Thursday, October 1, 2026
New fields are
a win-win
To the Editor:
Congratulations to Mayor Francis Murray, the village Board of Trustees and Molloy College for their joint announcement to add to, and upgrade, the village’s athletic facilities.
It is clearly a win-win for Molloy, which has been struggling for the past five years or so to find an off-campus location for its baseball and other athletic programs, and for the village, which has been struggling as well to meet the ever-increasing demand for playing fields while feeling the impact of the steady depletion of resources necessary to properly operate and maintain existing fields.
This public/private partnership will effectively address the needs of both the college and the village, producing state-of-the-art athletic facilities to serve the student athletes and the residents of Rockville Centre.
Best wishes for much success.
Bud Cosgrove
Rockville Centre
What’s wrong with our post office?
To the Editor:
Can someone tell me what’s wrong with the post office in Rockville Centre?
A parcel was mailed to me via Amazon.com and scanned into the post office on Feb. 1. Today is Feb. 6, and the parcel has not yet been delivered. A second parcel via Amazon, scanned in on Feb. 4, seems to be following the same path.
I’ve lived in seven postal zones over the course of my life, and Rockville Centre is by far the worst. This is true not only of the delivery service — I’ve had several problems in the past as well as the current ones — but also of the post office itself, where the service is terrible. When I have business to do in the post office, I go to Baldwin, where the service is far superior.
It’s no wonder why the Postal Service is in trouble. If Rockville Centre is any example of most offices in the U.S., I would suggest that UPS or FedEx handle postal business.
Ray Gilliam
Rockville Centre
Senators want
double track
To the Editor:
As New York state senators, we are calling on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to accelerate its proposed double track project, which would help create jobs, promote economic development and improve LIRR service for thousands of commuters.
The double track project would bring tremendous benefits –– jobs for residents, revenue for local businesses and better service for LIRR commuters. It’s also a critical component of the proposed Republic/Route 110 Corridor project, which would help create additional jobs and economic development for Long Island. The MTA should do whatever it can to accelerate this project and make it a reality.
The additional section of double track installation on the LIRR’s Ronkonkoma Line has been talked about for years, and the time for action is now. Expansion of the second track is critically important for our commuters, will help facilitate advancing the newly proposed Ronkokoma Hub project and the Republic Airport Train/Bus station project and help spur economic development on the Island.
The impact of a second track between Ronkonkoma and Farmingdale will provide an important economic boost for our districts. In combination with our efforts with the Ronkonkoma Hub Project, this would bring much-needed revitalization to our community.
The main line between Farmingdale and Ronkonkoma, which spans 17.9 miles, currently has 5.3 miles of double track, including at most stations. Several years ago, the MTA proposed adding a double track to the remaining 12.6 miles of single, electrified track along the main line. Adding this new double track would greatly benefit commuters on the Ronkonkoma line by improving service reliability, increasing on-time performance and enabling faster recovery following service disruptions. The Ronkonkoma line is one of the LIRR’s most crowded lines, with the highest number of customers per train on peak trains, reverse-peak trains and weekends.
In addition to the jobs and economic activity generated by the project itself, the double track is also a critical component of other current and proposed transit-oriented developments along the line, which would help promote additional economic development and activity. The double track project is also critically important to other transit-oriented developments, such as Wyandanch Rising and the Ronkonkoma Hub.
In a recent Newsday interview, MTA Chairman Joe Lhota was quoted as saying the double track project is the “single most important thing” that can be done to improve LIRR service. We agree.
Sen. Charles Fuschillo Jr.
Merrick
Sen. Owen Johnson
Babylon
Sen. Lee Zeldin
Shirley
