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In the wrong township

Regarding the April 6 article, “Brookhaven officials speak out against governor’s proposed housing plan” — also an op-ed — on potential development which is, according to Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine [R], “exempt from environmental concerns … don’t have sewers … no height restrictions … and local zoning is ignored.” 

Deputy Supervisor Dan Panico [R-Manorville] in his April 6 op-ed provides four examples that lend themselves to this type of development, and rattles off Port Jefferson Station, North Bellport, East Patchogue and Mastic Beach. 

Yes, we can read between your lines. And no, Dan. If you want development that is exempt from environmental concerns and without sewers, you are in the wrong township.

Joan Nickeson

Terryville

Roadway changes at 112 and 347 a mistake

The intersection of routes 112 and 347 in Port Jefferson Station is a total disgrace.

The change to the intersection was a total waste of taxpayers’ hard-earned money. It solved nothing. Now all the traffic is backed up at the light to ShopRite, instead.

In order to get to 112 coming from the east, one must make three turns instead of simply turning left. It is the most confusing and frustrating roadway change, and for what?

The whole project really should be looked at from the point of view of public safety. Once you make a turn from the new way, it is unclear where to actually go. Has the New York State Department of Transportation even driven there since it ruined the intersection?

Yes, I am angry. I’ve been here since there was a traffic circle, and that would have been better reinstalled than the horrific mess that is there now.

Jean Jackson

East Setauket

National Minority Health Month

April is National Minority Health Month, and we are urging that people of all skin tones protect themselves against skin cancer. Despite the common misconception that people of color cannot get skin cancer, it does affect people of all skin tones. Harmful ultraviolet rays can penetrate all skin types, regardless of your ethnicity, so even for people with dark skin, sun protection is necessary every day.

According to the American Cancer Society, melanoma rates have risen by 20% among Hispanics in the past two decades. The annual incidence of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, is currently 1 in 167 for Hispanics and 1 in 1,000 for African Americans —compared to 1 in 38 for white people. 

Although people of color are diagnosed with skin cancer at lower rates than Caucasians, prognoses are typically poorer and survival rates are lower. Black patients with melanoma have an estimated five-year survival rate of 71 percent, versus 93 percent for white patients.

You can reduce your skin cancer risk by practicing sun safe strategies when outdoors. Applying sunscreen with SPF 15 or higher, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, UV protective sunglasses and long-sleeved clothing, and seeking shade whenever possible, can help prevent skin cancer.

The Cancer Prevention in Action program at Stony Brook Cancer Center works to increase awareness about the dangers of UV radiation and promote sun safety to reduce skin cancer rates on Long Island. To learn more about Cancer Prevention in Action, visit the website takeactionagainstcancer.com or contact us at 631-444-4263 or email [email protected].

This program is supported with funds from Health Research Inc. and New York State.

Annalea Trask

Program Coordinator,

Cancer Prevention In Action

Stony Brook Cancer Center

Opportunities squandered

Everyone deserves to live in safe, affordable housing. We are facing a housing crisis on Long Island. State and local governments must use their power to address this problem in a thoughtful and equitable way that benefits all of us.

Unfortunately, the response from too many Long Island elected officials to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s [D] “housing compact” fails to address the issue for the public good. In his perspective piece March 30, Dan Panico [R-Manorville], Town of Brookhaven deputy supervisor and current town supervisor candidate, accuses the governor of threatening “local municipalities” and her push to increase housing availability as a “political charade.” 

While I do not agree with all aspects of Hochul’s plan, I recognize that she is speaking to a need that local governments have failed to address. One example of this would be the development of the Heritage Spy Ring Golf Club senior complex in South Setauket, which is a project that Mr. Panico voted for in 2014. This project was approved despite the opposition of the community. It has not generated any affordable housing, with monthly apartment leases priced from $2,900 per month. What we desperately need in our communities is affordable housing for both young professionals and retirees, and this was an opportunity squandered.

