LI roads, drug networks and border children

LI counties have money to fix roads

It is hard to figure out where Newsday’s editorial board stands regarding taxes ["Roads of ruin," Editorial, May 16]. I know we Long Islanders pay way too much in taxes and see no end to tax increases. The board agrees that Nassau and Suffolk counties are overtaxed. It states, "In two of the wealthiest, most highly taxed counties in the nation . . ." and finishes with, "But right now what’s needed is more money . . ."

On the other hand, the editorial states that the Highway Trust Fund is being bankrupted. Well, most of us knew that for all these years a lot of the money put into the trust fund was used for non-highway expenses. The editorial confirms what we knew: "The rest goes to debt service and other state spending."

So, I ask a dopey question: Why should the gas tax be increased when the government is stealing the revenue for non-highway upkeep? I throw down the gauntlet: The counties already have the money — fix the roads within a year!

John Wolf, Levittown

A big problem with the roads is not just potholes. Take a southbound drive on Merrick Avenue in Merrick from the Southern State Parkway to Sunrise Highway. Work was done that required opening part of the road. I don’t know which company did the permanent repaving job, but it certainly is bumpier than the old road. When I drive there, I try to keep all four wheels on the old part of the road. Who oversees this work?

Are there government inspectors? When I was a New York City master plumber, I had to get street-opening permits to work on water service lines. If I left a street in the condition that Merrick Avenue is in, the city would not grant me any more permits.

Mitch Zyman, Merrick

Stopping drug networks a priority

The root of opioid overdoses is a vastly complicated problem ["Help needed for opioid overdoses," Editorial, May 14]. It includes addiction, mental health, drug rehabilitation, economics, law enforcement and many other issues in between. My son Alex died from a fentanyl-heroin overdose on April 8, 2018.

Sure, we have all been terribly distracted by COVID-19, but throughout the pandemic the fentanyl-heroin trafficking coming from China and Mexico continued to boom and make lots of money for lots of people. Even during the pandemic lockdown, these deadly drugs still managed to make it safely across our borders, whether by land, sea or air, causing the deaths of many Long Islanders.

The editorial states, "Law enforcement must continue trying to disrupt distribution networks . . ." They need to try a lot harder.

Carole Trottere, Old Field

The article "Schumer asks for aid to fight drug abuse surge" [News, May 7] notes the tragic rise of overdose deaths across Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) wants the counties to ask the federal government for community mental health block grants, which work directly with community agencies, to which $1.5 billion has been allocated.

An easier solution might be for Schumer to ask the governor to use some of the $2 billion dollars banked from the federal stimulus allocated to New York State that has been earmarked for the state’s undocumented immigrants who did not qualify for unemployment in the federal stimulus.

The systemic and rising mental health issues and skyrocketing overdose deaths should be priorities.

Andrew Siegel, Farmingdale

Welcoming these kids not a welcome idea

As Long Islanders flee the region, driven away by exorbitant property taxes, specifically school taxes, Theo Liebmann proposes that his fellow Long Islanders provide "humanitarian aid" to unaccompanied minors who present themselves at our southern border, knowing the Biden administration will welcome them ["Welcome for these children?," Opinion, May 16].

Although it may seem incredulous, Liebmann assures us that unaccompanied minors have no real impact on our communities: no impact on health care systems, legal systems or even welfare systems, with one exception, Long Island schools. Indeed, the cost of educating an English as a Second Language student is more expensive than the cost of educating a native-born student, but Liebmann has the solution. He proposes that districts advocate for state and national funding, as if local homeowners don’t already pay state and national taxes besides school taxes.

With a million New York City jobs lost the past year, Liebmann suggests we attack the "root causes" of illegal immigration by encouraging American firms to provide jobs for workers in Central America. His "root cause" solution would mean fewer jobs for New Yorkers.

With such a virtuous platform, Liebmann may consider running for a political office. "America Last" would be an appropriate slogan.

Laurann Pandelakis, Manhasset