O'Donnell Wants MTA Expanded to Include Commuter Representation
William G. O'Donnell of Mas-sapequa,
Democratic candidate
for assemblyman in Nassau's 9th
A. D. » wants the Legislature to
revise the structure of the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority
to include commuter representatives
from Nassau and
Suffolk.
The 39- year- old attorney, who
has experience in labor negotiations,
called this week for legislation
to require that MTA membership
be increased from nine
to eleven with the appointment
of two additional members representing
Nassau and Suffolk
commuters.
They would be appointed, under
O'Donnell's proposal, by County
Executives Eugene H. Nickerson
of Nassau and H. Lee Dennison
of Suffolk subject to approval of
Commuters Call For Action On LIRR Status
More than 1,500 Long Island
Rail Road commuters signed
emergency petitions demanding
that Governor Rockefeller call a
special session of the State Legislature
to declare the LIRR a disaster
area, Assemblyman Martin
Ginsberg reported this week.
" From 6: 45 to 8: 45 A. M. and
from 4: 30 to 6: 30 P. M. on Monday,
I and my representatives
were at the Hicksville LIRR station
with petitions, " Ginsberg
said. " They demanded that New
York State intervene in the
present dispute by alleviating the
emergency and restoring normal
service to the line. The commuters
are dis - listed and fod up
with the MTA and the LIRR and
they want something done at
once."
Ginsberg said he again surveyed
the line's rolling stock and
found the cars to be in a dirtier,
more deplorable condition than
even last week. He said he found
the cars filthy and almost impossible
to use and insisted that the
MTA clean them up at once or
get out of the railroad business.
Ginsberg said he has heard
rumors that the LIRR may shortly
seek another fare increase
from its parent, the MTA.
" Rather than get another fare
increase and have conditions get
even worse," he said, " I would
rather see the MTA try something
different — it should reduce
fares or perhaps even refund
money it has previously obtained
under the guise of ' better
service in the future'. They just
are not kidding anybody any
more."
The legislator also noted the
lack of parking facilities at the
Hicksville and Farmingdale stations,
among others on the line.
He recalled his earlier pleas to
the MTA and LIRR for more
parking facilities around the stations
and said he intends to keep
goading officials of the MTA and
LIRR " until they do the job they
are supposed to do."
their Boards of Supervisors.
" The disastrous service cutbacks
now going on," O'Donnell
said, " make it very evident that
state operation of the Long Island
Railroad under the MTA, far
from being the cure- all for the
LIRR's woes, finds service and
union - management bickering
worse than ever.
" Whichever side wins this battle,
the commuter remains the
perpetual loser, paying ever increasing
fares for ever deteriorating
operation. Now he faces the
threat of a complete disruption
of service.
" Somebody whose responsibility
is the welfare of the thousands
of commuters who depend on this
sorry railroad must sit in on
MTA deliberations.
Music, Dancing Featured At TOB
Special Events Summer Finale
Dancing and a variety of musical
presentations will feature the
Oyster Bay Town RecreationDe-partment's
special events for the
week of August 21 that will conclude
the regular special events
programs for the summer.
At the Marjorie R, Post,
Massapequa Community Park the
Lantern Theatre will present
" Spoon River Anthology" by Edgar
Lee Masters on Wednesday,
August 21 from 8 to 10 p. m.
At the Bethpage Community
Park the Huntington North Shore
Chorus will present their dis- 1
tinctive song style for the enjoyment
of the entire family on Wednesday.
At theSyosset- WoodburyCommunity
Parkthe Banjo Society will
strum along their melodies for all
to enjoy.
Finally, at the Plainview- Old
Bethpage Community Park the
Long Island Opera Showcase, Inc.
will present " Opera Cameos".
The special events are for
members of the park district
only.
The Friday night teen activities
from 7 to 10 p. m. will feature
all- star rock and roll bands
for the final night of dancing under
the stars.
Grover Angered On Biofra Appeal
Angered by State Department
inaction on his plea to intervene
in behalf of the starving people
of Biafra, Congressman James
R. Grover Jr. this week carried
his appeal to President Johnson.
