Just Sayin': Our beach needs cellphone access
The intersection of NY Route 25A and Echo Avenue on the North Shore Rail Trail in the Town of Brookhaven that a reader suggested in a July 23 letter needs a guard rail. An incorrect photo appeared in some early versions on July 23. Credit: Peter A. Rogers
Our beach needs cellphone access
As a regular at Robert Moses State Park Fields 4 and 5, I often wonder what to do in case of an emergency. Most of the time, I and others have no cellphone service, regardless of the carrier. Adding one or two garbage receptacles would be nice, too. I've found that most Florida beaches see fit to have phone service available in addition to garbage receptacles and recycling containers -- on both the state's east and west coasts. It also would be good to have long rubber mat extensions over the sand to make it easier for all to walk up from the beach from the shoreline, where the sand is more compact and easier to walk on. (Florida has mats on some beaches.)
Fred Eavarone, Huntington Station
It isn't easy finding good child care
As a parent of two, I have been doing the child care dance for more than 10 years. My spouse and I both work, and my spouse works non-traditional hours. We’ve struggled to find quality care in our neighborhood that is accessible and affordable since becoming parents.
For our first child, we toured about 10 different programs and were put on waiting lists for all except the in-home center we chose. The cost was manageable, but we needed to move our son at age 3 to a different center, which meant touring all over again and getting back on wait lists. The cost had more than doubled when we finally gained entry to his preschool.
With our second child, we quickly found a program, but the cost ($1,700 a month) is more than our rent. Our child care costs make up a good portion of our take-home pay. While our daughter is old enough to get into a free 3-K center in New York City, we can’t go anywhere that doesn’t offer extended day care and year-round care. And all the 3-K spaces near us are already full.
It shouldn’t be this hard to find accessible, affordable, high-quality child care.
Kara Volkmann, Astoria
Our street is still on repaving list
My husband and I and some neighbors have been calling the Brookhaven Highway Department for years regarding potholes (more like craters) as you enter our cul-de-sac. Occasionally, they are filled, only to break open a week or two later. We've been promised the street will be repaved, which it desperately needs, and hasn't been done since homes were built here some 35 years ago. "Your street is on the list," they tell me. We need it done now, before someone's car is seriously damaged. Considering the taxes we pay, this is a disgrace, and I'm confident we're not alone on this.
Cathy Cembrale, Centereach
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