Town Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich [D-Stony Brook] has also weighed in about local control, saying that “town council members are uniquely qualified to know and be accountable to the needs of our districts” in an April 6 TBR News Media op-ed.

However, the Brookhaven Town Board isn’t listening to constituents. This past week, the Town Board unanimously sent a statement in support of New York State legislation to alienate protected parkland to facilitate the siting of a waste transfer station not allowed by local zoning, in an environmental justice area and disadvantaged community. They did this over the objections of nearby communities of color and the state NAACP. 

Unfortunately, this is not the first time we’ve seen this kind of action. In 2021, the Town Board unanimously voted to rezone 130 acres of land surrounding the Brookhaven landfill from residential to light industry, again over the objections of residents. That is not how representation should work.

This year, our local government is up for election at all levels. Too many politicians have placed their self-interest and personal ambition over the voices of those they are elected to represent. 

We saw this in our town redistricting process last summer, where the Town Board unanimously approved the redistricting maps that residents spoke in opposition to at numerous public hearings. 

There is too much at stake, from affordable housing to environmental protection to the democratic process itself, to allow the status quo to continue unchecked. We deserve better, and we must demand it from our elected officials.

Shoshana Hershkowitz

South Setauket

Wind power presents significant problems

According to a March 23 TBR News Media article, Sunrise Wind will soon be providing us with a wind farm which will contribute to New York state deriving 100% of its energy requirements from renewable sources by 2040. Presumably this implies that the contribution of energy provided by all hydrocarbon fuels, including coal, oil and natural gas, will be eliminated entirely. 

While this may sound like a noble and virtuous goal, it does present a number of very significant problems, none of which were addressed in the aforementioned article. The production and distribution of electrical power began in the 1880s, as a direct result of the invention of the incandescent light bulb by Thomas Edison. Since that time, it has been generated by a combination of hydrocarbon fuels, supplemented by hydroelectric sources and, more recently, by nuclear reactors. 

All of these power sources share a common characteristic: They reliably provide huge amounts of energy satisfying all of our needs, 100% of the time, day and night, in all kinds of weather, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, year in and year out. 

If we choose to arbitrarily eliminate the vast energy contributions of hydrocarbon fuels, and if we also follow the advice of letter writer Arnold Wishnia and his friends and eliminate our nuclear power plants as well, we will thereby create a new problem. If our virtuous green power sources are only active with a very limited duty cycle, certainly much less than 50% of the time, what will provide our energy when the wind is not blowing, and the sun is not shining? Clearly, we will need some form of energy storage system, in which we will produce and store energy when it is available, i.e., when the wind blows and/or the sun shines, and recover this stored energy during the off times. 

But what form will this energy storage system take? Can it be a huge collection of lithium-ion batteries? Can we perform electrolysis of sea water to produce hydrogen, which we can store in huge tanks? Can we pump vast amounts of water into huge towers, and then use it to power hydroelectric turbines? What shall we do?

We are told in the article that the windmills to be provided by Sunrise Wind will provide enough power for about 600,000 homes. However, we are not told whether this includes only the power delivered directly to the homes when the wind is blowing, or whether it includes the extra power that must be stored, such as in a battery, to power the homes when the wind is absent.

If Sunrise Wind, or Mr. Wishnia or anyone else, can describe an energy storage system that is compatible with achieving 100% elimination of hydrocarbon fuels and nuclear power generators in New York state by 2040, at an even remotely achievable cost, it would be most interesting and enlightening.

In my humble opinion, I believe that windmills and solar arrays can be useful supplements. We see this, for example, with a homeowner who installs solar panels on a roof, or a farmer who uses a windmill to pump water from a well. But to rely on these sources 100% of the time, for a venue the size of New York state, is, as they say, a horse of a different color.

