An Open Letter To The Elected

Elmont Community Leader Speaks His Piece

Now is not the time for lies or pointing fingers. We all know who did what and how we got to this mess. Elmont, Nassau County, Long Island is heading into a serious storm and I am not talking about the weather.

School taxes, high cost of living, energy prices are forcing the middle class to run off this Island. It is time that our politicians read our letters, listen to our complaints and fix these serious problems. We the taxpayers should stop looking for rewards or approval from our elected, instead we should be looking for solutions, new ideas and a new direction. I am sorry if I hurt your feelings and I don't support you or your ways, this is too important to me, my family and my community.

This is no longer a joke and, yes, I do sometimes come off strong, but guess what, it doesn't matter to me who wins the election just as long as you realize something more needs to be done.

Yes, we all know one another, and yes, we are friends, but friendship and your position to lead and solve problems has to be seperated. You have won friends by giving money or passing a bill or promising to solve our problems and yet the middle class is getting wiped out. You tell us lies to get re-elected and you tell us that this is what people want, and I tell you this is not what people want. We don't care about all the taxing districts, we need relief and consolidation. We don't care about all your friends who have jobs in the town, we can't afford to pay for it any more. We don't care about school boards and them wasting money on themselves, we want our children and grandchildren educated at a cost we can afford. We don't care about your mailings to our homes, but we do care about how much you are spending.

Don't tell me that someone has raised taxes when it was you who brought all of us down. Don't tell us that you are holding the line on taxes than raise all the other taxes. You know it's sad when you get a tax bill that tells the truth, and my bill this year shows lower taxes in the county portion and much higher taxes in the town portion. So I don't need to hear your lies, I can read them for myself. So pardon me for not kissing your rear, but I am fighting for my family and my true friends.There is no time left, everyone needs to open their mouth and speak out.

If you don't have a solution then you are part of the problem and you need to go. Listen people, your taxes will double in the next 5 years and that is no lie you can see where we are heading just by your tax bill every year. The STAR program has done nothing - you lost that after the first year when your school taxes increased. We can no longer afford to pay for Education with a regressive property tax and we can no longer afford to support the old ways. This is 2005 and 1939 is long gone. Please spare us your lies and mailings, the people of Elmont and Long Island are smarter than you think. Don't insult us any longer.

Patrick Nicolosi
Elmont, New York

The writer is President of the Elmont East End Civic Club. This Guest Blog first appeared as a Letter to the Editor of the Elmont Herald, and has been republished with the permission of the author and the paper.

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