Fire hydrants and democracy
A voter casts her ballot in 2021 at the West Hempstead Public Library in West Hempstead. Credit: /Howard Schnapp
It’s time we had a fire hydrant system
As one of the 56 homeowners affected in Oak Beach, I am perplexed as to why the Town of Babylon and Suffolk County Water Authority would not put in a fire hydrant system to protect the residents [“ ‘I’d like to see something for my money,’ ” Our Towns, Sept. 25].
When we all had our own wells, I could see why the government wouldn’t lend a hand. But as Suffolk County and the town mandated that we put in and pay for a municipal water system, it would have been smart to install a hydrant system in this community.
I approached the town on this issue and was told that the local Babylon Village Fire Department, which the town contracts with for fire protection for the barrier beach communities, didn’t deem a hydrant necessary and that it would slow down the process of installing the system. Really? This is ongoing since at least 2016.
And why is the Babylon Fire Department making decisions that should be made by the Town of Babylon? The town and county couldn’t implement a water system, so we still have no hydrant system. Shame on our governments for not protecting their taxpayers.
— Thomas Melia, Oak Beach
The writer is a retired firefighter.
Voting is affected by spending, system
The reader who claims that trusting people to decide elections is called democracy neglects to realize that when people vote, their decision is too often affected by the enormous amount of money spent on elections by corporations [“Trump shouldn’t be barred from ballot,” Letters, Sept. 21].
If the reader is truly interested in preserving democracy, he should speak out against the wrongly decided Supreme Court decision that ruled corporations have the same rights as citizens to contribute money to elections.
He might also speak out against the Electoral College system that overlooks the concept of the most votes determining the winners of presidential elections.
— Leo Montagna, Calverton
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