Letters

Posted

Avalon decision botched

To the Editor:

Did the village make a mistake in allowing the Board of Zoning Appeals to be the lead agency on the AvalonBay application? My opinion is the Planning Board should be the lead agency with the support of the BZA. I read in Newsday that the attorney for the Planning Board, Charles Casolaro, said that having the BZA as the lead agency over the Planning Board was unprecedented in his experience.

I agree with him. Large applications need to get the required hearings and the proper review of the facts presented to the Planning Board as the lead agency. This way the Planning Board can maintain its objectivity and make impartial judgments. The BZA as a supporting agency will be removed from the dual decision role on SEQRA review and granting variances. It can play its role in reviewing variance applications.

Somebody needs to ask the mayor and the Planning Board chairwoman why they allowed the BZA to be the lead agency on the AvalonBay application. Somebody needs to ask if the BZA can play the lead agency role in official SEQRA proceedings.

I support AvalonBay building a 36-unit complex — which is what is permissible under current zoning laws — at the old Rockville Racquet Club site on North Centre Avenue, and I look forward to its completion.

Joe Thrapp

Rockville Centre

Thanks for the coffee, RVC

To the Editor:

On behalf of my family and I, I would like to thank the Rockville Centre School District for participating in our coffee drive for the past five years.

“Cup of Joe for G.I. Joe” began as a conversation years ago with my cousin, who at that time was serving as a captain in the Army in Afghanistan. Since then we have shipped over 3,000 pounds of coffee to Afghanistan, Iraq and Egypt, and have made more than 500 American soldiers very happy. It is not the fact of receiving the coffee from Rockville Centre, but the fact that they have not been forgotten.

Besides being extremely grateful for the support I received from the school district, there are a few people I would like to thank. Ms. Beller and the administration of South Side Middle School have been extremely supportive and instrumental during this entire journey; Mr. Darren Raymar, principal of Covert School, and the whole Covert community jumped on board to participate without any hesitation; and the South Side High School community has always supported the drive.

This drive has impacted my life so significantly that I cannot begin to fully grasp it all. The emails, pictures, phone calls from soldiers and military parents have made an enormous impact in my life.

I have come to the realization that one can never truly underestimate the power of a good cup of coffee. Thank you Rockville Centre School District, for giving me the honor to hold this coffee drive. God bless America.

Christopher Callahan

Founder and creator, “Cup of Joe, for G.I. Joe”

Breaking ground for a pool

To the Editor:

On July 14, my mother, Mary Beth Kearns, a Rockville Centre resident, presented a petition (with more than 300 signatures) to the village board asking for a village pool.

In last week’s issue, the Herald ran an excellent story about what was said at the meeting (“Pool petition makes a splash”). The story, though, incorrectly implied that the Rec Center was the designated location for any pool to be built. It is true that the Rec Center was mentioned as a location at the meeting, but Mrs. Kearns and the other residents who spoke in support made clear that they were not there to suggest a location. Their goal was to start a conversation on whether or not a community pool was feasible.

If the village board decides to build a pool, it will decide the location. There are many variables to consider. The mayor and village trustees are the ones best equipped to make this decision.

The goal of a community pool is not to take away facilities from other Rockville Centre sports and activities. The goal is, rather, to create a facility that every village resident has access to and can benefit from. The description on the petition states:

“For decades the village has debated whether to have a pool. While RVC has the Links Country Club, that pool is only open to club members. Many incorporated towns and villages surrounding RVC have pools, including Freeport, Lynbrook, Garden City, and Long Beach. There is certainly an interest and a demand from the RVC residents for one. Let’s put this debate to rest. Sign the petition and support a Rockville Centre pool!”

Rockville Centre is blessed with so many services, but not a community pool. It’s time we fill this hole and build one.

Meghan Kearns

Rockville Centre