Letters to the Press: For the Week of March 25 – April 1

Traffic Alert

Dear Editor:
I picked up the paper today at the local grocery and was already interested in the human trafficking story [“Pounds of Flesh,” March 18], as I have met with Assemblyman Dinowitz of the 81st district who was working on the anti-trafficking laws when I was an undergraduate student in the Bronx. Now I am a Masters of Social Work student here at Stony Brook. The article was interesting and informative, however with that said, the editor may want to check the advertisements placed in the paper, especially those for out-call “bodywork” 24/7. Would this then classify the Long Island Press as promoting prostitution and human trafficking?

Colleen Murphy
Patchogue

Stormy Reminder

Dear Editor:

Last weekend’s powerful storm should be a wakeup call to every resident on the island to make disaster preparations now. Easy access to beautiful beaches here on the island as well as lack of recent hurricanes here lull us to our unique vulnerability. Bryan Norcross wrote in his book Hurricane Almanac that “the biggest hurricane disaster on the Atlantic coast is in the New York City, northern New Jersey, western Long Island metropolitan area.”

Now is the time to prepare our homes and families, including our most vulnerable members—our pets. Most shelters will not accept pets, so you must make the plan keeping in mind a companion animal is happiest in a familiar, safe environment. Teach pets to be accustomed to crates or carriers, making then a more welcome guest in a friend’s or relative’s home. Ask those outside of the affected area whether they could shelter your animals. Be familiar with an evacuation route. Assemble a pet disaster kit with your animal’s medical records, medications, collars, leashes, food, water bowl and photo of you with your pet. Bring enough supplies for 10 days even if you think you will only be gone a short time. Don’t wait until the last minute to evacuate.

Sincerely,
Nancy Lynch
President, Pet Safe Coalition, Inc.
Locust Valley

The Target, Off Target

Being a lifelong journalist I have lived and worked by the journalistic ethic of getting it right. The “Partial Score” you gave Newsday for selling the Alicia Patterson Building is way off target itself [“The Target,” March 11].

The Patterson Building was a collating and distribution facility, not Newsday’s main office as you infer. Most of Newsday’s operations like editorial are in the very big building across the street, as they have been since 1979.
Of course your biggest error is not checking the facts. Cablevision/Newsday does not own either building. Sam Zell does. The two buildings were not included in the sale by Tribune to Cablevision. Newsday is a renter in their own home.

Dave Pokress
Farmingdale

Editor’s note: Pokress is a former Newsday employee