Rockville Centre Letters to the Editor March 25, 2010

Mayor and trustees: Where were you?

To the Editor:

The horrid weather conditions two weeks ago have brought some thoughts to mind. The area of town where I live was without power from Saturday night [March 13] until Wednesday night. During that time I knew that village workers and firefighters were out doing a great job taking care of the residents of this community. I saw utility workers in other parts of the town, not up north, except at Molloy (which I believe is a non-taxpaying entity).

I realize that vital services and main streets need to be restored and cleared first for the safety of the whole community. It would have been nice to know where we stood on the list, if there was a list. I was told the linesmen -- both Rockville Centre employees and those brought in from other parts of the state -- were working until 9 or 10 p.m. each evening. I didn't see them working late at night by us until Wednesday, the same night our power was restored.

What I did start to wonder about was the whereabouts of our mayor and village trustees. It brought to mind the old TV show "Car 54, Where are You?," except in this case it was "Mayor and trustees, where are you?" I know the village sent out canned messages so the community had updates on the conditions in the village. However, if you didn't have power or access to a computer, you couldn't access the Web site, which wasn't updated on a daily basis, and you didn't receive those reverse notification calls because you had no phone. How were we to get those updates?

Now, I'm fortunate to have wonderful friends who offered us use of their showers, computer access and dinners. But what about those senior citizens in our community who have no access to computers or who are homebound? I was told by a trustee that residents should be checking on their neighbors. Checking on neighbors and assisting them is a wonderful concept that should be practiced all year long, but those who were elected our village leaders should be leading the way by reaching out to all residents.

Our village's emergency management plan and procedures need to be revisited. They obviously don't work. Simple fliers delivered door to door would have given residents without power some idea of what was going on in the village. I would have been happy to volunteer to help deliver them. We all know that during campaigns, candidates knock on doors all over town, so the areas without power could have been covered in a short time, and we probably would have been happier to see the mayor and trustees than when they're running for election.

I think that a village that's looking for a tax increase of more than 10 percent in its upcoming budget should look into better serving the community in a time of crisis. While I was only inconvenienced by the lack of power, I am grateful there were no serious injuries related to the storm in our town. I respectfully ask village officials to look into improving communication and emergency management solutions before we are faced with a similar situation where we might not be so fortunate.

Kathy Horace

Rockville Centre

Let's look at our trees

To the Editor:

First, hats off to our village police and fire departments for their superior efforts during our recent spate of bad weather. Likewise, a big thank-you to our utility and public works departments for doing the best they could to keep our power on despite hundreds of fallen trees and downed wires.

Now on to a related matter that must be addressed: While the near-hurricane-force winds we experienced were nearly unprecedented, many of the trees that came down did not need to fall. We have been too busy cutting roots to level sidewalks and pave roads. At some point these 50-, 60- and 70-foot trees just don't have the sufficient root structure left to withstand a storm.

Once we finish this cleanup, I ask the village to go around and inspect our trees to determine which ones may have insufficient roots and remove those trees now, in a controlled manner.

While I believe venerable trees make our village the beautiful place it is, we cannot afford to have any more loss of homes, cars, power lines or poles. If a tree near you is tall and has no visible roots, please report it to the village's Department of Public Works. Let's have them pruned or taken down now and replaced with new seedlings before the next storm does even more damage.

Ted D. Gluckman

Rockville Centre

Proud ‘patriots’ cheered at parade

To the Editor:

Last Saturday was a day made for parades: clear, blue sky, a slight breeze and temperatures in the 70s. St. Patrick himself would have been pleased. Green was everywhere. It was a sea of hats, flags, banners and bagpipes. And so too was the banner of the RVC Tea Party Patriots, smartly held in front of a contingent of about 45 very

proud patriots.

We were pleasantly surprised to see and hear so many of those on the sidewalks clapping and shouting their support as we walked by. I didn't expect it at all. I actually felt goose bumps running up and down my back and arms! The reaction of those sharing their support gave rise to a feeling of real civic pride and accomplishment. Even more, it showed me how important it is for us as Tea Party Patriots to continue to make our presence felt in the public arena. We still have so much more work to do.

Judging by the reaction along the parade route, I would say that we now serve as a beacon of hope and inspiration to others who are frustrated with the direction our country is headed. I urge every concerned resident to join with us in our fight to save our nation from the socialistic "change" that has already begun to unravel the fabric of our society.

Robert Freidank

Long Beach

Wang can move

To the Editor:

This morning I was driving my kids to school in Uniondale, taking my normal route down Hempstead Turnpike. Somewhere before the busy intersection of Uniondale Avenue and Hempstead Turnpike, which divides Hofstra University and the Nassau Coliseum property, the traffic, light for a weekday, came to a screeching halt. Emergency lights were flashing farther east on Hempstead Turnpike and blocked all three lanes.

Knowing the area, I was able to weave my way through the side streets of Uniondale and East Meadow and get to the school on time from the east off Merrick Avenue. But this caused the whole area surrounding the planned Lighthouse project to shut down, forcing all traffic down local Uniondale streets, endangering neighborhood children waiting for their school buses. This raises the question: What will happen under similar circumstances with the current infrastructure once we add the Lighthouse project?

Kudos to Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray and County Executive Edward Mangano for proceeding cautiously despite public criticism and bullying by some Democratic legislators, former County Executive Tom Suozzi and Charles Wang, all of whom would profit in one way or another from this project at the expense of the public. While we, the common people from the middle of Nassau County and the South Shore, would all sit in traffic similar to that morning, the greedy Wang would sit safely in his estate on the North Shore, counting his profits and taking his helicopter to meetings while Suozzi's limo driver would take the former county executive to his law office.

Let Wang move the Islanders franchise to his native China, where he has scheduled training camp, if he wants. Either the Rangers or the Devils could move their American Hockey League farm team to the Coliseum and sell it out regularly. Good riddance!

Richard LePetri

Rockville Centre