George Altemose                                                      

Setauket

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Attend May 1 public hearing on Maryhaven

On Monday, May 1, the Village of Port Jefferson will hold a public hearing at Village Hall at 6 p.m. to change the zoning for the Maryhaven Center of Hope — located across from St. Charles Hospital — to develop condos there.

Our elected officials are tasked with balancing the need for development with the equally important need to preserve open space. But striking that delicate balance is challenging, which is why it’s essential that we, the villagers, contribute to these discussions.

At the moment, not many details have been made available — not even all the trustees were fully briefed when the public hearing was approved April 3. As a result, the Port Jefferson Civic Association has not yet formed an opinion about this development. However, we do advocate and hope for thoughtful planning that both reflects the historical nature of our village and respects the environment.

But given what has transpired with some of the other apartment complexes that have gone up in the village, we can’t be confident that the public hearing will be anything more than a formality.

That’s why we encourage residents of Port Jeff, in the spirit of meaningful community engagement, to ask questions and make their voices heard, either by attending the May 1 hearing in person or writing letters. A strong showing from the public will help ensure that this hearing will not be just a formality and the concerns of the villagers will be addressed.

Ana Hozyainova

President

Port Jefferson Civic Association

Support community newspapers, Albany

Passage of the proposed New York Local Journalism Sustainability Act by the state Legislature is important to assure survival of local journalism. Most communities are down to one local daily or weekly newspaper. Newspapers have to deal with increasing costs for newsprint, delivery and distribution along with reduced advertising revenues and competition from the internet and other news information sources.

Daily newspapers concentrate on international, Washington, Albany, business and sports stories. They have few reporters covering local neighborhood news. Weekly newspapers fill the void for coverage of local community news. 

I’m grateful that your newspaper group has afforded me the opportunity to express my views via letters to the editor along with others who may have different opinions on the issues of the day. 

Albany needs to join us in supporting weekly community newspapers. Readers patronize advertisers, who provide the revenues to help keep the newspapers in business. 

Let us hope there continues to be room for TBR News Media chain publications such as The Times of Huntington, Northport & East Northport, The Times of Middle Country, The Village Times Herald, The Port Times Record, The Times of Smithtown and The Village Beacon Record.

Larry Penner

Great Neck

The Constitution must be defended

We are facing a moment when an individual has been accused of committing crimes and is being given all the constitutional protections afforded him by the United States of America and the State of New York.

If we are to believe the media, that individual, and those surrounding him, are threatening our society with violence if our constitutional laws are followed.

Also, if we are to believe the media, many of those making threats are elected members of our government, themselves sworn to defend the Constitution of the United States of America.

While most of the current debate is coming from one side of the political spectrum, I have lived long enough to see the other side ignore constitutional law enough times to fill me with an equal level of disgust.

I, and millions more Americans, have risked or given our lives to defend the Constitution. One of my ancestors, Benjamin Franklin, risked everything to give us the Constitution. What right does a group of greedy politicians, without regard to political party, have to spit on those sacrifices?

Before you take a side, get out your history books and read about Europe during the 1920s and 1930s. Mussolini, Stalin and Hitler, each, had millions of supporters. What did that get us?

Francis G. Gibbons Sr.

Terryville

Community mourns swan together

On Monday, March 27, the mother swan, who had made the Frank Melville Memorial Park her home, died from injuries she had sustained. How? Why? No one will ever know for sure.

Mother Nature can be cruel. A week earlier people had noticed her odd behavior. She swam to the left, sometimes in small, frenzied circles next to her nest, but not on it. Her mate had taken her place. The community came together. Dozens of people tried to help. They watched and wondered, stopped their cars, and offered assistance. We consulted wildlife rescue groups, as well as Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown.

On that Monday morning, I was one of the people who stood and watched her listing like a sinking ship, her head sometimes underwater. She looked weak, lethargic, exhausted — near death. Someone speculated that she had gotten tangled in the pond vegetation. We secured a kayak and attempted a rescue. What we saw was worse than we had imagined. Her leg was tightly wrapped in a heavy mass of weeds. In freeing her, we saw that the leg was only bone, the skin sheared off, bleeding out. She was taken to a wildlife rehabilitation center where she died. On the park’s Facebook page, the outpouring of grief was overwhelming. But we were reminded that swans are not pets. The park did not own her; it only loved her.

