Letters to the Rockville Centre Herald Nov. 2, 2011

Thanks for the compliment

To the Editor:

Regarding the letter “Kearns has chutzpah” in last week’s issue, I’ve known its author, Jeff Greenfield, for more than 20 years. I’ve been in one political party while he has been in the other. I enjoyed the letter, and I’m sure that “chutzpah” was meant in only the kindest of ways. If I were president of the Chutzpah Society of RVC, Jeff would be its CEO. His letter was prompted by questions I raised, and a Newsday article about Anthony Cancellieri that I cited, at the last village board meeting about hiring Centre Strategies, Cancellieri’s firm, for a three-month, $60,000 consulting project.

Just to clarify a few things, Centre Strategies was hired without using the best practice of issuing a request for proposals. This means that the village may not have done the research to see if someone more qualified or less expensive could do the work. The village board seemed unable to articulate clearly any benefits of this contract. The project scope is very vague, and nobody seemed to know who Centre Strategies employs. I saw the contract after the meeting. It’s fair to say that it’s filled with few specifics and many generalities.

Jeff mentioned the Signature Place lawsuit. Unfortunately, the events leading up to that lawsuit have been outlandishly exaggerated in the years since. Here is the truth: After thorough hearings with extensive public comments from many village residents, the Rockville Centre Planning Board decided on the case in a 5-0 vote. While it was a hot-button issue at the time, at least the Planning Board heard comments from residents before reaching its decision.

I believe that, especially in times of financial crisis, the village needs to spend our money with care. Residents should ask questions of our village leadership about where our tax dollars are spent and why. I hope more village residents join Jeff and me and get a little chutzpah.

Mary Beth Kearns

Rockville Centre

Some do the right thing

To the Editor:

On Oct. 22 I walked to town to run weekly errands. My first stop was at Citibank to make a deposit for my business, the Complete Window, which consisted of several checks and cash. When I reached into my pocket, I didn’t have it. Obviously I had dropped it along the way. A feeling of dread came over me as I half walked and half ran, retracing my route. I questioned everyone I passed, but no one had seen anything.

Later in the day, I decided to go to work and start making a list of who to contact to reissue payment on the lost checks, figuring the cash was gone. When I saw the message light blinking on the answering machine, I got very hopeful. And, yes, there was a message from a Rockville Centre resident who told me that she had the deposit!

Every week we read of citizens who do not respect others and have no regard for people’s property. But there are people who do care about others, who are thoughtful, considerate, honest and who do the right thing. My gratitude and heartfelt thanks go out to Christina Musumeci for being one of them.

Randi Lipkin

Rockville Centre

‘Lifestyles of the drunk and disorderly’?

To the Editor:

Every resident of this village should read the Herald to learn, as I did, that the number and concentration of licensed bars in our commercial business district has caused Rockville Centre to become a major attraction for heavy drinkers. These people travel to our village from nearby communities as well as from Suffolk County and the boroughs of New York City. Some behave without respect for human decency, nor do they comply with the law. After filling their bladders with alcoholic beverages, these people walk outside, publicly expose themselves and urinate on our village’s sidewalks, streets and parking lots.

What is so unique about the bars in Rockville Centre that makes them so attractive to these low-lifes? I’m not proud that my hometown could now be the setting of a new reality TV show, “Lifestyles of the Drunk and Disorderly.” We deserve much better, and our Police Department, along with the state Liquor Authority, can close some bars, make some arrests, assess some fines and revoke some licenses. Perhaps photos of the offenders, caught in the act, could adorn the Herald’s crime page!

It’s important to our residents to live in accordance with traditional family values. We try to raise our children to be good citizens, with a sense of right and wrong, and motivate them for achievement and leadership. To reinforce these values, we proudly point to some of the virtues that make Rockville Centre special. Among them are its nationally renowned school system and the distinct honor of being home to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre, which, together with other synagogues and churches, illustrate the greatness of our community, which welcomes, rather than resists, religious and ethnic diversity.

What happened to this village when no one was looking? What has reduced us to being the place that is becoming better known for its numerous licensed drinking establishments than for the worthwhile assets that typify our outstanding community and its citizens? Are we to be credited for plying people with so much alcohol that they can’t control themselves, and publicly urinate?

I hope that all concerned parties will immediately reverse the course of this serious threat that could tarnish the glorious legacy of Rockville Centre, which has been preserved and enhanced throughout generations, and entrusted to us to keep pristine, for the next.

Richard A. Rosenberg

Rockville Centre

Clean up the village

To the Editor:

I would like to thank the USPS district manager for her form letter to the editor, “USPS provides professional service” (Oct. 27-Nov. 2), defending service at our local branch — except she might actually want to spend some time there. It’s nice to know that we can buy stamps at the supermarket and that if we have concerns we can contact the post office. I tried that; it didn’t work. The guy wouldn’t come to the phone. Plus, most people whom I’ve spoken with about the atrocious service go to the Baldwin post office, because it has its act together.

I’ve lived in Rockville Centre since 1955, and I’ve never seen it so bad. As a matter of fact, I’ve never seen this country so bad. There isn’t a day that goes by that I wonder where I’m going to go when I finally retire, and I have no idea. I don’t think it’s better anywhere, except maybe North Dakota.

The town’s infrastructure is falling apart. The downtown area is aesthetically unappealing and dirty. There is a move on to fill every inch of ground with a house no matter its size or design, and I guess the village has become the urination capital of Nassau County. All I read lately is how people are just peeing all over the place. That’s a strange phenomenon. Maybe we should be handing out antibiotics or something to help people with their prostates or urinary tract infections. Better yet, how ’bout we hire a urologist to moonlight catheterizing people when they come out of all the bars in this town? There are certainly enough of them.

I know my friend Tony Brunetta isn’t going to like this, and I don’t think it’s his fault, but there’s another issue, regarding adult basketball on Sunday mornings. Can someone tell me why I have to pay $7 every Sunday to play basketball when I pay 20 grand in property and school taxes combined, living on a 100-by-80 piece of property? That doesn’t include the Recreation Center card we have to buy each year. For that money, can’t a rim on one of the backboards be replaced, since it’s been broken for more than two years, or maybe buy some new basketballs?

None of this comes from Tony. This comes from higher up. He does a great job, and we should only hope he never retires. He is the heart and soul of the most well-run department in this village.

I really wish the village government would get its act together and clean this town up, now, with no excuses. The first thing I would do is contact the owner of every building in this village and give them a list of what they have to do to improve the look of their property, with one month to do it. I would tell them that they’re going to be billed to fix the walkways in front of their properties, and there is no negotiation. I’d also look into getting a project under way to use brick pavers for the downtown area. And one other thing: I’d hire more cops and buy more cars.

Burt Diamond

Rockville Centre