Letters

Do you know why there are no more bears, dinosaurs, skunks and wild horses on Long Island? Because we covered their food source with blacktop and condos, pizza parlors, nail salons and strip malls.

Must we cover every grass lot or acre of woods with blacktop and concrete? Can’t we leave some to nature?

We moved from New York City to the “country,” Merrick, in 1949. There were woods behind our house. The neighbor’s side yard was big enough for another house. Babylon Turnpike was only half developed with beautiful old homes. Merrick Road had long stretches of woods and fields between stores. There were no fast food joints or strip malls or medical groups and just a few car dealerships.

Now there is a house behind my old house, another one on my neighbor’s side yard. Babylon Turnpike is solid with houses, with about 20 feet between each. Merrick Road is solid blacktop and concrete from Brooklyn east for about 60 miles.

A big exception: Merrick Landfill is also Norman Levy Park, with hiking trails, and Merrick Mountain, with a fitness trail and views of the beautiful Great South Bay. And there is a wonderful bike/walk trail on the bay side of Jones Beach Island. It stretches for many miles.

Beautiful John Steinbeck Waterfront Park in Sag Harbor recently cost $11 million. A refurbished Agawam Park in Southampton will cost a few million dollars, also.

The Bel-Aire Cove Motel property in Hampton Bays cost only $1 million. It will cost a small amount to make it into a park, but many millions less than the ones in Sag Harbor and Southampton. We should name it Cyndi McNamara Water View Park.

Southampton Town, under Supervisor Jay Schneiderman, bought the Bel-Aire Cove Motel property over five years ago. At that time, Mr. Schneiderman said, “Now that we own it, we will knock it down.” Instead, he had a fence put around it to protect it, like it is a national treasure like the Statue of Liberty.

We can build almost anything, but we can’t make new land. Vacant property, especially if it’s on the water and not privately owned, should be kept “forever wild.” We have that opportunity with the Bel-Aire Cove Motel.

I would like to thank Supervisor Schneiderman for the third blue walkway over the dunes at Ponquogue Beach. It makes the walk, especially for older people, easier, like a walk in the park. Now, if he can find the time, he might consider building a bike/walk trail on the bay side of Dune Road from inlet to inlet, like the one on Jones Beach Island. We could name it “Jay Schneiderman Inlet to Inlet Bike Trail.”

Jim Dreeben

Hampton Bays