Stony Brook mill pond, red light cams and fake license plates, seating at Grand Central Madison, Yankees and Dodgers

What to do about a now-empty mill pond

At Save the Sound, we know that when it comes to rebuilding or removing a dam, the decision always is up to the owner. There are many variables to balance.

In our ecological restoration work, we always prefer working with nature, so, yes, we think there might be a possibility for a “new history” established for the mill pond [“Town to rebuild Stony Brook’s mill pond,” News, Oct. 23].

Its new history could reflect Stony Brook Creek’s several thousand years prior to Brookhaven Town colonization and the establishment of the mill — as well as its future in the face of climate change.

It might hold educational and tourist opportunities since all coastal areas everywhere now face similar threats of dam failure from extreme storm events.

And so we do think that allowing the creek to flow unimpeded would add resiliency and water-quality benefits for the coastline and Long Island Sound.

However, we support Brookhaven Town and its residents in gathering the information they need to chart the future of the Stony Brook mill pond and stand ready to assist if requested.

— Louise Harrison, Peconic

The writer, a conservation biologist, is the Long Island Natural Areas manager at Save the Sound.

There is an easy temporary fix for the washed-out Harbor Road adjacent to the Avalon Nature Preserve in Stony Brook. Use a U.S. Army Bailey bridge, a type of portable, prefabricated truss bridge.

We used it successfully in Vietnam, and we can use it here. One was recently used in Pelham when an overpass was replaced on the Hutchinson River Parkway. I’d think that a local National Guard Reserve unit has one in storage.

— David Cepler, Baldwin

Save your money. Don’t study the mill pond restoration so it can be rebuilt. Instead, study the natural environmental fix and restore the wetlands to help avoid future flooding. You can’t fight Mother Nature, so work with her.

— John Dolan, Mineola

I agree that instead of rebuilding the dam in Blydenburgh County Park in Smithtown, constructing a bridge will have benefits [“Instead, build a bridge over Stump Pond,” Letters, Oct. 8]. Why not reintroduce beavers into the area?

They were once native to the region and could do the job for less money than the estimates I’ve seen for the job. This approach has been successfully tried in England.

— Scott Zimmermann, East Northport

Catch masked plates to up red-light income

BusPatrol claims its “scamera” program changes driver behavior, as Nassau County reports revenue generated by its red-light camera program in 2022 was the third-highest in its 15-year history, thanks to a near-record number of tickets issued [“The missing link in red-light debate,” Letters, Oct. 23].

Revenue generated by camera programs would be greater if cameras could read license plates through fraudsters’ illegally masked license plate covers, itself a $100 fine.

After I figured out what triggers the camera to take the first picture, I’m super-careful. My vehicle, which travels over 300 miles per week making local deliveries seven days a week, has not been cited by a school bus camera or one of Nassau’s 308 cameras at 100 intersections since 2017.

— Paul Eggers, Franklin Square

Madison cost billions, and we get a few seats?

So, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority “did not respond to questions about the cost of the new seating area” [“New seating for passengers at Grand Central,” Long Island & NYC, Oct. 21]. I think I can see why. Is it because it may have cost millions of dollars for what looks like a subway platform?

We’re being provided 14 backless benches with two seats each? Backless? Talk about depressing and joyless. This is how our money is being spent?

The MTA spends billions of dollars to build a new train station with no seating. And it then puts in a few backless benches like the ones in the old Yankee Stadium.

— Saul Rothenberg, Rochdale Village, Queens

I’d point out that the new Long Island Rail Road station in Elmont has no restrooms or a waiting room. Is that to discourage the homeless?

— Thomas Renyak, Bellerose

A teen’s lament that has lasted decades

I was 16 when the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles and left our Brooklyn neighborhood in tears [“New World Series awakens old ghosts,” Opinion, Oct. 28].

Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley abandoned us even though we supported the team year after year.

I am rooting for the Yankees in the World Series because I still can’t forgive the Dodgers for what they did.

— Martin Blumberg, Melville