Opinion: 'Don’t Be Misled By the Rhetoric Proffered By the YMCA'

I would like to bring to light certain factors which are incumbent upon not allowing the YMCA of Long Island, Inc., aka, Peconic YMCA, attempt to disguise the folks/residents of the North Fork of the real intentions of this corporation in building the

If its, i.e., the YMCA of Long Island, Inc., present supposititious goal is to reach out to the youth and our senior citizens of our communities, then the property location should not be the priority focus — but rather it should be where the populace that needs it the most resides. That being said, therefore, it

George Gabrielsen is correct in his assessment of “accessibility” and “country club atmosphere” because the YMCA of Long Island, Inc.’s major underlying thrust is their profit motive, again, “the corporate bottom-line.” To that means, the YMCA of Long Island, Inc. will endeavor, by any means, to disrupt our wonderful rural, agro-tourism community, as so aptly expressed by

The YMCA advertises itself as having the largest summer day-camp program in the country. This does not include the pre- and after-school programs, etc. We are all keenly aware of the horrendous traffic volume already on Main Road. Can you just envision, in spring, summer and fall, the traffic volume and back-up created by 10 to 15 school buses lined-up, parents dropping children off and delivery vehicles waiting and attempting to gain entrance to or exit from such a facility.

This has been exemplified in the past by other Long Island communities. The corollary to all this is the financial impact it will have on all our small business owners who rely on those seasons for the majority of their income. This grid-lock presents, by itself, major safety issues and concerns. The New York State Department of Transportation has recognized this in the past and has designated Main Road a rural corridor. The land on the North Fork truly represents a unique character in nature and as a last bastion it must be preserved and maintained as past Town Boards have recognized and historically promulgated into law for its protection.

To put it in another perspective, a 40,000-square-foot building is just “shy” of a builder’s acre; can you just imagine a warehouse of that size in your backyard? If this structure is permitted to be built, then, just remember that there is no going back to remediate the damage.

Don’t be misled or fooled by the fallacy and rhetoric proffered by the YMCA of Long Island, Inc. regarding the availability of pool times for the youth and seniors in our community. The times set aside, for example, at the Huntington and Glen Cove YMCA’s afternoon schedule is for swim team practice sessions, albeit, leaving only the very early morning hours and/or very late evening hours for seniors, youth and families. Therefore, the YMCA’s of Long Island, Inc. advertising accessibility becomes a “moot point”. It should be mentioned that the Bayshore facility does not have a pool.

It should be brought to everyone’s attention that under the auspices of the YMCA of Long Island, Inc., they operate under the corporate umbrella a Family Services Branch in Centereach, L.I. with satellite operations in Mastic, Patchogue and Bayshore, the purpose of which, consists of counseling and rehabilitating individuals with drug and alcohol addictions, in addition to, programs of modification for adolescents with behavioral problems. These clients are mostly steered by town, county and state agencies which fund the programs. These programs are definitely not educational by definition and neither are swim programs, arts and crafts etc. They are diametrical, by nature, and the YMCA’s of Long Island, Inc. posture is erroneous.

In conclusion, are we going to allow our long-standing tenets and principles be compromised or worse nullified by an outside corporation to such an extent that it violates the hopes, desires and wishes for our North Fork community. That’s why we have to advocate and protect our sphere and environment in which we choose to live. Taking into consideration, all that that is expressed and encompassed herein, I hope and respectfully remind all our officials and town boards of the saying “leadership is not given, it is earned”

— Bob Rogers