Rockville Centre Letters to the Editor

Posted

Hoops are eyesores

To the Editor:

In the nice weather, my wife and I ride around town on our bikes, crossing most streets from north Rockville Centre to the south side. There is one thing I must correct regarding Jack Brull’s Letter to the Editor last week (“Basketball hoops are a dangerous nuisance”), and that is the word “few.” 

There aren’t a few of these things facing the streets. There are at least 100 or more of them. But what’s most interesting is that no one seems to be using them most of the time. Parents buy them, face them toward our roadways, the kids use them a little and then forget about them and the parents then don’t know what to do with them, so they just let them languish. To hold them down, they have sandbags on the bases of these ugly things. Some people cement them into village property.

So what’s next? Soccer goals? Lacrosse nets facing the streets? Doesn’t anyone have any class anymore? Do we want our village looking like this? When do we start abiding by rules? Or do people just not care about their neighbors and how they feel and what they see? Why did I have to start this with almost no one else chiming in? 

Brull made a very good point when he stated that parents put cones in the street to alert drivers that there are kids playing. I don’t have a problem with those. But I have a real problem with the basketball hoops, and I’m not going to let this issue go away.

As for lemonade stands, they’re not legal unless a permit is obtained. Any food concession must be permitted by law. I give the kids a buck when I see them, but I would never consider drinking the stuff. I had my fair share of colds that my kids brought home from school. Based on when I was a kid, I maybe washed my hands once a day.

Burton Diamond

Rockville Centre

 

Hoops are good for kids

To the Editor:

I am particularly disturbed by the letters you have received regarding basketball hoops throughout the village. I have had the honor and privilege of coaching and teaching basketball in this village in excess of 25 years. In addition, I have had the pleasure of living in Rockville Centre for 60 years. 

As a youth, I spent endless hours playing pick-up games on Pine Street. I believe the same can be said for Burton Diamond. I believe he is truly exaggerating the safety issue for the youth of today in comparison with the amount of football, street hockey and other activities we played in the street.

I do not find a basketball hoop to be particularly offensive. I do find many poorly designed garages more of an eyesore, especially those made of canvas!

Recently I drove on Fonda Road — by far the home of more basketball hoops per home than any other street. I was distressed to see that one family, which raised four outstanding young men that played basketball in all of the youth programs, has removed their hoop. In case you haven’t noticed, Mr. Diamond, when the kids grow up, the basketball hoops usually disappear.

Many new home buyers in Rockville Centre include the variety of youth recreational programs available as a reason for moving to the village. Shooting hoops in the street, or having a game of catch with a football with family members or neighbors, is a big part of the American landscape. 

Ken Acerno

Rockville Centre