Response to 'sour grapes' letter

To the Editor:

Last week a letter written by Peter Panzarino appeared in the Herald (“A case of sour grapes”). Mr. Panzarino made several accusations which require rebuttal. First of all, I did lose the mayoral election this past March. I would have preferred it if he referred to the actual raw vote count and not just the ratio. I understand that my total raw vote count was the highest a losing mayoral candidate ever had in a village election.  

As far as sour grapes are concerned, please be advised that in my lifetime I have lost court cases. I have even lost some friends along the way in my 66 years. And now I have lost an election. None of these events have ever been followed by my resolve not to exercise my constitutional rights. I am a resident, homeowner and taxpayer in the village. If he wishes to call my exercise of my constitutional rights “sour grapes,” that is his right. But please be assured that I will continue to write about any and everything I wish to write about. Of course, he doesn’t have to read my letters. By the way, since March I have written several letters criticizing local officials regarding the performance of their duties or lack thereof.

With respect to other parts of Mr. Panzarino’s letter, I note with interest how he totally avoided my comments about Mayor Ed Fare’s message in the 2011-12 Valley Stream Almanac with respect to schools in the village. I can imagine how difficult it would be to attack the truth. District 14 is not mentioned at all.

It is unfortunate that he was not with me when I attended the District 14 Board of Education meeting on Sept. 21. It is regrettable that he was not present when I asked the clerk whether her office had received notification regarding the “Mayor for a Day” contest. She did not, but promised to let me know when she did. As I attended the entire board meeting, nothing was mentioned regarding the contest. It is interesting that Mr. Panzarino states, “The contest was announced in the most recent Village Green newsletter, mailed to every village household.” He might want to investigate the process of mailing as it related to the Village Green. It is not addressed to specific individuals. It is received by residents, if at all, at the discretion of the post office and postal carriers.
Ask the village officials why they cropped out Carol Crupi and I from a picture that appeared in the Herald with Senator Schumer regarding an appearance he made with those most involved in the FEMA problem. The integrity of village officials can quite correctly be measured by that particular publication of the Village Green.

As far as FEMA is concerned, I live in the AE flood zone. Whatever progress has been made with those maps is least attributable to the village government, which had the opportunity to protest those maps and chose not to do so.

Be further assured that as long as my two grandchildren and other school age children are living in the village and attending District 14 and do not receive the same recognition and opportunities as students in Districts 13, 24, 30 and the Central High School District, you will hear from me.

On a related note, Mayor Fare, in announcing the contest, wrote the following in the Village Green: “A question that I get frequently from children is ‘What does the Mayor do?’ In fact, I hear this query so often that I have decided to sponsor a ‘Mayor for the Day’ contest among sixth-grade students from our elementary schools.”

Perhaps Mr. Panzarino could inform the mayor that sixth-grade students in District 14 who are residents of the village attend classes at the Woodmere Middle School and not one of “our” elementary schools.

In conclusion, if he thinks that Gibson is treated the same as the rest of Valley Stream, he should buy a house in the flood zone, particularly on Gibson Boulevard, across from the strip of stores that has been left vacant for years. As we get closer to Jan. 1, 2013, readers will be hearing more and more from me. If you don’t know why that date is significant, ask one of my neighbors in Gibson in the flood zone if they want me to stop raising the issue. I hope this letter is “sour” enough.

Joesph B. Margolin

Valley Stream