On Saturday, April 1, the father swan was back on the nest, sitting on their eggs. Whether they will hatch, no one knows. But we’ll be watching.

Kerri Glynn

Setauket

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Can we trust the Suffolk County Legislature?

We have had a “clean water” sales tax for years. When last I looked both Suffolk County and New York State took that “clean water” sales tax money and put it into their general budgets. Suffolk County was taken to court where it lost and was ordered to replace the improperly taken money. Suffolk then claimed this money was needed to offset the costs of COVID-19, won a referendum and never truly repaid this money. I call this legalized “stealing.”

Now we are being asked to increase and extend this legalized “stealing” [through a 1/8-cent county sales tax increase to fund water quality improvement projects, subject to a mandatory referendum]. Additionally, we are being asked to provide politically well-connected persons with positions as “a 17-member wastewater management district board of trustees” to administer this money.

We are told there will be one, countywide, sewer district with “zones of assessment.” Taxes collected within an established zone of assessment would be required to be kept segregated from taxes collected in other zones of assessment, except upon approval by the county Legislature on the recommendation of the district board of trustees.

Can we trust the Suffolk County Legislature? What do you think?

Francis G. Gibbons Sr.

Terryville

Dog owners should respect a neighborhood park

Frank Melville Memorial Park in Setauket is a glorious place for all community members to enjoy year-round. It is particularly lovely in the spring when the trees are budding, the swans are nesting, the turtles are hanging out on the logs, the flowers are blooming, and people are emerging from their winter hibernation to walk the paths available for our enjoyment. I am one of those people, a community member who loves to bring her friendly chocolate Lab out for a walk on a regular basis. 

As a responsible dog owner, and more so, a considerate person, I take it upon myself to clean up after my large dog when he decides to do his business on park grounds. Sadly, and disgustingly, there are several individuals who have decided that they are above this inconvenient task and feel it is proper protocol to leave their piles wherever they may land so that others are subjected to not only the sight, but the aroma of their pets’ feces. Despite the fact that the park has not one, not two, but three receptacles and poop bag dispensaries, these individuals cannot be bothered to do what a respectful, unselfish person should do. Today was actually my favorite display as one person had taken it upon themself to pick up the poop, and then left the full bag in the middle of the grass adjacent to the pond. Perhaps this was meant to enhance the view? Seriously, what is wrong with you?

The park has several signs stating that if your dog is unleashed you will be banned from the park. The same standard needs to be upheld for those who choose to befoul these grounds with dog excrement. Besides being unsanitary, it is unfair to those who use the park responsibly and have the decency to leash and clean up after their pets. If you refuse to abide by common courtesy, stay home.

Stefanie Werner

East Setauket

Putting the park into parking in Port Jeff Village

The parking problem has persisted since the noted Long Island planner, Lee Koppelman, made Port Jefferson’s first village plan in 1965. Multiple updates continued to note this problem, including the 2030 Comprehensive Plan Update. 

As the village has increased parking capacity with more area and asphalt devoted to off-street parking, the less it has felt like an intimate village. Finding a spot, and the walk from your car — through other cars — to Main Street is not a pleasant start to a visit. In the planning to accommodate the car, the harbor front was converted from shipbuilding to parking, absurdly giving the car the best view of the harbor.

In 2006, sponsored by the BID, supported by the Village of Port Jefferson, we presented to the village community the concept of “Putting the Park into Parking” — as seen on the front page of this paper in 2006. The concept was to make a park on the harbor front and move the parking to a parking structure behind Main Street, replacing the asphalt wasteland with scaled-back street mews walks.

