4.5 story Newport Shores is praised as Port Washington reinvented.  As a private development, Newport
Shores was inevitable the editorial argues, but, of course, the size and variances allowed were not.  Newport’s impact may well be praiseworthy and transformational but the double standard is striking as the loss of lake views, marina views and skyline does not compare.    

The ship sailed five years ago on the idea of a park and open space no matter how often that brow is beaten. Everyone loves a park, but it’s time to stop bemoaning events of 2016 and face the reality that the land is privately owned. Should the city seize the land? Repurchase the land? Perhaps the new master plan recently announced will study this in its charter?  One thing reads clear, blame left no room for solutions.   

Tom Cotter
Port Washington