Letters of the year

Reckless driving

Aug. 1: This is becoming an all-too-familiar occurrence. Vehicles speeding on almost all streets and highways, trying to jump in front of so many vehicles. Weaving between lanes, sometimes even passing on the shoulder, and crashes. The common denominators? Lack of enforcement and disrespect for traffic laws. We need more state troopers on our parkways.

— Charles F. Gyss, Dix Hills

Aug. 1: It was sad, depressing and discouraging to read about the deaths of innocents caused by reckless and/or DUI drivers. It appears that our destinies are in the hands of either reckless gun owners or reckless drivers. We have allowed the two to become epidemics.

— Sharada Jayagopal, East Williston

Oct. 7: The majority of fatal accidents are caused by driving under the influence, driving while distracted or reckless driving. Those who call for rumble strips, etc. to alert inattentive drivers are missing the point. These drivers aren’t going to be affected by changes to our roadways because they’ve already adopted the wrong approach to driving or have made the fateful decision to drive impaired. With ride-share services only a click or phone call away, there is no more excuse for our many road tragedies.

— Matthew Mariano, Long Beach

Proud Boys march

Dec. 5: Seeing the Proud Boys moving past the former home of South Nassau Communities Hospital’s WTC Family Center made me cringe. Observing the Proud Boys in the heart of Rockville Centre, I couldn’t help but wonder, "How could this happen here?" Then, I remembered the voices of friends who told me they said the same thing before their respective democracies fell to dictatorship.

— Laurie Nadel, Long Beach

Dec. 5: Whatever happened to the First Amendment right to free assembly? You do not have to agree with them, but peaceful assembly should be encouraged in a democracy.

— Roy Sperrazza, Northport

Dec. 5

It is significant to point out that left-leaning groups, unlike the Proud Boys, do not wear T-shirts saying "Camp Auschwitz" or other antisemitic slogans.

— Herb Leibow, Melville

COVID-19, vaccine, stimulus relief, the waits

Jan. 22: You think the Democrats will turn us into socialists? Socialism is embedded into our society. If you served in the military and used the Department of Veterans Affairs, that’s socialism. Received a stimulus check, unemployment or food assistance? Socialism. So are Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. If you want nothing to do with socialism, opt out.

— Mark Stysiack, Ridge

Feb. 3: So many people are angry and outraged about how slowly vaccinations are being distributed and spending hours online trying to get an appointment. Why the panic? I’m 71 and will wait until the vaccine becomes more available, which I’m sure will happen in the months ahead. The rolling out of this vaccine to millions across the country and the world is a monumental undertaking. There are bound to be delays, mistakes and misguided decisions. Have patience.

— Jeanne Jorgensen, Merrick

Feb. 14: My wife had a Jan. 30 vaccine appointment at Jones Beach. I could not get one until Feb. 11. My wife’s was postponed until Feb. 2 because of cold weather, then again to Feb. 7 and reassigned to Stony Brook. In what universe does it make sense to make couples 75 and older make two trips on different days to sit on two lines for the same 30-second shot?

— Bruce Berman, East Northport

May 16: The past year, my four children have played in every single room of my house and outside. With the vaccine, full economic reopening is around the corner. A reopening will let us get back to normal. After a year of stress and constant work, that sounds pretty great to me. My family will spend time at camp and on our beaches, exactly the return to normal we’ve been waiting for.

— Maureen Jimenez, Glen Cove

July 23: U.S. citizens have the right to decline COVID vaccinations even though it endangers their health and others. But while the right not to be vaccinated stands, New York State has the authority to protect the health of others.

— Dr. Steven Jonas, E. Setauket

School bus cams

March 30: An average of 17,000 U.S. children under the age of 17 visit emergency rooms for school-bus-related injuries yearly. An average of 128 school-related transportation fatalities occur yearly, and 98 school-age pedestrians were killed from 2007 to 2016 in school-transportation-related crashes. If cameras on school buses prevent drivers from passing and save even one life, they are worth it.

— John Ward, Centereach

Nov. 21: I am a school bus driver who transports children with special needs. "Stop" means stop, whether the sign is attached to a bus, a crossing guard is holding a stop sign, or a stop sign is in front of you on a corner. Having cameras on school buses is a fantastic idea. Two or three cars pass my bus every week, and their drivers love to speed. I wish my bus had a camera.

— Diana Carannante, E. Meadow

Wind and energy

July 26: After the dreadful performance of PSEG Long Island under LIPA’s supervision during Tropical Storm Isaias last year, we have as much trust in these organizations as there was available electricity during that storm.

— Susan Haines, Huntington STA.

Sept. 14: Who would have expected so much devastation on Long Island from the remnants of Hurricane Ida, which first made landfall over Louisiana? I was prepared a week earlier when Tropical Storm Henri took aim at Long Island but was shocked when I woke up to reports of unprecedented flooding from remnants of Ida. Like Superstorm Sandy, this is another wake-up call.

— Todd Levy, Dix Hills

Dec. 2: Solar power should be encouraged, but those who choose solar are connected to the grid, and they need to help pay for its maintenance.

— Dave Pedersen, Nesconset

Dec. 2: To replace all the energy that a typical home or business receives from the gas distribution system and fuel-oil deliveries, the capacity of their electric services would have to at least double. The electric distribution system would have to be redesigned and rebuilt. Shutting all the fossil fuel generating plants means a new transmission system would have to be designed and built.

When the cost of all this is added into the electric rate base, only millionaires will be able to pay their electric bills.

— Charles Berry, Merrick

Mail service

July 30: As a Long Island letter carrier for 32 years and now retired, I am appalled at the general disarray the post office is in. When I talk to former co-workers, I hear of mail being left behind for days, routes not delivered, forced overtime and a general disregard for service guidelines. It is time to put the service back into the post office.

