Cleaner trucks, leaf blowers, clergy abuse settlement, Regents tests, housing

Cleaner trucks now, not years from now

I agree that Long Island can’t wait for cleaner warehouses and that without action, our demand for e-commerce will only increase reliance on idling diesel trucks, with an all-electric transition years and millions of dollars away “Warehouses costly for communities,” Opinion, Oct. 8].

We need right-now solutions, not silver bullets. A statewide clean fuel standard can help.

Already successful in states like California, Washington and Oregon, a standard enacted in New York would require fuel suppliers to cut the carbon intensity of their products by at least 20% by 2034 without over-relying on a one-size-fits-all solution. Critically, it would help promote cleaner fuels, like renewable diesel, that can be deployed in existing truck fleets. It would provide fleet operators with flexibility while still making progress.

New York City already runs its heavy-duty vehicles on renewable diesel, a transition that reduces carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 162 million pounds annually.

Legislation to create a standard is pending in Albany. Passage would be the right first step toward helping communities like Elmont, Massapequa, and Holbrook get the relief they need as warehouse construction booms.

— Rocco J. Lacertosa, Hauppauge

The writer is the CEO of the New York State Energy Coalition.

Hot air, not action as blowers stay on

The Huntington Town Council’s rejection of a compromise on gas-powered leaf blower restrictions has left residents, advocates, and health professionals mystified [“Ban blown away for now,” Our Towns, Oct. 12]. Most notably, each no vote had been a yes to even stricter restrictions two years ago.

Supervisor Ed Smyth, Councilman Dave Bennardo, and Councilwoman Theresa Mari — a breast cancer activist — in effect turned their backs on public health. The community that this trio took an oath to protect is exposed every day to dangerous noise and toxic, carcinogenic fumes from gas blowers.

Dr. Eve Meltzer-Krief, vice president of the American Academy of Pediatrics New York Chapter, said at the council’s September meeting, “Children are particularly vulnerable to the impact of gas leaf blowers. Their rapidly developing lungs, ears, eyes, brains, and other organ systems are inherently more sensitive to environmental hazards than adults.”

Smyth says he’ll consider a compromise. But the proposal was the compromise, allowing these dangerous machines during the seasons of their heaviest use.

The most significant function of government is to protect the health and safety of the public. These elected leaders have failed us.

So, what happened here? How could these elected leaders turn away from protecting even the health of children for half the year?

— Bonnie Sager, Huntington

Rockville Centre’s lesson from New York

Kudos for coverage of the recent settlement between victims of clergy abuse and the Archdiocese of New York “Lawyers: LI diocese clergy abuse suit informed deal in NYC,” News, Oct. 26].

The archdiocese, under new leadership, chose the compassionate and transparent method of moving the New York church past one of its darkest chapters. The comparison between the archdiocese and the Diocese of Rockville Centre was jarring.

It should prompt all Long Island Catholics to reflect on who we are as a church: once a progressive and wealthy diocese where all things were possible and the Gospel was a priority, now a regressive, institutional, once-bankrupt model of what healthy leadership should avoid.

— Pat McDonough, Long Beach

A diploma shouldn’t hinge on one test

Eventually, we will say goodbye to the Regents exam requirement [“3 LI schools look beyond state’s Regents exams,” News, Oct. 26]. I had to take them, and I remember sweating out the hours.

By the time my four kids had to take them, I wondered why they were really so important. The exams certainly were not a true measure of what my children had learned. One of my kids once asked, “Hey, Ma, do you think about Wilson’s Fourteen Points when you’re shopping?”

Teachers know what they are doing and will adapt to this new and better way of teaching students. New York State will fare just as well as ever.

— Susan Hennings-Lowe, Huntington

Kings Park’s tower could house families

At a time when affordable housing is such a hot topic, how could New York State allow a 13-story building on the site of the former Kings Park Psychiatric Center to deteriorate so far that demolition is the only option? [“A towering decision,” Our Towns, Oct. 19.]

Surely, such a structure could be put to good use as affordable housing in the right hands.

— John Cornicello Sr., Lynbrook