Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, August 13, 2021
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ON THE RIGHT
Question for pols: Is LIRR only for the rich?
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emo: To Nassau County Elected Officials A recent New York Times Sunday editorial, “Is This Railroad for the Rich?” insinuated that the LIRR is maintained and operated to cater to wealthy commuters from gated communities like Garden City. And I’m curious what all of you make of it. But first, a little background. My guess is the editorial was a reaction to criticism of The Times editorial writer Mara Gay’s comments about her “ghastly” Memorial Day experience on the island. “I was on Long Island [Memorial Day] weekend and visiting a really dear friend, and I was really disturbed,” she said. “I saw, you know, dozens and dozens of pickup trucks with expletives against Joe Biden on the backs of them, Trump flags, and in some cases dozens of American flags, which, you know, is also just disturbing because essentially the message was clear. It was: This is my country; this is not your country. I own this.” The message is essentially clear? I think not. To infer that displaying a U.S. flag, particularly on
a national holiday is racist, is by its very nature an absurd comment. I have displayed a flag on a 14foot pole since my family moved into our home 20 years ago. Our flag, waiving on our front lawn, has nothing to do with Trump or deep-seated racism. It is an expression of pride in being Americans. And since Mara Gay’s remarks went viral on the internet, I have noticed that more of my neighbors, of all races and creeds, have been hoisting flags. The Times editorial of June 27, 2021, took Mara Gay’s comments one step further. It accused the state and the MTA of “squandering its investment in the expansion of the commuter rail” to cater to owners of single-family homes in exclusive neighborhoods like Garden City. The editorial’s implication is clear: single-family zoning laws are a relic of Long Island’s racist past and should be abolished to permit the construction of multi-family housing, particularly around railroad stations. Several observations: First, the LIRR does not cater solely to the rich. In fact, the vast majority
GEORGE J. MARLIN On The Right of commuters are working-class folks, such as first responders, civil servants, construction workers, clerical workers, etc. This has been particularly true throughout the pandemic. Many white-collar employees, to this day, have been working from their homes, not commuting. Second, ownership of singlefamily homes, particularly on Long Island, was encouraged and codified, not by racists, but by New Deal Progressives who authored the GI Bill of Rights that included FHA/VA home loans with no down
payments. In the name of “regional planning,” Federal Housing Administration social engineers designed requirements on lot size, house width and distance from adjacent homes that forced banks to lend on suburban single-family homes instead of older city 16-foot row houses. I doubt if Mara Gay and her confreres on The Times editorial board are familiar with this history, hence their calls, in the name of social justice, for the state of New York to override local zoning laws to force the building of apartment buildings. The Times argues, “The city’s suburbs, especially in underdeveloped Nassau County, need to build more too.” It goes on to insist that Albany override local zoning laws and “make it legal to build multifamily housing on land near transit stations currently occupied by single-family housing.” “Democracy,” The Times concludes, “is no defense for the behavior of these local governments. There are no citizens of Garden City; its residents are New Yorkers.”
Nassau Elected Officials: Do you agree with The Times’ claim that people who pay local taxes are not citizens of their municipalities and should have no say in governing policies? Do you agree that our democratically elected local government officials are unfit to make decisions regarding zoning laws? Do you agree that the MTA is squandering money to improve and expand the LIRR? Do you agree that the LIRR is a mode of transportation exclusively for the “rich”? Do you agree with The Times’ demand that the state override local zoning laws and impose the construction of apartment buildings? Do you agree that single-family homes should be demolished to provide space for multi-family housing? As a Nassau County taxpayer and a citizen of the Town of Hempstead, I would like to learn your views on the issues raised by The Times before casting my vote this fall. I look forward to hearing your responses.
A LOOK ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
When what you have is a failure to communicate
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other Goose was leading a workshop series for all of the creatures of Fairy Tale Land. “What’s the most important part of any relationship?” she quizzed her audience. “Communication!” they all shouted out. “That’s right. And when you fail to communicate, that’s when things go wrong! Now it’s time to break into small groups for the different workshops. Professor Wolf, you can take your group to the first conference room down the hall.” As the creatures in Wolf’s group entered the room, they saw the workshop title on the white board at the front: “How to talk so Little Pigs will Listen; Listen so Little Pigs will talk.” “First things first,” said Professor Wolf. “Taking attendance?” asked one little pig. “No need for that,” he said with a curious smile on his face. “No, the first thing to do is correct the name of this seminar.” He picked up an eraser and swiped
at the board. “We can forget about the second half of that,” he growled. “Who cares what Little Pigs have to say? All I care about is eating them — I mean, pretending I care about their problems until they trust me enough to come out of their houses!” Several conference attendees suddenly stood up and rushed from the room. It was probably just a coincidence that they all happened to be pigs. They decided to audit the second workshop: “How to Win Friends and Influence Gingerbread Men.” “Of course, listening is a key component in any friendship,” that leader was saying. “But if you want to influence a Gingerbread Man, what else must you do?” A Gingerbread Man raised his hand. “Um, turn on the oven?” “Yes, make sure your appliances are working,” replied the speaker. “Well, what about when you’re out for the day, and you come home, and nobody tells you
JUDY EPSTEIN
A Look on the Lighter Side that an appliance has exploded while you were gone?” Hansel and Gretel’s witch’s voice was shaking with anger. “Like, for example, the oven? And your partner has cleaned up the mess so there’s no way to know, but they didn’t bother to get the darned thing fixed? And they don’t even tell you until company’s coming and the stove won’t turn on? ‘Um, honey, I forget to mention it, but there was a teensy weensy little explosion yesterday, and maybe we’d better order pizza tonight
instead of whatever you were making?’ How are you supposed to live with someone like that?” “Yes, I’d like the answer to that one, too,” said the Giant. “It’s all very well to be famous for saying ‘Fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman,’ but it’s just plain embarrassing when you come around and it turns out all the Englishmen moved away weeks ago…and no one saw fit to tell you. People say, ‘It’s such a chore, telling you things,’ but I ask you, who wakes up and says, ‘Gee, I wonder if any Englishmen have moved away? I’d better call around and ask’?” “Or if any appliances secretly blew up?” “Or if the mine decided to close down between Christmas and New Year’s, but none of the Seven Dwarves bothered to tell you? Not even Doc?” said Snow White, her voice almost a sob. “I could have planned a sweet vacation to Disney World, and instead we had to stay home and scrub out our chimneys!” The third workshop was led by the three Billy Goats Gruff.
“The theme of today’s workshop,” said the first, “is this: ‘Trolls are from Mars, Witches are from Venus!’ ” “What does that even mean?” demanded one witch. “Are you saying I’m from Venus? Because I’m not, and I’ll eat the goat that says so!” “That’s hardly necessary, ma’am,” bleated the second Goat. “In fact, all it means is that … um, well, I’m not sure what it means.” “Then why are you in charge of this workshop?” demanded a troll in the audience. “We trolls are sick and tired of all the bad press we get at these things!” “It’s a metaphor,” said the third Billy Goat Gruff. “It’s just a metaphor for how hard it is for different people … um, species … um, beings … to communicate. As I think we’ve just proven. Now I think it’s a good time to break for lunch. Trolls, if you’ll exit by the back door, and witches by the front, then we Goats will eat all the notes from today’s lecture and, um, see you around some time. Bah-ah-ah-ah-bye!”
