Letters to the editor: Don’t cross the center line

Southold

Don’t cross the center line

Memorial Day is here again. That means more cars and traffic, and more walkers, runners and bicyclists on busier roadways.

It also brings back to mind what I feel is an increasing danger on the roads: drivers crossing the double yellow line.

It seems that when a car or truck is making a right turn, the vehicle behind it increasingly feels the need to swerve around, cross the center line and pass the turning vehicle. I’ve seen so many close calls with oncoming traffic — or perhaps worse, an unseen walker or bicyclist crossing the street.

I fear this could be the next tragic headline from the North Fork. And for what? To save five to 10 seconds? I’ve timed it, and that is how long it takes to patiently let the vehicle in front of you complete its right turn.

To be fair, I’ve seen this happen with Southold police and town vehicles as well. I urge all of us to share the road and be patient so everyone can enjoy another amazing North Fork summer.

Doug Gerowski

Southold

Chicken farm fracas

Why has the Southold Town Planning Board designated the proposed 6,000-chicken egg farm as a Type II project?

Under the State Environmental Quality Review Act, Type II actions are those determined not to have a significant adverse environmental impact and therefore do not require further environmental review. But Southold’s protections for farming should not automatically exempt every project from environmental review.

This proposal involves thousands of chickens, significant manure, runoff concerns near Jockey Creek, truck traffic, odor and proximity to neighboring homes. Why the Type II designation? Why avoid further environmental review? Why did the board conclude the project fits that category?

There is also the issue of segmentation — reviewing only part of a project instead of the project as a whole. The board has described its review as focused on the siting of a barn, but residents see the proposal as a 6,000-chicken egg-producing agribusiness.

The people of Southold should speak clearly on this issue. Write to the Planning Board, the Town Board and local newspapers. This project deserves a full and serious review.

John Reichert

Mattituck

Is this a coincidence?

The release of last week’s Associated Press article regarding the use of Colonial muskets, just seven weeks before the nation’s 250th anniversary, should raise eyebrows.

Americans across the country will be attending Semiquincentennial events, many of which feature Revolutionary War re-enactors. The AP’s questioning of whether these muskets should fall under gun-control laws raises a fair question about timing, especially as communities prepare for celebrations and reenactments.

Federal law preserves certain rights for historians and collectors by exempting antique muskets from many gun-control measures, though some states, including New York, place restrictions on them.

Americans will celebrate the Semiquincentennial in many different ways. Is it a coincidence that this issue is being raised now? Or is it another example of politics casting a shadow over what should be a joyful celebration of American history?

Edward Marlatt

Cutchogue

Restore the loyal opposition

George Washington, in his Farewell Address, warned about political parties.

“The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to party dissension,” he wrote, “which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism.”

We are just about there, if not already.

There used to be a “loyal opposition” — those who sought a different way to reach the same result and brought that idea to the people. Both parties, at different times, have found themselves in that position. Yet I have never observed such rancor or such disregard for the will of the people as I have over the past 18 years or so.

The extremes of the left and the right now dominate. There is little moderation or compromise. Too often, the tone from either side is revengeful, hurtful and antagonistic.

If we are “to form a more perfect union,” this type of “frightful despotism” has got to stop. We must return to what Abraham Lincoln called binding up the nation’s wounds “with malice toward none; with charity for all.”

We must also remember President John F. Kennedy’s charge to “ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.”

These were leaders. Maybe three of the greatest we have ever had.

We do not need the snarky extremes of each party and their jealousies. We need moderates and compromisers. I just do not know, at this point, who they are.

But I seek them.

Bob Bittner

Riverhead

Public safety and accountability

A petition was recently submitted to the Riverhead Town Clerk by people who live or work in Riverhead in support of OLA’s proposed public safety law.

The signers represent a cross-section of our community: a local coffee shop employee, an attorney, a retired teacher, an occupational therapist, a business owner, a retired federal employee and a young mother, among others.

They signed because they have concerns about public safety in Riverhead. They want to know that Riverhead police officers are well informed when federal agents are investigating gang activity, drug activity, sex trafficking or other serious crimes in town.

Public safety laws are meant to protect everyone in Riverhead, including police officers. Safety is compromised when federal agents come to Riverhead without communication or accountability with the Riverhead Police Department.

Riverhead Town Board members have an obligation to all residents and should agree to hold a work session on the proposed public safety law.

Kerry Flanagan

Riverhead

Dangerous traffic

I have lived in Riverhead for 30 years and have made the daily commute east to Bridgehampton for just as long. What I witnessed on Flanders Road this week crossed a line from inconvenience into genuine public danger.

I leave my home at 5 a.m. simply to get ahead of the gridlock. This week, I observed drivers converting eastbound turning lanes into an additional travel lane, pulling onto the road’s shoulder to create yet a third lane and — most alarmingly — driving east in the westbound lane to jump ahead of stopped traffic.

It is only a matter of time before someone is killed. The worst of this occurs in Flanders west of the Big Duck.

What is conspicuously absent during these dangerous morning hours is any visible law enforcement presence. No traffic control officers. No police patrol. No deterrent of any kind. Drivers appear to know this, and they behave accordingly.

We need traffic enforcement personnel deployed during peak morning hours. We need clearly marked lanes with appropriate signage. We need help before a preventable tragedy occurs.

The commuters of eastern Long Island deserve safe roads. I urge our community and our leadership to act now.

Liz Bertsch