Letters to the Rockville Centre Herald Editor (Feb. 17-23)

RVC mayor’s fight will do nothing

To the Editor:

Re last week’s article “RVC mayor to fight Hochul’s zoning plan”: Long Island’s related problems of taxation and affordable housing are frequently referred to as a “crisis,” or synonyms thereof. Thus, the correct response to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s makeshift proposal is, “I have a better plan!”

Sadly, neither Mayor Francis Murray, County Executive Bruce Blakeman nor the gubernatorial candidates have anything positive to offer except to say “fight.” Federal funds, beyond short term/5 percent payment in lieu of taxes, may be available, but not without a viable plan. These problems are greater than Rockville Centre, but we are responsible for our patch and for our part in the multi-party cooperation necessary for all to succeed.

Decades of “fight” have gotten us to “crisis.” More sophisticated skills are needed. Opportunities exist: There have been reports that cooperation seems to have advanced Hempstead’s Carman Place projects; the Herald’s sensible Jerry Kremer suggests a look at Mitchel Field; in Rockville Centre, the 50 Sunrise deal is not completed. Given the recent disfavor for office work, that project may warrant reconsideration. Blakeman could put a moratorium on commercial property deals pending a study to determine which parcels are suitable for residential development. Hochul is making an offer, a move. Local leaders need to make a better one.

Brian Kelly, Rockville Centre

Where’s the outrage?

To the Editor:

Governance is hard. Saying no is easy. That’s why it’s no surprise that Mayor Francis Murray and Trustee Michael Sepe stomped their feet like petulant 5-year-olds and said no to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposal to increase the number of multi-family houses in New York state.

Hochul’s proposal attempts to find a way to keep young people living in New York, because many are fleeing due to the high cost of living here. Is it a perfect proposal? No. But it attempts to address a serious issue. Good for the governor.

The reasoned, rational, response by our local elected officials would be, “We disagree with Governor Hochul’s proposal, but it attempts to address a serious issue. We look forward to working with the governor to try to resolve the issue in a different fashion.”

This would require, however, that our trustee and mayor have ideas on how to keep young people from being priced out of New York/Nassau County/Rockville Centre. What is clear is that our trustee and mayor have no ideas on how to address the issue. If they did, they would have presented them. Instead, they gave a half-assed presentation on transit-based development, at the end of which they said only, “I don’t like it.”

Where are the alternative ideas? Where is the leadership necessary to take Rockville Centre into the future? It is clearly lacking.

And by the way, the self-same trustees and mayor who want to preserve the “character” of the village allowed 220 Hempstead Ave. to be subdivided into five lots, and approved Avalon building two large apartment complexes on the west side of town. I think the only thing they want to preserve is developers making lots of money here in the village.

Tell us your ideas, Mr. Mayor and Trustee Sepe. We’re waiting to hear them.

Marc Wieman, Rockville Centre