Rockville Centre Letters to the Editor

Dismayed by HUD decision

To the Editor:

I read with much dismay the report that U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development regulations preclude tenants elected by the residents of Old Mill Court from serving on the RVC Housing Authority Board (“Housing authority quagmire,” Aug. 7-13).

Having served as an appointed member of the Housing Authority from 1995 to 2002, I am very familiar with the invaluable contributions made to deliberations by those who best know the community — its resident representatives. Speaking at the public session is not a substitute (as has been suggested) for having a seat at the table of decision makers.

I appreciate that Mayor Murray and others have attempted to work out the issue with HUD and hope that their efforts to achieve adequate community representation do not end at this point. HUD’s decision does not seem to prohibit the mayor from appointing a resident of Old Mill Court to the board, and perhaps this can be a viable approach. I trust that our village leaders will continue to seek alternative ways to ensure that the Old Mill Court community’s voice is clearly heard on the Housing Authority board.

Louise Skolnik

Rockville Centre

No more expansion

To the Editor:

At a hearing of the Board of Zoning Appeals about Bonefish in March 2013, I stood up and protested about the required parking spots. I said the code required an additional 60 parking spaces before the BZA could grant Bonefish the right to build. I was told by Dan Casella and Chairman J. Robert Schenone that Bonefish had a right to parking.

This March, the BZA held hearings concluding that Bonefish did not meet the village zoning code. It needed 54 spots. I guess the BZA can change its mind, but not the code. The BZA passed a variance for 54 spots by saying Bonefish could share the existing 40 spots used by the bank building.

The BZA failed to enforce the minimum parking space dimension listed in the code. In the magic village, Bonefish was granted a 54-spot variance. I’m sure Bonefish was happy because the defenders of the code allowed them to open without adding one spot.