LETTERS: Obama's census, Able-Ride cuts and more

Obama's census pick didn't reflect heritage

I am a supporter of President Barack Obama, but I am disturbed by the fact that he gave only one answer on the census regarding his ethnicity: African-American .

As a person of mixed heritage myself, I feel he has disrespected his mother by not acknowledging his mixed heritage on the census form. His mother was white; therefore, he should have marked both "white" and "African-American." He is a product of both races and should be proud of that fact!

Ana D. Cruz

Valley Stream

Piping plovers have Lido locked up

I think I need a sanity check. Did I read that the repair of Lido Beach West might be delayed due to the fact that the piping plovers' lease of the dunes begins April 15?

How could this happen? No one even likes these creatures. All they do is dive-bomb anyone near them. Maybe someone in the Town of Hempstead could approach the chief plover and ask for an extension of the date. If the beach is not fixed due to these birds it will be outrageous. Do the plovers pay rent to Lido? Who is their lobbyist?

Tom Kelly

Rockville Centre

Cuts to Able-Ride are equitable

I'm disabled, and I strongly support the MTA's decision to curtail Able-Ride service to areas unserved by fixed-route service . As I understand it, Able-Ride will eliminate trips that have always been ineligible, but that previously had been allowed as a courtesy. Bravo, MTA! The decision will mean that the fares I pay will no longer subsidize ineligible service.

Paratransit was enacted to equalize bus transportation for the disabled, to provide the same access to bus service as is enjoyed by those who are not disabled. The principle is that any person, able or not, should expect to have equivalent public transportation.

"Same access" works like this: For areas where able folks have access to fixed-route bus service, paratransit provides bus service via jitneys for those disabled folks who cannot use a regular bus. "Same access" also works like this: For any area without fixed-route bus service, any person - able or disabled - traveling wholly within that "unserved" area does not have access to bus service.

Able-Ride should provide only the service that is mandated: jitney transportation for the disabled who are coming from or going to a location within 3/4-mile of a fixed bus route. That's actually superior to the service the able population receives. A disabled person living in an "unserved area" is still entitled to use Able-Ride if one end of their travel is within 3/4-mile of a bus route - not to mention that Able-Ride service is on-demand and curb-to-curb.

S.J. Sterling

Garden City