Rockville Centre Letters to the Editor March 18, 2010

Seniors should get special parking rates

To the Editor:

I'd like to bring this matter to the attention of my fellow senior citizens in Rockville Centre. We have to pay $308 for village -issued night and day parking stickers. This is unfair because a majority of us are on fixed incomes, and many of us have taken part-time jobs to supplement our incomes. In New York City and on the Long Island Rail Road, there are special senior citizen rates. Why, I ask, can this not apply to Rockville Centre? We senior citizens have to unite and fight this outrageous fee.

I have called Mayor Mary Bossart and have never received a call back. I beseech you all to call the mayor (673-9300) and fight for a lower fee. Even if you aren't a senior citizen, one day you will be, and if you don't fight now, you will have to pay this overpriced fee for stickers. In addition, we still have to pay the parking meters, so now we have to park a distance away and look for a no-meter zone.

Phyllis Rosen

Rockville Centre

An idea for a peaceful commute

To the Editor:

During a time when the MTA and Long Island Rail Road are trying to cut costs and maintain a balanced budget, I strongly believe that the LIRR should consider a pilot program that costs next to nothing and will make the daily commute for thousands of LIRR passengers much more enjoyable.

On most mornings, I take the 7:35 a.m. train from Rockville Centre to Penn Station. Customers who travel early in the morning are content to read their newspapers and drink their coffee in peace. Usually you don't encounter a loud passenger on his/her cell phone at this time.

Regrettably, I recently had the misfortune of forgetting my iPod and sitting across from a woman who spent the entire 35-minute ride having a loud conversation with a friend on her cell phone. In her defense, I don't think she was a regular morning passenger, because while most riders showed their monthly pass, she handed in a daily ticket.