Town officials may ‘hear’ us, but do they actually listen?

To the Editor:

The following is an open letter to the Members of the Riverhead Town Board and town planners:

Talks between residents and the Town Board make good sound bites, however, there always seems to be a disconnect. Sure you “hear” us, but do you actually give as much weight to the concerns of the residents (the people you represent) as you do to the big money pushing their way into town? Are you only trying to placate us? 

I have lived in Riverhead for 19 years and without fail, nearly every town official has said that they are encouraging building and businesses to “increase the tax base.” All that said, what has happened is that the “need” to “increase the tax base” has fed an insatiable monster of growth without end. 

Our residential communities are being overrun with traffic, noise and pollution, yet with all the hemming and hawing, I have yet to hear what you have done to protect the tax paying communities. Responsibility for any of these issues gets tossed from one department to another. When we cite the fact that 20-ton vehicles are using roads rated for a max of 8 tons and that speed signs may as well not exist, what has been done?

Planning maps for the wooded property at the western end of Middle Road and Manor, continue to show a massive “warehouse” proposal larger than Tanger! How will traffic be rerouted, noise and pollution be handled? The WAZE app already directs traffic to Manor and Middle as a bypass around 25 and 58, increasing the constant, high-speed traffic passing several senior communities! What solutions have the new planners proposed?

Please give us some straight answers, without skirting around our questions,

Linda J. Nemeth

Calverton

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