Hochul's wind veto and Long Island traffic deaths

Gov’s wind veto creates a storm

I am deeply disappointed with Gov. Kathy Hochul for effectively unplugging Empire Wind despite the state mandate for nine gigawatts of offshore wind by 2035 [“Gov vetoes wind farm power bill,” News, Oct. 21].

Hochul bowed to fierce and loud anti-wind activists fueled by disinformation, like fear of “radiation” from electric cables and “foreign nationalists.” Nassau County has long had underground high-voltage cable. The U.S. does not currently have the know-how to build offshore wind, unlike European companies that have been operating these turbines for 30 years.

Creating a renewable grid must be accomplished by state policy and information campaigns, rather than rest on developers’ ability to win hearts and minds. Too many Long Islanders say they support clean energy but work to defeat it.

South Fork Wind, currently under construction off the East End, is a good neighbor. Because I live in a community as vulnerable to the effects of climate change as Long Beach, I’d rather be part of the solution than part of the problem.

— Francesca Rheannon, East Hampton

The writer is on the East Hampton Town Energy and Sustainability Advisory Committee and is co-chair of the Long Island Chapter of the Climate Reality Project.

I am bewildered by this foolish veto by Gov. Kathy Hochul. This was a costly mistake for New York. Hochul has been involved with the project since she was part of the Cuomo administration, and at the last minute decided to blow it up.

Some elected officials lied to the public. Equinor has been transparent for years. I’ve downloaded maps and cable routing drawings from spring 2021. There were meetings before, during, and after COVID-19 throughout the region.

Hochul and other bureaucrats are creating roadblocks for progress. Carbon reduction and renewables benefit everyone. This veto sends New York to the end of the line. Why not sit down with all stakeholders and negotiate a solution. This decision appears to be purely political and does not serve the interest of the public at large.

— Eric Schwartz, Oyster Bay

I was at one public hearing in Long Beach. The introductory session had good information about how the site was chosen from an engineering standpoint. It made maximum use of existing right-of-ways and infrastructure to connect to the grid with minimal disruption of environmentally sensitive areas. There would be temporary inconveniences in some neighborhoods while cables were being buried under streets, like normal maintenance of existing infrastructure. Directional drilling would tunnel under the beach with no disturbance of parkland.

But the hearing deteriorated when they started public comments. It became a NIMBY hearing with speakers drifting off into conspiracy theories and other irrelevant information.

In this political climate, it’s almost impossible to get a major project built when you have to deal with the regulatory structure of multiple jurisdictions, NIMBY folks, and vote-counting politicians.

— John Eastlund, Wantagh

Readers angry about LI drivers

Every few years, Newsday runs a cover story bemoaning dangerous drivers and nothing changes except that the statistics grow more painful [“ ‘It’s a crisis’: Surge in LI traffic deaths,” News, Oct. 15]. The proposed solution to this epidemic of irresponsible and illegal behavior is more law enforcement in the form of fines and license suspensions. A search of Newsday archives would produce numerous instances of the ineffectiveness of this approach. Stories are headlined with phrases like “license had been suspended 17 (or 28 or 65) times.”

Question for our local judiciary: Why would you think someone whose license has been suspended 17 times (or even six or seven times) would respect your order for the 18th suspension? It is only after that driver causes a fatal collision that the court remands him to custody. Does not the judge who released him after his last court appearance bear some responsibility for the damage he inflicts on the law-abiding public?

Driving on Long Island will only become even more dangerous until reckless drivers are treated like the criminals that they are and punished accordingly.

— Stephen Sullivan, West Babylon

Enough is enough! As an Uber and Lyft driver, I feel like I’m risking my life every day driving on Long Island’s roads.

In my 42 years of driving, I haven’t seen such disregard for traffic rules as in the past few years. People routinely speed, race, use exit and entrance ramps as passing lanes, cross over double yellow lines to pass, and worse. There is no patience, courtesy or respect for other drivers.

The police need to ticket these people who think they are stunt drivers and race car drivers. I’ve been pulled over three times in my life for little things like a broken taillight or not having my headlights on while it was drizzling outside, just minutes after two cars racing each other passed me recklessly and almost drove me off the road.

The police need to stand up and do their jobs and the judges need to take away the privilege of drivers who put other people’s lives at risk with their reckless behavior.

— Andrew Herzman, Farmingdale

What is it going to take for Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and the Sheriff’s Office to bring back the sheriffs to patrol our roads? When they patrolled, we didn’t have these horrific accidents, which was due to their diligence in writing tickets and being visible. No one follows rules anymore. It’s every man for themselves. I feel sorry for pedestrians as well.

Please bring them back. How many more people must die before our roads are brought under control and safe once again?

— Margaret Munro, Northport

The Oct. 15 cover story was “LI’s Deadly Roads,” attributing the danger to speeding, driving while impaired and reckless driving.

Then on page A7, we read that Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill making it easier to purchase alcohol by allowing liquor stores to open earlier and stay open later on Sundays [“Law extends Sunday hours at liquor stores,” News, Oct. 15].

If Hochul is interested in reducing driving-related deaths, the first step would be to reduce the ability of citizens to purchase alcohol. Instead of increasing liquor store hours we should reduce liquor store hours, or better, eliminate liquor sales in New York State.

— David Kramer, Levittown