With rising tide predictions, the cars should be replaced — before they go under — with a sponge sustainable functioning education park. Parking is just one concern for quality of life in our village.

Michael Schwarting

Campani and Schwarting Architects

Port Jefferson

Uphold democracy by attending the April 3 village board meeting

When we think of dying democracies, we think of faraway lands, where democracies are overthrown by a military coup — like Myanmar in 2021 — or by rampant corruption and fraud, as in Haiti today. But there is a slower blight democracies die from: a gradual loss of trust in the electoral system. We can see that in our own backyard when local officials ignore and thus thwart the will of the majority. People still have the right to vote, but they no longer bother to do so. 

This fate threatens the Village of Port Jefferson today. We have some 6,000 registered voters in the village. Yet only about 1,200 vote in the mayoral election and even fewer for trustees. The current officers were elected with fewer than a thousand votes each in 2021 and 2022. 

Why is this? The residents have seen issue after issue decided by the Board of Trustees without considering the input of voters. The residents no longer even hope for a voice in village decisions.

Such recent decisions include building of apartment complexes in Upper and Lower Port despite strong opposition from residents; the $10 million bond that was floated to fund the “shield” solution to East Beach bluff erosion; and the parking lot built on the newly cleared forest at Mather Hospital.

But just last week, the Port Jefferson Board of Trustees added the keystone to the arch of despair that has developed over the years. The board and mayor unilaterally extended their terms of office from two years to four with no public debate whatsoever. Whether that extension would be bad or good for the village is not the issue. The issue is that, once again, the village residents’ rightful expectation that their will would be considered in their village government’s decisions was quashed. 

Village residents voted to incorporate as a village because we wanted to have self-governance, to make our own decisions about things that affect us the most. But this is now not the case.

As representatives of the Civic Association of Port Jefferson, we strongly urge the Board of Trustees, in their April 3 meeting, to rescind the undemocratic resolution to extend their terms they made at their last meeting.

We also urge the residents of Port Jefferson to show up at 6 p.m. at the April 3 board meeting at the Village Hall to express their disapproval. Don’t let democracy in our village die the death of apathy.

Ana Hozyainova, President

Holly Fils-Aime, Vice President

Port Jefferson Civic Association

WRITE TO US … AND KEEP IT LOCAL

We welcome your letters, especially those responding to our local coverage, replying to other letter writers’ comments and speaking mainly to local themes. Letters should be no longer than 400 words and may be edited for length, libel, style, good taste and uncivil language. They will also be published on our website. We do not publish anonymous letters. Please include an address and phone number for confirmation.

Email letters to: [email protected]

or mail them to TBR News Media, P.O. Box 707, Setauket, NY 11733

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I want to hear from you 

The political campaigns have started for the November 2023 elections. In the next few months, you will be inundated with flyers, phone calls and literature about those of us who are running to represent you in some office. 

We will be telling you who we are, why we want to be elected, what we support, what we don’t support and everything in between. And yes, I will do all these things so that you will know who I am, that you will recognize the name Dorothy Cavalier. 

But now I want to know who you are, what your concerns are, what your issues are — what is important to you and in your life?

My name is Dorothy Cavalier and I am asking you to send me emails, visit my Facebook page, stop me in the street to let me know your name, what your life is like, what you need to make your life better, what you support, what you do not support and everything in between.

So, email me at [email protected].

Visit my Facebook page and comment at Dorothy Cavalier for Suffolk Legislative District 6. I want to hear from you.

Dorothy Cavalier

Democratic candidate for Suffolk County’s 6th Legislative District

Mount Sinai

Waiting for Rinaldi to be made LIRR president

Just over 12 months ago, Long Island Rail Road President Phillip Eng retired effective Feb. 25, 2022. Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Janno Lieber immediately appointed Metro-North President Catherine Rinaldi as interim LIRR president.

