Long Beach letters

Why the absent council members?

To the Editor:
On Monday, a national holiday, I had the honor of participating in the Long Beach Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade and celebration. This was truly a wonderful celebration of King’s life, his work and his promise of hope for a better world, one that we can all be involved in.
It was not a political day. This legal holiday is clearly marked on the City of Long Beach’s calendar. Surprisingly, the only representatives of the city who attended were the two newly-inaugurated City Council members, Mike Fagen and Len Torres, as well as former council member Lenny Remo and Denise Ford, our Nassau County Legislator. Noticeably absent were the three other council members and our city manager.

Council should stay cohesive

To the Editor:
As we move cautiously into 2010, I'd like to thank the residents of Long Beach for their trust and support during my eight years on the City Council.
It was a time of challenge and growth for our city and for me. We dealt with the complex issues of shoreline protection, land use on the ocean and the bay, financial stability for our city and, of course, our ever-needy infrastructure. The last six of my eight years in office were marked by politically split councils. At some points during that tenure, more energy was expended on partisan rhetoric than constructive solutions. Fortunately, the last two years of my time in office were brightened by an open and inclusive dialogue "across party lines," in which we were able to work together in the best interest of our city.
One example of that work was the bonds passed to upgrade our infrastructure. They were done in three increments, by successive councils, each needing some measure of bipartisan cooperation for success.
The last bond passed was the final component in a thoughtful process by which the city did work in stages and only drew down money when the next step was ready to be taken. Bulkheading on the bay, for example, is a multi-year project involving much planning, design and permitting before construction can begin. Recent councils actually learned restraint in bonding and embraced this multi-stage approach.
As our city goes forward with a new split council, I hope the example and successes of the past two years will serve as a guide for the city as we rely on the intelligence and energy of our current council.
Leonard Remo
Long Beach