BELLPORT
Waste to energy argument doesn’t hold up
New York is at a crossroads in its waste management crisis. Long Island officials are lobbying Gov. Hochul to classify so-called “waste-to-energy” (WTE) incineration as renewable energy — allowing aging, polluting facilities like Covanta (Reworld) Hempstead to secure subsidies to continue operations. Labeling WTE as renewable energy would reward polluters and harm vulnerable communities. Ms. Hochul must reject falsely classifying WTE as renewable energy.
WTE is neither clean nor renewable, fails to address the root causes of waste and pollution and undermines clean energy goals, including the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. In New York, 12% of greenhouse gas emissions are from waste, and nearly two-thirds of that is from incineration. Burning waste also releases toxic pollutants into the air, water and ecosystems, including carcinogenic dioxins and heavy metals. Moreover, incinerators contribute a negligible 0.3% to the nation’s energy grid, easily replaceable by zero-carbon energy sources.
Covanta (Reworld) Hempstead has repeatedly violated environmental standards. DEC’s failure to conduct in-stack monitoring has left critical gaps in understanding the true extent of pollution from this site. The Town of Brookhaven’s $1 million settlement falls far short of remediating the harm done to the community.
Economic arguments for WTE don’t hold up. According to the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, aging municipal solid waste incinerators are prohibitively expensive to maintain, too risky to finance and too costly to upgrade. Viable solutions like plastic use reduction, composting and glass, metal and paper recycling are cheaper, safer and create more jobs. San Francisco diverts 80% of waste from landfills and incinerators, proving a sustainable alternative is possible.
To achieve our climate emission reduction mandates, we must reduce emissions in all industries, including waste. New York must embrace solutions and lead with bold, equitable policies that reduce waste, create jobs and prioritize public health.
Monique Fitzgerald
NORTH BABYLON
Ambassadorial affront
Shortly after the Declaration of Independence, in 1778, Benjamin Franklin was named minister to France, essentially our first ambassador. He served until 1785 when he was succeeded by Thomas Jefferson, who later served as our third president These individuals are arguably the best-known of our founding fathers, a description reserved for those who decided to risk their lives as well as their families’ lives to achieve independence from autocratic English rule.
Just recently, president-elect Trump named an individual convicted of 18 federal felonies — consisting of 16 counts of tax evasion, one count of retaliating against a witness and one count of lying to federal election officials — to be ambassador to France.
Charles Kushner, the father of [former Trump presidential advisor] Jared Kushner, paid a private investigator to put a camera in a motel room to catch his brother-in-law having an affair, subsequently showing the film to his sister to induce the brother-in-law to refuse to testify against him before a Grand Jury. As vile and degenerate as this conduct is, President Trump pardoned him and has now named him ambassador to France.
We have come a long way in America — from Franklin and Jefferson to … Kushner.
Peter Mayer III
Retired justice, New York State Supreme Court
CUTCHOGUE
Faith and Christmas
Happiness comes from stuff, many believe, but that’s just not true. I can remember a Christmas spent overseas away from family with no presents to open. If you’ve never experienced it, it’s an eye opener.
Sure, I was surrounded with buddies, but not being able to share family leaves a hole. It was from that moment I realized Christmas was faith. It was looking up into that tropic sky and knowing there is something greater than you and even though not with family I was not alone.
This day we celebrate the birth of a Savior. The beginning of a new world a world made whole again. We all feel it this day regardless of religion, even if we have lost faith. So we say Merry Christmas and that simple statement brings joy and happiness to the soul.
Merry Christmas to all and may that feeling stay upon your soul forever.
Bob Bittner
RIVERHEAD
Keep supporting wrestlers
I hope that you continue to do informative and supportive stories about the Riverhead wrestling program and teams.
Our students in the Riverhead School District need positive, encouraging support and feedback, as you have written in this article about them and the growth they continue to strive for. Thank you for your continued support and commitment to the Riverhead wrestling community.
Emily Stewart Chizever
RIVERHEAD
Rage resisted
A few weeks ago a letter was printed (“Still undermining Trump,” Dec. 12) from a voter claiming there was no insurgency on Jan. 6. It was so enraging that I decided to ignore my rage because she wouldn’t listen to anything I said. So I send sincere thanks to Michael Levy who set the record straight (“Don’t believe your lyin’ eyes,” Dec. 19). He gave me renewed energy to fight every insane, unhinged, misinformed and dangerous lie that almost half of our citizens have been brainwashed to spout. A trip to the library for a history of Germany 1933 would be a good start.
