[ back ]
Letters Feb. 6, 2008
Article lacking information
To the editor:
There appears to be a glaring omission in both your story and the artist’s rendering of the proposed new Tenafly Police Department building (Suburbanite Jan. 30). Where are the ramps and handicap accessible doors? To someone using a wheelchair or walker, those two sets of steps might as well be a solid wall. And the door at the top of those stairs gives no indication it is designed to accommodate anyone with handicaps. Nor does your story make mention of such features either. Surely Tenafly intends the new police department be equally accessible to all residents?
Patrick O’Neil
Englewood
Applaud energy saving efforts
To the editor:
I was surprised by the editorial (Jan. 9, 2008) in which the Suburbanite took issue with the efforts of Closter Mayor Sophie Heymann to try to get Borough employees to become more conscious of rising energy costs and to take steps, where possible, to conserve on rising energy/utility costs. As homeowners and as good citizens, we are faced with the need to be more mindful of our high energy use and costs and to conserve wherever we can. As a taxpayer, I would expect nothing less from our Borough employees, including our schools and police.
In its editorial, the Suburbanite asserted that Closter, as well as other local governments, had failed in properly estimating the unexpected increase in energy costs during 2007. In that regard, I could not help but note an article in The Wall Street Journal on Jan. 9, the same date as the Suburbanite’s editorial. The article was by a regular columnist who writes on investing. In reviewing his investment results for 2007, he made note of the fact that at the start of 2007, he had failed to anticipate the sharp increase that actually happened. He wrote: "Who would have dreamed back then of $100 oil".
The criticism voiced by the Suburbanite smacks of nothing more than Monday morning quarterbacking. That disappoints me. I would have expected a more thoughtful editorial effort from the Suburbanite. As to the other Monday morning quarterback, ex-council member Michael Kafer (Letters, Jan. 9,2008), it’s unfortunate that he did not challenge Closter’s budgetary assumptions a year ago. That might have been helpful. Monday morning quarterbacking is not.
Finally, whether or not the mayor and council had fully anticipated and budgeted for last year’s surge in the price of oil is not the real issue. The real issue is that energy costs are very high and the Borough’s employees must make an effort to conserve wherever they can.
Carl N. Olsson
Closter
[ back ]
