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Lawyers, guns and money

To the editor:

I am not exactly sure how this happened because it was not brought up as a topic scheduled for a public hearing but at a town board meeting. How in the world did the Ironman bike transition end up across the street from my house (on the Northwood turf field — another topic) in a highly regulated residential zone? I will be subject to what I term an invasion — an invasion of my property, an invasion of my privacy and an assault on my senses, as there will be broadcasting from Northwood.

I believe I am the only person directly across from the Northwood fields who will suffer from this as neighbors either will be renting to Ironmen, are involved and profiting from Ironman or are screened by trees. My property sits wide open on a PRIVATE road. I am asking that either the town or Ironman provide police protection at the both ends of Norsnol Way as well as fencing the Northwood Road and Norsnol Way access to my property. Failing that, I believe I have Second Amendment rights allowing me to protect my property from illegal trespassers. There will be a minimum of 2,000 athletes plus their cheering squads, who in the past have had no compunction about parking on my lawn or using my driveway as a latrine.

I have tried to reach Greg Borzilleri, who is running this event. There is no local contact or information site for the Lake Placid Ironman listed anywhere. Greg doesn’t accept phone calls, won’t text or call me back, and has no email that I am able to find … so zero accountability. What kind of businessman runs a multi-million dollar business like this?

Answer: a guy whose office is a golf cart.

Aside from my issue, something is wrong here. The town is torn up beyond recognition. We have just come through a pandemic, and yet we are allowing thousands of people who may or may not comply with COVID protocol to gather in our town for a massive all-encompassing event? Did we really need to hold this event this year … or any year going forward? We passed on it last year, and the town thrived, proving that we don’t need an event of this scope to have a successful summer. Lake Placid has been held hostage for a minimum of three days for too long by Ironman. It has ceased to make sense; it affects the quality of life for residents. I have been asking for years for a line-by-line account of the cost of this event versus the benefit. As citizens affected by this, we are owed an objective view of this.

We have lost our way in Lake Placid — greed and unwieldy growth have superseded common sense for the good of our community. I urge you to take a long-range look at our town and village and preserve what is great about our town. More of everything is not better.

I look forward to your response and a call to action on this. Maybe have Greg Borzilleri send a smoke signal about what Ironman will do to protect my property.

Ann O’Leary

Lake Placid

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