I agree with Henry Cosenza's letter in last week's Port News which pokes holes in Hank Ratner's credibility. I think Mr. Cosenza hit the nail on the head. Ratner's pretended dispute with the proposed senior housing has nothing to do with senior housing at all. But it has everything to do with the control of our village government!

Anyone who's attended village board meetings will recall only too well Ratner's abusive and vituperative attacks on Mayor Pellegrino.

From what Ratner says, it appears that he and his cohorts engineered the defeat of two excellent trustees. Now he wants to complete the job and doesn't care who he sides with. Thomson, Stark, Franklin Stainless and their associates don't have the best interests of our village at heart; they care only what's best for them. Why else has Thomson's helicopter pilot, Stretch Ryder, been attending village meetings? Does John Thomson have his eye on the property for himself?

Ratner, Doris Novick and Mike Blumenfeld (who decided to stick his nose into village business, like it or not) must not be dealing with reality. The owner of the property intended for senior housing has stated unequivocally that if the present up-zoning doesn't hold, the property will become an industrial park, which according to right, will be huge. They just don't seem to - or want to - get it. Anyone concerned about the environment should support a senior housing development over an industrial one!

Finally, I'm surprised at Doris Novick's not understanding that fewer units would bring higher prices for the proposed senior housing. As an owner of Alper's she should know that if the store's present volume of business wasn't enough to cover its overhead and produce profits, it would be forced to raise its prices (or reduce inventory) or lose its present customer base.

Now I realize this is a free country and everyone has a right to express their opinion. But when what they propose will negatively affect my neighborhood, then I have a right to take them on. I invite those of my neighbors who haven't been fooled by this power grab to join me.

Joseph Keller