After 12 months on the job, she has developed a good working knowledge of the agency organization, staff, operations, facilities and customer needs. She is familiar with ongoing capital projects in the LIRR portion of the $51.5 billion 2020-24 Five Year Capital Plan. 

If Lieber is happy with Rinaldi’s performance to date, why hasn’t he made her the next permanent LIRR president? Is there something we don’t know? 

Remember that Lieber, just like his predecessors, will need the blessing of the governor. Just like past history, Gov. Kathy Hochul [D] will play a behind-the-scenes role in the selection of a permanent LIRR president.

Larry Penner

Great Neck

New York State’s bail reform is a success

Under the law, everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Under the law, every person is guaranteed the right to a speedy and fair trial by jury. These tenets are the bedrock of our justice system.

Unfortunately, our system has too often failed to live up to these premises. In New York, almost three out of every four people incarcerated are people of color, which is disproportionate to the population. Many of these people are poor, and until the 2019 bail reform law, too many sat in jail awaiting trial because they could not afford bail. 

The most tragic example is that of Kalief Browder, who as a teenager was incarcerated at Rikers Island for three years, two of those years spent in solitary confinement, for allegedly stealing a backpack. His family could not afford to bail him out. He committed suicide after his release. The young man’s story, and the families who are impacted by the overlap of incarceration and poverty, are why the 2019 bail law was enacted. The criminal justice system failed Browder and countless others.

As soon as the 2019 bail reform law was enacted, before there was even any data on the impact of the law, the Republican Party began a campaign of fearmongering. Former U.S. Congressman Lee Zeldin [R-NY1] made this the theme of his failed 2022 gubernatorial campaign, and other candidates like freshman Assemblyman Ed Flood [R-Port Jefferson] followed suit. It was a campaign that was deeply racist in rhetoric, never addressing the root causes of crime and how to correct these causes.

A recent study refutes the lies of the Republican Party. The results of the two-year study show the opposite of the Republican talking points to be true, with recidivism and re-arrest rates dropping. “Fundamentally, we found that eliminating bail for most misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies reduced recidivism in New York City, while there was no clear effect in either direction for cases remaining bail eligible,” said Michael Rempel, director of John Jay College’s Data Collaborative for Justice, in a statement. 

The data is clear: Bail reform is a success. The tragedy is that too many elected Democrats refused to push back against the Republican lies and fearmongering. In that vacuum of leadership, misinformation has taken hold. 

We must demand leaders and candidates who will stand up for justice. We must also call out politicians like Zeldin and Flood who built their campaigns on lies and ensure they never hold elected office again. We deserve a system of true justice with moral leaders, and Republicans have utterly failed the electorate on the issue of public safety.

Shoshana Hershkowitz

South Setauket

WRITE TO US … AND KEEP IT LOCAL

We welcome your letters, especially those responding to our local coverage, replying to other letter writers’ comments and speaking mainly to local themes. Letters should be no longer than 400 words and may be edited for length, libel, style, good taste and uncivil language. They will also be published on our website. We do not publish anonymous letters. Please include an address and phone number for confirmation.

Email letters to: [email protected]

or mail them to TBR News Media, P.O. Box 707, Setauket, NY 11733

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Correction: Good Energy is New York-based

First, thank you for the in-depth March 9 article about Community Choice Aggregation in Long Island. It is a well-written article that shares much important information about CCA programs. 

Long Island residents and businesses can benefit from such programs for years, so the more information, the better. Such CCA programs will enable Long Islanders to secure stable, low energy rates and also feature renewable energy options. That is, indeed, important news for Long Islanders.

As a media contact for Good Energy, I would like to add a small — but important — correction and a clarification to that article. 

Good Energy is mentioned as being a London-based company. It’s an understandable error because there is a United Kingdom-based company with the same name as ours. However, Good Energy LLC is based in Manhattan, with employees on Long Island and has been helping New York and other states create CCA programs for more than 20 years. 