Grover, in a telegram to the
President, said: " More thi'i a
week has passed since my request
to the State Department
that we pull all stops, economic
and diplomatic, to provide relief
for the starving Biafrans. To
date, I have not received the
courtesy of an acknowledgement
or reply. I urge you, therefore,
to do all possible in that direction
in keeping with America's
international humanitarian
leadership."
Grover said he had contacted
the State Department because
many residents of the Second
Congressional District had expressed
concern over the starvation
in Biafra, as a result of the
civil war with Nigeria. " I am
amazed and dismayed," Grover
said, " over the complete lack of
action and the apparent lack of
concern as reflected in the failure
of the State Department to
acknowledge my request for action
and to indicate any plans for
moving in this direction."
Use Well Illustrated Books for Children,
New Librarian Says
Although adults have been
warned by an old proverb not to
" judge a book by its cover," parents
who want to introduce their
youngest children to good reading
will do well to select illustrated
storybooks, according to Mrs.
Nancy Buckley, newly- appointed
assistant children's librarian at
Plainedge Public Library.
" Little children are first
drawn to a book by the visual
excitement of the cover and then
by the quality of the illustrations,"
she said in an interview
this week. " Later on, boys and
girls begin to have favorite subject
matter - snakes, dinosaurs,
horses, baseball - but high quality
picture books are very important
in introducing children to
reading."
Mrs. Buckley, who comes to
Plainedge after experience as a
school librarian in Northport,
feels that children are receptive
to reading for pleasure as well
as for information, despite the allure
of television and comic
books. " Parents can encourage
their children to read by subscribing
to good quality adult maga-
Mrs. Nancy Buckley, is the new Assistant Children's Librarian at
the Plainedge Public Library.
Farmingdale OBSERVER, Thursday, August 15, 1968
" We now have six members
appointed by the governor and
three by the mayor of New York
City. Thus far, the MTA's major
accomplishment seems to have
been raising Chairman Ronan's
annual salary to the outlandish
sum of $ 70,000.
" Now we are told the MTA
took a so- called calculated risk
by delaying the purchase of needed
spare parts for cars pending
the arrival of new cars sometime
in the future. I don't know who
made the brilliant blunder, but
whoever did certainly did not
have the interests of the Nassau
and Suffolk commuters in mind.
" They must be given a voice
in the management of the railroad
on which they depend for their
livelihood," O'Donnell said.
zines andj by reading stories
aloud," she pointed out.
The Plainedge Public Library
she commented, has collections
of stories suitable for readinga-loud.
This home activity helps
children to sustain an interest in
reading and assists them in building
good vocabularies. She also
mentioned that there will be excellent
magazines for children at
the new library building. When a
youngster shows a continuing interest
in a particular magazine,
she recommended a subscription
as a " very grown up kind of gift."
In the area of reference books
for children, Mrs. Buckley feels
that if the family has several
children close together in age, investment
in a juvenile encyclopedia
is justified. " But not if
you have a family like mine," she
laughed, " with a brother ten
years younger. By the time he
could use the encyclopedia, it was
out- of- date!"
Queried about discipline problems
she had encountered in
library work, Mrs. Buckley
seemed surprised. " The average
child who comes to the library,"
she said, " is really concerned
about finding the right books, lie
is selective and he is appreciative
of enough time in which to
make a leisurely choice. Of
course, pre- schoolers have
short legs and short interest
spans, so I'm glad that in the new
building there will be a special
storybook area furnished just for
them."
Petitions containing more than 1,500 names gathered on Monday,
are on Assemblyman Martin Ginsberg's desk as the legislator completes
a letter to Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller. The letter explains
that the petitions represent commuter's demands that Rockefeller
call a special session of the State Legislature to declare the
LIRR, now involved in serious labor- management difficulties, a
" disaster area." The petitions also demand that the governor intervene
in the dispute as a means of alleviating the emergency and
restoring normal service to the commuter line.
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