LETTERS NASSAU AND SUFFOLK Edition 1

• Published in: Newsday
• Main Authors: Brad Berthold. Southold, Kathleen A. Malloy. Islip Terrace, Lillian McCormick. Port Washington. Editor's Note: The writer is executive director of Women on the Job, Charles O'Shea. Mineola. Editor's Note: The writer is chairman of the Nassau County Board
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: Long Island, N.Y Newsday LLC 19.06.1998
• Edition: Combined editions

Your editorial "Lesson for Huntington and LI: Fight NIMBYitis" {June 9} quotes Lee Koppelman, executive director of the Long Island Regional Planning Board, as saying that the attitude of civic associations, who obviously have local interests most at heart, produce policies that work "contrary to intelligent zoning and planning." Come on! If we were blessed with "intelligent zoning and planning" on Long Island perhaps we would not need the civic association's input, but given the reality of the situation we're blessed to have active, responsible citizens watching our politicians. Stephen Jones of the Suffolk County Planning Department actually recommends that the civics be brought in earlier. Too often, in at least one East End town I'm familiar with, civics were given short shrift and developers (read, "political contributors") were often granted outrageous zoning changes, exemptions or whatever they needed to make a buck, often at the expense of the public interest. The last election in that town (Riverhead) has led to a new day, we hope. Regarding Suffolk Legis. Michael D'Andre's comments on his casting the decisive vote to call on Albany to end job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation {"Backroom," June 11}: To end discrimination of any kind is truly wonderful - and a step in the direction of what is fair and just. "Traditional values?" Fairness and justice certainly sound like traditional values to me, values that D'Andre (R-St. James) speaks of often.