Suffolk County's ban on signs, cable sports broadcasts dispute
People hold up signs at a Suffolk County Legislature meeting in May 2023, when lawmakers discussed ways to prevent migrants from being sent to the county from the city. Credit: Newsday/Vera Chinese
Banning signs part of dangerous trend
I’m alarmed by the Suffolk County Legislature outlawing residents’ signs [“Suffolk bans signs at legislature meetings,” News, Jan. 3].
As a member of the grassroots North Country Peace Group, I attended the Dec. 17 general meeting and saw the signs calling for a cease-fire and an end to genocide in Gaza and find it hard to imagine why anyone would find such pleas “inciting,” as one legislator implied.
Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey said that speakers holding signs was not an issue until recently. It’s interesting that signs protesting war and genocide apparently are an issue. These current signs apparently got under the skin of legislators.
This is a dangerous trend and a slap in the face of free speech. What will be next? When the signs are gone, will legislators ban residents from expressing opinions with which they disagree? Am I the only one who sees this as a step toward not only further weakening our constitutional rights but an alignment with forces who seek its destruction?
— Susan Perretti, Setauket
Plenty of blame for all in cable dispute
Optimum welcomed in the new year by letting customers know it no longer would carry the Rangers, Knicks and Islanders for their customers [“Hey, Altice & MSG: Get with program,” Sports, Jan. 3].
My first reaction was to cancel Optimum. Then I shifted to blaming MSG for blackmailing Optimum with an unreasonable charge to broadcast their teams. Then I shifted blame yet again to the athletes’ demanding ridiculous salaries.
I’ll go to my deathbed resenting how attending a game in person has priced out lower-income and lower-middle-income people. The only way to afford going to a game is waiting for your team to stink and then buying a ticket on the secondary market.
Professional athletes and their agents are some of the biggest price gougers operating in our economy. In what world is a guy hitting a ball worth $765 million?
— Ray Seeback, Ronkonkoma
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