Elizabeth Weiss
RIVERHEAD
‘Delightful’ reading
I look forward to picking up your very informative magazine. I’m a handicapped person with limited mobility and reading about the interesting places from Riverhead Town to Southold Town has been a delight. Thank you
Antoinette Carbone
JAMESPORT
If you don’t know, don’t lead
It seems our supervisor’s proposed salary increase of 8.7% — or a hefty $10,270 a year — in the “bare bones” budget has been reduced after once again some much-needed criticism. It was incredibly arrogant to propose such an excessive raise while proposing a huge budget increase of 7.89%, which is a record high since the 2% state cap passed in 2012.
What an exciting year with this current administration. Aside from an excessive budget and tax increase, we had the ridiculous agri-tourism proposal to develop the most beautiful rural corridor on Long Island into some kind of crazy regional tourist destination, and a convoluted “digital” pay to park downtown proposal that can’t even be intelligently explained. We were told in one of the many excuses for the budget increase that it’s necessary to replace already purchased new police vehicles because they are not suitable for beach responses. Does that not beg the question: “Why didn’t you know that before buying them?”
The supervisor says we need more revenue because more services are required due to increased population, yet variances are handed out for hundreds of new apartments. We need revenue, yet the undisciplined IDA continues to give millions in excessive tax breaks. Once again, the seniors struggling to live in this town received a 2.5% increase in Social Security for 2025; if our town leaders don’t know this, they shouldn’t be our town leaders.
The supervisor somehow thought he deserved a raise well over three times this amount, which was approved by the rubber-stamp Town Board. Ironically, the paltry SSA benefit increase notification arrived around the same time as the new town tax bill.
Scott Gillespie
MATTITUCK
Facts should prevail
In a Dec. 12 letter to The Suffolk Times (“Still undermining Trump”), the writer makes claims and offers opinions in support of Donald Trump that unfortunately are not supported by one essential ingredient: facts. One can say whatever they wish in the public square, but in the legal arena in our country, facts are what rule the day. A lack of provable facts undermined the claims of election fraud by the MAGA crowd. Sixty-two judges dismissed cases brought before them. These judges were appointed by both Democratic and Republican presidents.
Grand Juries are made up of our fellow citizens. They hear evidence, ask questions and render a decision whether an indictment is warranted. President-elect Trump has been indicted four times, at last count. Were all the judges and all the empaneled Grand Juries Trump haters? I think not. Common sense would dictate otherwise.
A common legal and political axiom is: “You’re entitled to your opinions but not to your own facts.” I rest my case.
John LaForce
CALVERTON
Musk is cashing in
As I wrote several weeks ago (“A question for my neighbors,” Dec. 5), Elon Musk is already cashing in on his purchase of the Republican Party and our democracy. By threatening GOP lawmakers with primaries if they voted last month for a bill to keep the government open, Musk killed a continuing resolution that had been previously negotiated by Congressional leaders of both parties. He issued a flurry of 150 tweets against the bill, starting early in the morning, and three hours later Donald Trump joined in and the bill was dead.
Musk objected to a provision in the bill that would have limited companies that traded technology with China. That provision would have cost him billions. What also got stripped from the bill Musk opposed was the reauthorization for pediatric cancer research, the extension of medical benefits for 9/11 first responders and the extension of telehealth flexibilities for seniors and Americans with disabilities insured by Medicare.
As Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales proclaimed on CBS’ “Face The Nation” last Sunday, “It feels as if Elon Musk is our prime minister.” The problem is that Mr. Gonzales had no problem with that.
Jerry Silverstein
LAUREL
Honor
I would like to wish Congressman Nick LaLota and his family a Merry Christmas and a healthy, safe, peace-filled 2025.
We live in difficult, polarized political times. I hope Mr. LaLota will remember that he took an oath to uphold the Constitution and not a political party — or to support any one individual. The threat of a primary contest and the loss of his very important job cannot deter him from carrying out that job honorably, honestly and in the best interests of his country and his constituents.
Susan Bloom