In response to a letter written to the editors by Bob Weitzner, trustee, Port Washington N. it seems clear that his motivation for speaking out was that this was the main platform for his election. Instead of respecting the decision of the elected officials before him, he chooses to distance himself by making the platform for his election the issue. The village board of trustees as well as the mayor did the job that they were elected to do. They made a decision that they believed was in the best interest of the residents of Port N., not just a vocal few. This country has been built upon the democratic system that elected officials make decisions they believe are right, if not we can vote them out. I think everyone is entitled to state his or her opinion in the proper format. Some individual feels that they are entitled to "special treatment" because of who they are. I commend the village trustees for sticking to procedure or the hearings would be out of control.

The issues of senior housing and the NIMBYs (not in my backyard) has been a long standing one. It's always about self-serving individuals versus local seniors. As hosts of a radio show called Seniors on the Move we are well aware of people being opposed to senior housing. We've heard all the reasons why it won't work - the traffic, water, land, conservation, town services, etc., but what we fail to see is the compassion to take care of our aging seniors and allow them to live in our local communities. What we fail to remember is that these are the people that build our communities, houses of worship and schools, they developed our local economy, they fought our wars and raised their children many of whom are currently living in the towns of their parents. What reasonable excuse could we have for failing to address their housing needs of today? Seniors are living longer, healthier and more independent lives than ever. In many cases their homes have become too large and unmanageable. Should they be forced away from Long Island because we can't afford them an opportunity to turn a vacant abandoned, unsafe industrial space into a beautiful housing development for those 62 and over? Am I missing something? I would like to applaud the village trustees for giving the local seniors a wonderful opportunity to stay in their hometowns. We have received hundreds of phone calls at the studio from local seniors as well as others stressing their desperate need to find senior housing.

Fern Karhu

Bart Cafarella

Hosts of Seniors on the Move 540 AM Radio