School armed guards, MTA overtime, Plainedge street names

Armed guards: False sense of security

America is armed to the teeth with pistols, shotguns and assault rifles, and yet we think the answer to all this senseless violence is more guns [“Tough choice on school guards,” Editorial, May 20]. Our children are being taught by adults that our Second Amendment applies as much today as it did some 240 years ago, when the single-shot rifle became the firearm of the day. Obviously, it does not apply the same way.

The only thing arming guards at our schools will give parents and students is a false sense of security and another costly line item on a school district’s annual budget. Removing weapons that can do the most harm is what our children need. Why can’t we do at least that much?

— Bob Bascelli, Seaford

In 1998, the NYPD created a program that allowed private businesses to hire NYPD officers part-time to provide security at places of business. They would do this while wearing their uniform. The pay at that time was $25 per hour. The business owners would employ these officers via an NYPD office, which would make sure the business and owners were on the up and up.

Why not do something like this on Long Island for school security? Imagine a bad actor who enters school property with the intent of doing violence and then observes a uniformed armed Suffolk County police officer on the property. My bet is that they turn around and go away.

— Peter Kelly, Medford

Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to list the schools that have armed guards “More LI district using armed guards at schools,” News, May 13]. A mentally deranged person now knows which schools do not have armed guards.

— Robert Cheeseman, Wantagh

Blaming gun laws for guns being stolen from cars is ironic [“Blame gun control laws for stolen arms,” Letters, May 17]. The problem is too many guns in the United States.

Bringing a gun with you to any given place and leaving it in your car makes no sense. Obviously, that is risky. Maybe make a new law that no firearms should be left in any vehicle.

The United States has more deaths by gun violence than any other country. So, the answer is obvious. Fewer guns means more lives saved.

— Margaret Maher, Merrick

MTA’s history tells us about future plans

It is excellent to point out the ridiculousness of Metropolitan Transportation Authority overtime, such as one employee averaging a 13-hour workday for the complete 365-day calendar year [“MTA overtime is off the rails,” Editorial, May 14].

The good news is that MTA chairman Janno Lieber has the likely answer. He will raise bridge and tunnel tolls (for those who pay them) and bus, subway and railroad fares (again, for those who pay them) along with the new congestion pricing toll. Nowhere, though, will we expect to see a reduction in fraud, waste and abuse, even with a new “overtime czar.”

How do we know this? Well, we have all seen this movie before. Unfortunately, many times over.

— Doug Heimowitz, Jericho

Fortunately, the temporary cricket stadium that went up in Eisenhower Park was not a project that the MTA was involved with [“Cricket stadium ready,” News, May 16]. Otherwise, it probably would have been years late and billions of dollars over budget. That’s based on pretty much any project the MTA does.

— Anthony Lipari, Kings Park

It’s so great to see that Nassau County leadership can get an entire stadium erected at Eisenhower Park in a matter of months, for it to be used for a mere 10 days, and for a sport that has a relatively minimal following here.

Meanwhile, my cracked, uneven, dilapidated street hasn’t been properly resurfaced in the more than two decades I’ve lived in my house.

— Tom Sena, Merrick

Yes, we have a street named for Whitman

An Expressway essay writer listed many streets in Plainedge that are named for poets [“It’s about time we played the LI name game,” Opinion, May 19]. She lamented that no street was named for Walt Whitman and that the Plainedge builder should have given the hamlet a “Whitman Avenue.”

Well, I’d like to point out that there is indeed a street named for the famous poet. Whitman Street is a very small block, but it does exist in Plainedge. I should know — I’ve lived on Whitman Street for almost 40 years.

We became accustomed to people being unable to find our house. Our street was often mistaken for the similar sounding Whittier Avenue, but a Google Maps search of the area nowadays shows my street clearly.

— Dianne Foster, Plainedge