The "Group Home Debate in Roslyn Estates" (The Roslyn News, June 19) is a scenario that has been played out in countless other villages, towns and cities across the nation as far back as I can recall.

The NIMBY (not in my back yard) syndrome rears its ugly head every time people with disabilities seek to reside in communities that feel no responsibility to this population. There is a good reason for the existence of state laws permitting the development of group homes in communities. Without these laws, people with disabilities would be forced to live in state hospitals, or at home with families poorly equipped to properly care for them.

Group homes provide people with disabilities the opportunity to enjoy a dignified quality of life that the residents of Roslyn Estates, and other communities that subscribe to "Nimbyism," take for granted.

Sheldon L. Tarakan