Newsday letters to the editor for Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Traffic cams foster panic, indecision

I need to take a shot at expressing why red-light cameras, and the increased fines that County Executive Laura Curran has proposed, are wrong for Nassau County [“Fees increase by $3M in Curran plan,” News, April 3].

Before the installation of red-light cameras, I based decisions about whether to brake or accelerate at intersections on multiple factors, all related to my safety and that of other drivers. Never did my diligence result in a collision or even a near miss.

Now, as I approach an intersection with a green light, I nervously take my foot off the gas and cover the brake in anticipation of the light turning yellow. When it does, I often either panic and jam on my brakes, putting other drivers in danger, or I inadvertently run a red light to avoid a rear-end collision.

I’ve received three or four tickets since the cameras were installed. For working-class residents like me, every additional dollar taken away by this system is a dollar I cannot spend at one of the restaurants, retailers or other Nassau County businesses that depend on my patronage.

I urge the county executive to find another way to balance the budget.

Tom Montalbano, Syosset

Taylor Law serves a critical purpose

E.J. McMahon’s letter about the cost of public schools in New York blames the increased cost of personnel [“Behind the rising cost of LI’s public schools,” April 6].

Education is a service industry, and the majority of the costs are for personnel by the nature of the service: people helping people.

As research director of the Empire Center for Public Policy, a fiscally conservative think tank, McMahon bemoans the Triborough Amendment to the state Taylor Law, which was passed in 1967.

The amendment doesn’t guarantee perpetual annual step increases. The salary steps only increase for teachers who are still working their way toward maximum pay. The amendment extends conditions previously agreed to until a new contract is hammered out. The most experienced employees don’t get any increases; their pay stays frozen until there is a new contract.

The reason a current contract remains in force is that the Taylor Law forbids strikes by public employees. The penalty for striking is an additional day of pay for each day of a strike — and the law turns this penalty paid by the strikers over to the school district.

Without this law, there would be an incentive for a school district to precipitate a strike, withdraw previously agreed-upon terms, and reap the benefit of the fines.

Paul Pepe, Massapequa

Editor’s note: The writer, now retired, taught school for 40 years.

Bar carts offered a human connection

The railroad commute home is a familiar travail. When you miss the train, you can find yourself waiting a good long time for the next one.

In that time, it was pleasing to see a person behind one of the rolling bar carts with plastic cups, ice, cans of beer and soda, and tiny bottles of liquor [“Last call,” News, March 27]. Though I barely frequented them, I liked having those carts around.

As a service known for coming up short, the Long Island Rail Road eliminated the one little thing that provided some liveliness. Today, look around and you will find the masses focused on digital screens. Even seeing someone reading newspapers or books has become the exception.

The quick conversation with the platform bartender, even if just to say a quick hello, provided a rare human touch. Another aspect of New York has been relegated to history, joining phone booths.

Sean Strockyj, New Hyde Park

Contrasting epilogues in stories of slain cops

I read with interest that the NYPD is dedicating a conference room and plaque in honor of Dets. Robert Parker and Patrick H. Rafferty [“NYPD memorializes 2 slain detectives,” News, April 3].

Both were mortally wounded while pursuing a suspect on Sept. 10, 2004. As Manhattan Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said during the dedication, “They will not be forgotten.”

This is a far cry from the New York State Parole Board so unceremoniously granting parole for Herman Bell, who was convicted of killing Officers Joseph Piagentini and Waverly Jones of the NYPD in 1971, and Sgt. John Young in San Francisco the same year.

These actions always will be an abomination that should not be forgotten.

Thankfully, through the efforts of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, which got a restraining order, and also the widow of Officer Piagentini, a state court has for now stopped the release of this convicted cop killer.

Bill Viggiano,Williston Park

Rider should have worn a helmet

The April 6 edition of Newsday carried a picture of a young man enjoying his bicycle [“Poppin’ a wheelie,” News].

I’m distressed that he is not wearing a helmet. This should not be encouraged.

Patricia Tweedy, Floral Park