Letters to the Rockville Centre Herald Dec. 22, 2011

Generosity, simply for the asking

To the Editor:

In this tough economic climate, we have been asking people to “shop small” and patronize the wonderful stores and boutiques in Rockville Centre. I would like to extend that way of thinking to all of the excellent restaurants and eateries in our village, by asking people to “eat small.”

This Thanksgiving, Amitrano’s Deli and Catering, on South Park Avenue, and Greek Town Restaurant, on North Village Avenue, donated more than 70 pounds of ham and more than 100 pounds of turkey breast to the annual holiday luncheon at the United Methodist Center’s Soup Kitchen in Far Rockaway.

These shop owners got up extra-early and prepared this delicious catered food for needy people that they have never even met! They did this simply because they were asked.

On behalf of Island Harvest, with which I have volunteered for 19 years, I would like to extend a public thank-you to the Amitrano family and to Leonnora and Marino Kotzavekiaris of Greek Town for their generosity. Both restaurateurs have pledged to repeat their donations again for Christmas.

Lisa Mack

Rockville Centre

Maybe it’s not good for the bottom line

To the Editor:

I guess Scott Brinton missed the article about Canada pulling out of the Kyoto Protocol (“Why controlling global warming is good for our bottom line,” Dec. 15-21) because the cost and the funding necessary were unsustainable. Tsk, tsk.

Marc Zeloof

Rockville Centre

Editor’s note: Brinton’s column went to press hours before the Canadian government announced that it was withdrawing from the treaty.

Taking on Big Tobacco

To the Editor:

In celebration of the Great American Smokeout 2011, South Side High School’s SADD club partnered with the Tobacco Action Coalition of LI and the Rockville Centre Youth Council in an activity to help our peers learn about the dangerous impact of tobacco marketing in stores on teens, and we took a stand against Big Tobacco.

In New York state the tobacco industry spends approximately $1.1 million per day to market its products. This is of great concern to our club because studies show how exposure to cigarette advertising can cause nonsmoking adolescents to initiate smoking and move to regular smoking, and the closer tobacco retailers are to schools, the more likely children are to smoke.

Members of the Rockville Centre Youth Council, as well as South Side’s SADD club, feel very strongly about this mission. We feel that it is very wrong for tobacco companies to market in a way where teens are constantly the target. This needs to be changed, and we as clubs stand behind this mission 100 percent. As teens, we see the effects that this marketing has had on our society and our peers. We feel that it needs to be stopped to benefit future generations, and to keep them safe from the dangers of tobacco and smoking.

Carol Meschkow, Nassau coordinator for the Tobacco Action Coalition of LI, has praised our clubs for our work as peer mentors and leaders in taking a proactive step, demonstrating support of reducing in-store tobacco marketing. She commented that Rockville Centre’s teens did a tremendous job of educating their classmates and collectively taking a stand by signing the We’ve Seen Enough Tobacco Marketing Petition Poster, and sending a strong message to Big Tobacco.

We hope that others will follow this example, and realize the dangers of tobacco. Our greatest ambition is that the State Legislature will hear us on this subject. Although we’re teenagers, we can only hope that our voices will still be heard. This mission is extremely important, and can really change life in a positive way for future generations. This is an important step we must take to try to make New York state the best place to live.

Michaela Beck and

Michael Garcia

South Side High SADD club

Rockville Centre Youth Council