 For our company, it’s important that residents of the Town of Brookhaven and the rest of Long Island know we are a New York-based business working for New Yorkers. We look forward to serving Brookhaven as the energy consultant for their CCA program. Part of that service is providing Brookhaven with new, exciting renewable energy options. 

 I would also request that your publication clarifies the scope of Good Energy’s CCA program: The Town of Brookhaven’s Community Choice Aggregation Program is for gas, electricity and renewable energy. 

In fact, Good Energy is currently working with Brookhaven officials to develop such renewable energy projects. More news about that will be coming soon.

Doug Donaldson

Media Representative

Good Energy LLC

New York

Fund the state’s new campaign finance program

In a representative democracy, money should not be the determining factor in whether a person can run for public office. When working-class people run and serve in public office, our government works better for working families. Yet too often, the process is dictated by wealthy donors and special interest groups, making it difficult for the average person to run for office and win. The New York State Public Campaign Finance Program would help to change that.

This new state program would eliminate barriers and level the playing field for good, qualified people to run for public office. Under the new system, individual contributions of between $5 and $250 would be eligible for public matching funds, enabling candidates — incumbents and challengers — to spend their time fundraising among more of the people they seek to represent, as opposed to wealthy megadonors. This makes it easier for ordinary people without access to wealth to run for office, with the support of our communities.

Instead of officeholders who are beholden to corporate donations, special interests and megadonors, they would be listening to constituents who built their campaign, one small donation at a time. Furthermore, these small donors would be engaged in the process to a greater degree, as they have a personal connection with the candidate who represents them and the community. This is what a government of, by and for the people is all about.

Unfortunately, no one will be able to make use of public campaign finance if there is no funding allocated to the program. Our legislators must take bold action and fully fund the Public Campaign Finance Program this year, so that candidates can begin using it in the 2024 election cycle, as the law intended. This funding must be a part of our fiscal year 2024 budget that is currently being negotiated in Albany.

We in Suffolk County know all too well that special interests dominate the process. Special interests who hold power with our Republican and Conservative county legislators that killed Suffolk County’s public campaign finance program before it began. We cannot let this happen again at the state level. I urge you to let your state legislators know that you support New York’s Public Campaign Finance Program, and that you want your government to represent you, not the special interest groups. That is the leadership and democracy we deserve.

Shoshana Hershkowitz

South Setauket

Friendly, generous people

I would like to share how my wife and I have twice been the recipients of little acts of kindness.

The first occurred when we were dining in a Port Jefferson restaurant with another couple. The man, John, was telling us that he had fought in Europe in World War II. A few minutes later, our waitress informed us that the people in the next booth had paid for John’s meal. A thank-you for his service. We, of course, went to their booth and thanked them. 

More recently my wife and I had finished lunch at Outback Steakhouse in East Setauket, and the check arrived. The total appeared to be wrong, and I asked our waitress about it. She explained that the couple at the next table had some money left on their gift card and requested that it be applied to our bill. Unfortunately, they had left before we learned this, and we could not thank them. Whoever you are, if you read this: A profound thank-you for your generosity. I will pay it forward.

Steven Perry

Rocky Point

On the road again

March 12 was the 101st anniversary of East Northport resident Jack Kerouac’s birth.

It made me reread one of his best writings, “On the Road.” His works remind me of the more adventurous spirit of youth.

Sadly, as we get older, with more responsibilities and less free time, there are fewer journeys to take, but the ideals of Kerouac continue to live in all of us.

Larry Penner

Great Neck

WRITE TO US … AND KEEP IT LOCAL 

We welcome your letters, especially those responding to our local coverage, replying to other letter writers’ comments and speaking mainly to local themes. Letters should be no longer than 400 words and may be edited for length, libel, style, good taste and uncivil language. They will also be published on our website. We do not publish anonymous letters. Please include an address and phone number for confirmation. 

Email letters to: [email protected]

or mail them to TBR News Media, P.O. Box 707, Setauket, NY 11733

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