Village of Mineola- A Village of Shame

The following is off topic but is something that I need to get off my chest. And yes, I am using my blog as a sort of bully pulpit ( all be it a tiny one) to bring some attention to what I feel is a form of organized thuggery.

The nature of local governments to create local fiefdoms,  that have bloated patronage laden payrolls, have a stranglehold on our lives. The following letter is to the Mayor of the Incorporated Village of Mineola. For those of you who don’t know, Mineola is located in the heart of Nassau County and is also home to  our county seat. It is a Republican controlled village that has a thriving tax base, a major transportation hub, and schools that are struggling to stay afloat financially.

Mayor Scott Strauss

Village of Mineola

155 Washington Avenue

Mineola, New York 11501

 

Dear Mayor Strauss,

Attached please find my check for $50 for payment of  ticket that I received on Marcellus. After spending a stressful day with my father in the emergency room at Winthrop Hospital, I returned to my car ( after moving it several times) to find that I have been ticketed by your village.

Please convey my sincere regret to your village residents, that they feel the need to consciously raise revenue on the families of those seeking medical care at Winthrop. Your village’s predatory nature of issuing tickets, in front of the hospital, is something that has marked your village as a village of shame.  It’s bad enough that your parking meter rates surrounding the hospital are exorbitant; you also have parking enforcement thugs that prey on those who are facing medical emergencies. Your village’s snow removal is poor and has forced many of us that must go to the hospital to scale huge snowbanks to feed meters or move our cars.

Attached please find my $50 check. I pray it is used to help you and your village to reset your moral compass. In the meantime, as I make my daily visits to Winthrop Hospital, my thoughts of my ailing father will be shared with a disdain of your village.

Respectfully submitted,

Ralph Ratto