Rockville Centre Letters to the Editor - Feb. 18, 2010

Ticket non-shovelers

To the Editor:

I am so disappointed with the residents of Rockville Centre with regard to shoveling the snow on their sidewalks. I walk every morning and evening (regardless of the weather) and have found many, many sidewalks in my part of town that have not been shoveled (well beyond the 24-hour period). Not only is it hazardous because you then need to walk in the street, but it is lazy, discourteous and just plain rude. Shame on the non-shoveling residents. Tickets should be issued — it's an easy way for the village to make a few bucks!

Julia Franks

Rockville Centre

Thanks dedicated public servants

To the Editor:

I would like to commend Deputy Superintendent Harry Weed and the men and women of the village Department of Public Works. As usual, they did an outstanding job removing the snow that fell during last week's two-day storm. To truly appreciate their effort, all one needs to do is to drive in one of our neighboring communities to see the difference between our village roads and those in the Town of Hempstead. Not only did the employees of the DPW take care of the snow removal, but the Sanitation Department made its regular pickups.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention our fine volunteer Fire Department, whose members left their own families to stand by in the firehouses during the snow emergency. The Fire Department, working together with the Police Department, provided us with fire, police and rescue protection during the lengthy snowstorm.

The residents of RVC are truly blessed with the dedicated service we receive from our fire, police and DPW. Congratulations to Fire Chief Mark Murray, Police Commissioner Charles Gennario and Deputy Superintendent Weed for a job well done.

Peter Stuyvesant

Rockville Centre

Let the dogs out

To the Editor:

In August 2004, Penelope Lane published an Op-Ed piece titled "Let the Dogs Out," in The New York Times. She questioned why Long Island, noted for beautiful wooded parks and meadows, is such a dismal place to own a dog. In fact, she described Nassau County as a "hellish environment for dogs and their owners." Six years later, her words still ring true.

Most places in Nassau County prohibit dogs on or off leash. Big signs are posted everywhere: "No dogs allowed." Dogs may not be walked or exercised on school property, any athletic field, any public beach and the majority of all public parks. They are not even allowed, technically speaking, to be walked on the sidewalk — they must be "curbed."

Despite the fact that an estimated 40 percent of American households own at least one dog, translating into approximately 2,587 homes of the 6,468 in Rockville Centre, there is not a single town park, school yard or public place, other than Hempstead Lake State Park, that even allows dogs, on leash or off. Yes, there is a dog walk area in the 775-acre Hempstead Lake State Park. However, dogs must be kept on leash and the walk area is quite small.

Locking dogs up on postage-stamp-size properties and prohibiting them from meeting different (and many) people and dogs does us all a disservice. They never learn the necessary social skills to judge friend from foe or to act appropriately when a stranger or new "friend" approaches the house or garden gate. Why is it that as a society, we spend so much time worrying about dog bite statistics but not about how to prevent those statistics?

A group of dog owners from around Long Island have joined to form the Long Island Dog Owners Group (LI-DOG) to push for increased access to parkland, including the establishment of a dog park in Hempstead Lake State Park. To find out more about LI-DOG and its goals, visit www.lidog.org/hempstead-lake-petition110909.htm.

Rena Barnett

Rockville Centre