Commentary: Out East: February 1, 2008

From Farmvue to The Woods, where's the truth?

It's been 58 years since George Orwell's big book "1984" was published. I know because I was issued the same year: 1949.

Fifty-eight years later it's still a hot topic, and the word "Orwellian" is often heard in these "war is peace" days.

As everyone knows, the book features disturbing views of a totalitarian future in which everything is controlled by groups whose functions are the opposite of their names. That is, the Ministry of Truth is busy disseminating lies, the Ministry of Love is in charge of torture and Big Brother is definitely not your best buddy.

This is all called "doublethink," described in the book as "the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them."

What's odd is that Orwell was obviously trying to speak out against all that, and yet, when anybody uses the word "Orwellian," they mean doublethink, or anti-truth. An Orwellian irony in itself, yes?

Now, I don't mean to imply that the terrible future predicted in "1984" is upon us, but, as has been noted before, there is at least one Orwellian aspect that is coming true, and that is the naming of real estate developments for the things they are not. More ironic yet, in many cases they're named for the things they replace.

Take, for example, the many developments across the country dubbed "The Woods," which required the cutting down of same. Closer to home, in Mattituck on the North Fork, there's a subdivision known as "Farmveu," for which farmland got paved under. And now, in a more worrisome trend, there are two North Fork plans afoot that intentionally seem to wave red flags in front of opponents.

I'm referring to one in Cutchogue called "The Heritage," a 139- unit senior housing plan targeted for 46.17 acres near the hamlet's post office. Whatever your feeling about the project, it's hard to argue with opponents' contention that it would change Cutchogue's character significantly. And it seems to me that the name itself fans the flames of resentment, since Cutchogue's actual heritage is farming and fishing, not retirement communities.

The other project's name, which seems to me even more in-your- face, has until recently been "Historic Village of Jamesport." The plan calls for 42,000 square feet of commercial development in 10 buildings on 10 acres. In addition to professional and retail uses, there would be two bistros. While, yes, there have been eateries and retail shops and professional offices in Jamesport over that hamlet's long history, these would be new, so to me there's an unnecessary and aggressively Orwellian tone to the name.

Both of these proposed developments have sparked considerable community resistance. Activists have fought passionately against "The Heritage" in Cutchogue, spending many days dug in at card tables outside markets, gathering more than 1,000 signatures in opposition.

As for the "Historic Village of Jamesport," a recent hearing drew 13 speakers, and all 13 argued fervently against. One said it "would spell the absolute ruin of the hamlet," in a recent story in the Riverhead News-Review. The president of the Jamesport/South Jamesport Civic Association called it "a precedent-setting decision," and pleaded with the Town Board not to repeat "the mistake that so many towns west of us have made."

With the stage thus set, attorney Charles Cuddy strode to the lectern to speak for the project. Then, as reported in the News- Review, "He said the original name, 'Historic Village of Jamesport,' could easily get confused with the designation the hamlet already has as a historic district." That sounded reasonable, and in fact almost thoughtful. So what was the new name, selected with care by the project's backers?

"The Village of Historic Jamesport."

It drew "moans, groans and laughter," said the News-Review.

Should developers be brutally honest, calling their projects "Blacktop Acres" or "Meadow-Be-Gone?" Probably not. But limiting the doublethink to the geographical features to be displaced seems less incendiary than Orwellian messing with heritage and history.

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