Newsday letters to the editor for Sunday, January 27th, 2019.

New York State legislators should not make the property tax cap permanent [“Senate push: Make tax cap permanent,” News, Jan. 18]. Such a move will be divisive, pitting parents who favor school spending against singles and older residents, who might not; public schools against private; wealthy districts against less-wealthy; and communities against commerce.

Politicians voting on a permanent tax cap should study the California experience with Proposition 13 in 1978, which drastically reduced property tax revenue for public schools and resulted in less per-pupil spending and the slow strangulation of a once-fine educational system. It could happen here.

Brian P. Kelly, Rockville Centre

Editor’s note: The writer, now retired, was a public school teacher in New York City for 40 years.

Study ripple effects of a new train station

I hope that if the Yaphank train station is relocated, the track is elevated or goes under William Floyd Parkway [“The trains hardly anyone uses,” News, Jan. 21].

The current rail system over the parkway adds to an already massively congested section of roadway, with Sunrise and Montauk highway traffic lights within a few hundred feet of each other — not to mention all the traffic diverted from Montauk Highway to make left turns. Anyone who lives in that area knows what I mean, and this situation gets far worse during rush hours and on summer weekends.

If the station becomes a major hub, increased train traffic will substantially add to an already frustrating situation.

Thomas Tabacco, Shirley