Letters

Letters to the Editor: East Rockaway, Lynbrook

Feb. 19-25, 2015

Posted

County should refund ‘ill-gotten gains’

To the Editor:
The now-defunct school camera program was flawed from the beginning, right up until its dem-ise. One must assume that Nassau County, in all of its wisdom, wouldn’t have disbanded the program if it didn’t agree that the public’s arguments against it were justified.
The second attempt to restart the program met with vehement protests from the public, arguing that it was actually a means for the county to enhance its revenues, and it was, again, re-implemented without proper study and failed to provide warnings (signs and lights) to drivers in a uniform manner. Further, no statistics were provided that showed the program was warranted on a safety basis.

Anyone who was issued a fine under this program should be entitled to a refund — not just those who received tickets in the summer. For Nassau County to deny refunds for the failed second rolling out of the program would amount to keeping what are, for want of a better term, ill-gotten gains. The county will already cost its taxpayers millions in contract cancellation penalties.
 Since the cost of fighting a ticket can amount to more than the cost of the ticket, in time and money, many will have paid these tickets to avoid the hassle.
Has this story now moved out of the realm of newsworthiness, and will those victimized by the county be forgotten and left holding the bag — along with their canceled checks?

Robert Rubalsky
East Rockaway