A nonprofit formed to create an eruv in the Hamptons has received preliminary permission from two utilities to use their poles in creating the symbolic religious border in the Westhampton Beach area.

The East End Eruv Association, a nonprofit created in March, had applied to Verizon and the Long Island Power Authority for permission to string wires on their utility poles to create the eruv.

The move mirrors a 2008 attempt by the Hampton Synagogue to create an eruv around Westhampton Beach. The synagogue withdrew that proposal after opponents argued that the eruv would attract more Orthodox Jews to the neighborhood, changing the makeup of the community.

Representatives from the East End Eruv Association, which includes several people involved in the 2008 attempt, and the Hampton Synagogue did not return repeated calls for comment. It is unclear whether the synagogue supports the latest eruv proposal.

The eruv – which would look similar to wire strung on utility poles – would encompass Westhampton Beach and Quiogue and include parts of Quogue and Westhampton in the town of Southampton.

Verizon said last week that it would allow the eruv to proceed. In an Oct. 26 letter to Quogue mayor Peter Sartorius, Verizon’s legal counsel said that the utility “intends to issue licenses to permit the Association to attach lechis to Verizon’s poles,” and that a legal opinion offered by proponents of the eruv stated “that permission from the Village is not necessary.” Lechis are small wooden sticks that are attached to utility poles as part of the construction of an eruv. LIPA also said it would allow the project.

Sartorius said he was dismayed that the eruv could go up without his village’s approval. He said village attorneys likely would send a letter to Verizon arguing against the eruv because they believe it violates the village’s zoning code.

Westhampton Beach Mayor Conrad Teller said he would abide by the wishes of his constituents and oppose the eruv. The village plans to hire an attorney to challenge the eruv if the plan progresses.

A spokeswoman for the town of Southampton said officials there believe only the utility companies, and not the town, would be involved, since the eruv would be on the utility poles.

Opponents of the eruv say that it will turn Westhampton Beach and surrounding areas into an Orthodox Jewish enclave, which they fear could drive down property values.

Arnold Sheiffer, founder and chairman of Jewish People Opposed to the Eruv, said his group believes that the eruv would make the area similar to Lawrence, which has a significant Orthodox population.

“We want to continue as a secular village and our way of life,” said Sheiffer, a Westhampton Beach resident. “This really has ramifications similar to what happened in Lawrence, Long Island, where the area was turned into an Orthodox area, public schools were closed and real estate values fell.”

Estelle Lubliner, a resident of Westhampton and Manhattan, agreed.

“It would have an effect on the demographics of this town, the economy of this town, the whole landscape of the town,” she said. “If you need an eruv, this is just not the place. Why does the town have to change for certain people? There are other seaside communities. If you’re Orthodox, know that not every place in the world is for you.”

Rabbi Mordecai Golshevsky of Young Israel of Coram, an Orthodox congregation not involved in the eruv proposal, said he’s dismayed by the opposition he’s seen.

“This is America, home of religious freedom,” he said. “What’s going on here? They’re pointing to Lawrence. What’s wrong with Lawrence? Orthodox Jews live there? So what – we should chase them out? This whole conversation’s obscene.”

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(Source: Newsday)