NY work-zone speed cameras, George Santos, Fox News settlement, and housing vouchers
![A speed-limit sign for an exit on the Southern State...](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.newsday.com%2Fimage-service%2Fversion%2Fc%3ANGJhNjNlMmItNGZkNS00%3AMmItNGZkNS00YjBjOTBk%2F0natgzqs-jpg.jpg%3Ff%3DLandscape%2B16%253A9%26w%3D770%26q%3D1&w=1920&q=80)
A speed-limit sign for an exit on the Southern State Parkway. Credit: James Carbone
Reduce speed limit for dangerous areas
The reader was essentially correct until the last line of his letter [“Southern State was meant for leisure drivers,” Opinion, April 20].
Whether or not speed limit signs declare “strictly enforced,” if they’re not actually enforced, drivers will know quickly enough. Then, the “video game vehicle operators” will continue to wrap themselves, their passengers and other vehicles unfortunate enough to be in their immediate vicinity around trees or other immovable objects with alarming frequency.
I think, instead, a good start would be, as the reader suggested, to reduce the speed limit on dangerous sections rather than continuing with the yellow “speed advisory” signs currently on some curves, and actually enforce those reduced speed limits by targeting those areas with speed cams.
While the Southern State Parkway’s 1920s design might have its problems with respect to real-life usage in the 2020s, any road is only as safe as the most dangerous drivers who use it. Exacting a substantial financial price from those who view the operation of a motor vehicle as just another video game would be a good start toward improving safety for the rest of us.
— Leonard Cohen, Wantagh
LI reps should pave way for Santos’ exit
The editorial “Voters deserve a Santos exit” got it right [Opinion, April 18]. Voters in Congressional District 3 deserve better. Santos’ heritage, education and other lies were curated to appeal to specific segments of the electorate.
Now, we are essentially unrepresented. Because he is a pathological liar and grifter, constituents fear being Santos’ next fraud victim. After all, he ripped off roommates, veterans, pets, family friends and even used his mother’s death in a scam. Now he is campaigning for reelection with his first big idea: making the AR-15 rifle the national gun.
The editorial left out the crucial step necessary to oust him. So far, 40 Democrats have co-sponsored the House resolution to expel Santos, but only a bipartisan resolution will be brought to the floor for a vote. Republicans must stop hiding behind the ethics probe. No indictment, conviction or findings are required. Besides, Santos has acknowledged hisfraud.
As stated in the editorial, every day that Santos remains in Congress, Long Island is denied full representation. The entire state congressional delegation, Republicans and Democrats alike, need to co-sponsor the resolution to expel Santos. Long Island Reps. Anthony D’Esposito (R-Island Park) and Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) should lead the way.
— Jody Kass Finkel, Great Neck
The writer is founder and coordinator of Concerned Citizens of NY03, a nonpartisan group to oust Santos.
American freedoms have their downside
The true cost of all the lies that Fox News has rained down upon our nation is not to be found in dollars and cents but in the moral vacuum that network founder Rupert Murdoch has left behind [“Fox, Dominion reach $787M settlement,” News, April 19].
He has been allowed to manipulate the American psyche in ways our foreign enemies could only dream of. He has made a fortune and left us with a misinformed and intolerant electorate.
Fox News will pay its fine, but it will be business as usual. Too many people want to believe the lies, and there is still all that money for Fox News to make.
Living in the land of the free has its downside.
— Bob Bascelli, Seaford
Dominion Voting Systems wanted us to believe that it would take the Fox News media giant to task and expose it for being a shameless news station that lies. Instead, it just took the money and ran.
It seemingly had all the weapons needed to force Fox News and its anchors to admit lying to the public. The $787.5 million penalty was small change to the network.
— Ralph Nuzzo, East Meadow
Housing vouchers can be good up to a point
Housing vouchers are great for a landlord as long as the tenants qualify [“Enforce housing voucher rights,” Editorial, April 19]. The editorial does not mention that the tenants need yearly certification to continue to receive the vouchers. The monthly voucher guarantee doesn’t mean payments are sent indefinitely.
If a tenant fails to turn in the required yearly paperwork, the voucher payments stop. If a tenant’s income increased during that year, the tenant’s portion of the rent could increase significantly, with the voucher only covering a small percentage of the total rent. The tenant could become disqualified from the program.
As a Long Island landlord since 1990, I know that if tenants don’t pay their portion of the rent or the full rent (if no longer eligible for vouchers), the landlord usually has to go through a lengthy and costly eviction.
The program does not require a tenant to move if the tenant does not pay the rent.
— Cathy Greene, East Setauket
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