Newsday letters to the editor for Friday, Jan. 5, 2018

St. Ursula Center neighbors’ concerns

The Blue Point Community Coalition is a group of concerned citizens formed in November regarding the potential land use at St. Ursula Center [“A sober look at ex-convent,” News, Dec. 21].

The land where the Seafield Center wishes to open its facility is zoned A1 residential. To use the land for a proposed 76-bed inpatient treatment center would require a zoning change for a commercial health facility. This permanent change would be irresponsible development.

We would be equally opposed to a hospital, bank, gas station or retail facility opening in the same area. If the permanent zone change is granted, all of these uses would be allowable.

A proposed 100-bed sober home also would require a zoning change, and my organization is likewise opposed.

There is a fundamental lack of understanding and misrepresentation of the community’s concerns. The community is being called ignorant and unaware, and accused of having a Not In My Backyard mentality. This is just not true.

The community holds three operating sober homes and hosts multiple meetings for addiction, including Heroin Anonymous, Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. Our hamlet is less than 1.8 square miles.

Why not use another location, like the John J. Foley building in Yaphank, which is zoned appropriately and could allow more beds to become operational in a shorter amount of time?

As a community, we understand there is an opioid crisis and we all have a burden to bear. We are more than willing to share our part within the ability of our hamlet, but we cannot ignore the traffic hazards, infrastructure issues and undue burden on our support services that irresponsible development would create.

Alexander Wellems, Blue Point

Raising tipped wage hurts restaurants

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s move to evaluate and possibly end New York’s special minimum wage for tipped employees put coal in the stockings of restaurant servers across the state [“Looking at tip credits,” News, Dec. 18].

The status quo allows many tipped employees to earn far more than the standard minimum wage. Eliminating the tipped minimum wage would reduce this valuable tip income, because businesses would be forced to embrace no-tipping business models or decrease job opportunities to compensate.

This is why a grassroots movement of tipped employees worked with Republicans and Democrats to keep the tipped minimum in Maine earlier this year. The same activist group, Restaurant Opportunities Center United, that’s now whispering in Cuomo’s ear, tried to eliminate it in Maine.

Cuomo should know better. New York recently passed a $15 minimum wage and a 50 percent increase in the tipped minimum wage, to $7.50 an hour from $5. My organization believes these increases contributed to New York losing more than 500 restaurants in 2016, a stark reversal of several years of steady increases.

Longtime eateries were forced to close their doors at least partially because of these wage hikes. Eliminating the tipped minimum wage entirely would only worsen the state’s restaurant trend.

Jordan Bruneau, Washington

Editor’s note: The writer is a senior research analyst at the Employment Policies Institute, a conservative research organization.

Farewell to a longtime broadcasting voice

Kudos to Charles Osgood [“Osgood’s goodbye,” News, Dec. 26]. He is almost 85, is fighting two forms of cancer, and has decided to leave his job.

If only our congressional representatives over 80 would do the same. I’m approaching 83, and I don’t have the energy I had 20 years ago.

Members of Congress who keep running for office should step out of the way and allow younger, more active people to take their place. Making the laws of this wonderful country should not be left to representatives who have one foot in the grave. Term limits for Congress!

Marian Milne, Oceanside

Rep. Zeldin also owns Republican tax plan

I recently received an email from Rep. Lee Zeldin, saying, “Dear Paul, Today, I voted NO on the final version of the GOP Tax Plan” [“Mixed reactions to new tax code,” Letters, Jan. 2].

While I appreciate that Zeldin opposed the provisions of the GOP tax reform bill that are particularly onerous for middle-class folks and especially Long Islanders, with all due respect, his opposition does not absolve him of responsibility.

This bill will line the pockets of wealthy political donors like Robert Mercer, at the expense of millions of hard-working Americans, and this was a major goal of the Republican Party. As a result, like it or not, they and Zeldin own it.

It was Zeldin’s GOP colleagues who forced this bill through Congress without a hearing to study the dire consequences. Republicans didn’t like the Affordable Care Act, but Democrats held hearings and incorporated some GOP amendments.

Paul Kalb, Riverhead