— Brian Bies, East Meadow

July 30: I have worked 33 years with the post office. Everything nowadays is automated, and this is a major problem. It slows the speed that mail moves. Wrong barcodes are applied on mail at an alarming rate. Machines constantly send packages addressed correctly to wrong installations. We are top-heavy in management and rely too much on useless data.

— Lawrence Levine, Westbury

Oct. 13: Instead of slowing first-class mail service and raising the cost of stamps, reduce mail delivery to residential customers to three days a week. We don’t need Saturday deliveries. Many receive bills electronically and do not rely on mail as much as in the past.

— Marguerite Connell, Wantagh

Barney the bull

July 26: We have the famous Mastic bull hiding somewhere in plain sight. He was on the slaughter list and gave everyone the horns on the way out. He knew his days were numbered and made a fast getaway, a bull in the ’hood story. So Mastic is finally on the map, not for crime, not for some horror story, but for a bull with a mark on his head, making his way through thepotholed streets.

He’ll go down in history. Just think:We’ll now have a Bull Run Day, when residents can mark their calendars tohonoring the Mastic bull on the lam.

— Frank Knight, Mastic

July 26: I’ve been out day and night searching for Barney the bull the bull, with headlamps, thermal imaging devices, tranquilizers and even a net gun. The support Barney has received from the community has been overwhelming, and almost everyone keeps askingpeople ask what theyhwohow they can do to help rescue efforts. My answer: Stop eating animals.

— John Di Leonardo, Malverne

Gabby Petito

Oct. 7: The tragedy of Gabrielle Petito and Brian Laundrie is haunting me. Two young people being thrown together for 24 hours every day is a powder keg.

They were young, and apparently had not matured or learned about commitment and compromise.

Even most newly married couples don’t spend 24 hours together every day. They work, raise children, socialize with others, and they don’t always get along.

The unbroken proximity fed the frustration and appears to have led to violence.

— Irma Gurman, Smithtown

Unemployment line

May 4: It is absolutely appalling to me that former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota, former Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke and former Suffolk anti-corruption unit chief Christopher McPartland could be so corrupt for so many years without being exposed. The cover-ups and corruption It reads like a story from a Third World dictatorship and is beyond comprehension for Suffolk County. I always wondered why Steve Levy had decideddidn’t notrun for a third term as Suffolk County executive. After learning of their alleged vendetta against him, we know.

— Al Lane, Yaphank

May 31: A reader conflates dating behaviors with inappropriate workplace behavior. By state law, these encounters are strictly prohibited in the workplace, as outlined by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s own sexual harassment policy. These were not women looking for a date. They were employees in the workplace allegedly made to feel uncomfortable by their boss, arguably the most powerful person in New York State. The burden is on the perpetrator of the behavior, not on the person who is forced to endure the harassment.

— Keith Scott, Centerport

May 31: We need to slow down, take a deep breath, and let the system take its course with the allegations surroundingaround ov. Andrew M. Cuomothe governor. I’  m not defending the governorhim, howeverbut it is not a well-kept secret that he is a demanding boss, perhaps a bully, to those around him, including his cabinet.

— James P. Kelly, Huntington

CRT, teachers, cams

June 4: I was appalled by parents before the Smithtown School District board. Not only do they not understand the legal imperatives of educating our children about actual American history, warts and all, their objections to learning about racial inequality defies reality and is quite frightening. Our children must learn and accept the truth and fact.

— Judith Rosen Lipner, Dix Hills

June 30: I am not a racist. I’m fed up with hearing that because I’m white I’m somehow a racist. I’m not a racist if I say all lives matter. I’m not a racist if: I say that critical race theory is racist and teaches our children to see the color of one’s skin and not the character of one’s person; I call out the "woke" generation and say they are racist for only seeing color and not humanity; I admit that we have racist problems in our country that affect Blacks, whites, Latinos and Asians; I believe there should be standards to enter prestigious schools. And I’m not racist if I ask those who see only our warts that if they think a better country is out there, go!

— Eileen Fleischman, Plainview

July 4: I work in health care, which has numerous updates, policy changes and improvements. Never are we compensated with more money for doing what we were trained to do. So Nassau County patrol officers claim they must be paid to adapt to new job standards?

— Vicki Appel, Massapequa Park

July 12: I cannot believe a reader complained that teachers’ salaries are too high. Whether or not you agree with extra pay for Nassau County police officers wearing bodycams, conflating that issue with educators’ salaries is absurd.

— David Shaw, Valley Stream

July 12: Try being in a classroom to see challenges educators faced this past year, and the toll it took on their personal and professional lives. Teachers were bunched together in one room to review work, eat lunch, etc. They earn every penny.

— Camille Morselli, Islip Terrace

Nov. 9: A reader complained that teachers earning $100,000 are underpaid compared with Nassau County police officers who make $104,000. The police put their lives on the line every day, and they do not get time off for spring or winter breaks plus the whole summer. If I were a teacher, I would be happy to earn this salary.

— George T. DeSpirito, Williston Park

Legalizing marijuana

June 4: For those of us who delight in breathing fresh, clean air after the pandemic, a new air pollutant has emerged: marijuana. I am not opposed to the state legalizing medical marijuana. But, just as like cigarette smoking and secondhand smoke, it can affect the lungs of nonsmokers, the smell of marijuana has now been drifting in the air, and it’s getting harder to stay upwind of it. I applaud Nassau County lawmakers who voted to ban marijuana use on county property on county property.

— Vivienne Lenk, Little Neck

Dec. 1: So liquor stores and beer distributors are OK, but not pot dispensaries? So much for extra tax revenue.

— Chris Carman, Amityville