Bethpage-Tribune_1969-01-23

              BOTP/ISE PUBLIC i n n ,
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47 POWELL IV
fiETHPACE NY |1714
etfypag*
Serving Bethpage - Plainview - Island Trees - Ploinedge - Seaford
Vol. 3 No. 13 Thursday, January 23, 1969 10< per copy
From
The Publisher's Desk
* A Good Word
The Board of Education of Island Trees Public
Schools has decided to appoint a person to fill
the vacancy which exists on the Board. The
Board is inviting applications from interested
persons. The applications are to be addressed to
Mrs. Dorothy Griff in, District Clerk, Stokes School.
The applications must be received no later than
TJiursday_January_30JJ,969J i__ \ i
Interviews of applicants will be conducted by the
Board of Education on Saturday, February 1, 1969,
commencing at 10 a.m. in the Board room at the
Stokes School.
* * *
For The «.R.
Congressman Lester L. Wolff
announced last week that Grum­man
Aircraft Engineering Corp.,
of Bethpage, has' been(Awarded
one of the most sought after
Defense Department contracts of
recent years.
Wolff said Grumman has been
selected by the Navy as prime
contractor for the F14-A- an
award that should bring five bil­lion
dollars to the Long Island
firm in the next ten years.
The F14-A is the Navy's new
supersonic, carrier-based
fighter and replaces the F-lll
on which Grumman had been a
subcontractor.
Wolff said Grumman was se­lected
after intensive competi­tion
among the five largest
aerospace manufacturers in the
country for the lucrative con­tract.
The Long Island Congressman,
who represents Bethpage in the
House of Representatives, said
hie was ''elated?* that' Grumman
had received the award.
Wolff explained: "This suc­cessful
effort by Grumman, which
is to be congratulated for its
important victory, will have far-reaching
effects on the Long Is­land
economy.
"It can be estimated that 20,000
additional jobs will be created at
Grumman and its Long Island
subcontractors by virtue of this
award and I expect wil will mean
continuing growth for our local
economy."
Present plans call for the first
flight of F14-A in early 1971
and operation in the fleet by
1973.
Everybody had something to say on the "LIRR C r i s i s " at the Public
Hearing ordered by the State Joint Legislation.Committee on Mass T r a n s ­portation
held last night in the Georgian Room of the Garden City Hotel.
Senator Edward J. Speno, Chairman of the committee headed an im­p
r e s s i v e group of State Senators andJ Assemblymen: The- local represen­tatives
included, State Senator Ralph Marino, John D. Caemmerer, John
R. Dunne, Norman F. Lent and State Assemblymen Martin Ginsberg, Francis
P. McCloskey, Milton Jonas, Joseph M. Reilly, Joseph M. Margiotta, John
E. Kingston, Stanley Harwood, George J. F a r r e l l , J r . and Vincent R. Balletta,
J r .
Witness at the hearing included Dr. William J. Ronan, Chairman of the.
Metropolitan Transit Authority, Harold;; Pry o r . President of the Board of,
Bailroad Trainmen, Frank Aikmari, President of the Long Island Rdllfoaxi.
Anthony D'Avanzo, President of the LffiR Carmen's Union; Nathan Klein,
President, North Shore Commuters Association; Douglas Wilke, Vice P r e s i ­dent
of the Greater L.I. Commuters Association and Jules Bernstein,
President, Central Island Commuters Association.
A delegationof interested citi- people indicated this in their
zens headed by Joan Cable and remarks. When Harold Pryor,
Buddy Mazzara also' appeared
at the hearing for a "first hand
look" at the situation.
Over 1000 people crowded in­to
the hearing room and as each
speaker moved to the rostrum
there were waves of boos and
cheers depending on whose side
had the most followers in the
crowd. From the way the shouts
were going the crowd indicated
they were very unhappy com­muters
who were "sick and
tired" of being pushed around.
There was a very hostile feel­ing
toward the Union and many
President of the Railroad Train­men
spoke, he was greeted with
angry shouts. However/when
Anthony D'Avanzo, President of
the LjJIJR. Carmen's Union ex­plained
reasons for the alleged
"slowdown" of trains, he was
given a great deal more courtesy
and attention from the crowd;
D'Avanzo stated that the ma­chine
shops were understaffed,
parts inventories extremely low
and trains, were being "can-nabilized"
for parts. He stated
mis was unsafe, unsatisfactory
and inefficient. He blamed man-
|||||IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII1IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUIIIUIUIIIHIIIIIUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII«IIIII"III"I«I»«"'"«I«"
"A Hundred Years Awaiting!''
Submitted by Larry O'Sullivan
The Long Island Railroad
ON THE WAY UP! Leroy Saul of Bethpage -
promoted to assistant secretary of Long Island
Trust Company. Mr. = Saul, who has had twenty-eight
years of banking experience, joined the
Trust Company in 1967 and wa3 elected an as­sistant
manager. A former membsr of the Queens
Bankers Association, he is active in the Police
Athletic League of Bethpage. Mr. Saul has taken
various specialized courses with the American
Institute of Banking and City College of New York.
He is located at the bank's East Garden City
office, corner of Stewart Avenie and Clinton Road.
(A reprint from Harper's Weekly
of May 22, 1869).
"We have formerly spoken of (he
discomfort of the Long Island
Railroad, but is has become
necessary to speak now of its
danger. The late frightful ac­cident
by which six persons were
killed has been investigated
thoroughly, and the jury returned
that "the Long Island Railroad
Company are responsible for said
accident by neglecting their duty
in keeping their tracks in proper
order." •
It would now, of course, be
agreeable to the publlic to know
that some change had been made
in those agents of the Company
who are immediately respond
sible; and it is certainly
satisfactory to ascertain that
there can be a verdict adverse to
a Railroad Company. It would,
however, have been more ser­viceable
if the names of the guilty
persons had been published in the1
verdict.
. . . .Appeals to humanity and
cTimon prudence are hopeless,
it appears, in dealing with the
management of railroads.
. . . .Various suggestions have
been offered as^to the cause of the
frightful character of the ac­cident,
all showing that many
obvious1 and essential im­provements
in construction and
management had not been
adopted by the Long Island
Road.....the risk upon the Long
Island Road " was and is
. aggravated by bad spiking, in­terior
iron, deficient ties, and a
scamping of the work generally."
Indeed it was fair to presume
that the management of a road
which - a. ieast two or three
years ago « was so negligent of
the ordinary comfort of
passengers would not be very
.solicitous for -their safety. A
. miserly economy upon a railroad
does not promise security, and
passengers who are dumped in a
manure-yard must not be sur­prised
if they are regarded as
cattle. After so solemn and
terrible a catastrophe, however,
and so emphatic a verdict, we
may justly expect a radical
reformation of the road, if suits
be brought for heavy damages."
.And we are still waiting.
agement for this.
Dr. Ronan, who also was sub­jected
to angry displays by the
audience stated that lack of man­agement
and supervisory per­sonnel
when the MTA took over
the railroad as well as lack of
equipment and parts also played
a role in the present crisis.
He also blamed inadequate fi­nancing.
He pointed out that the
railroad was hamstring by po­litical
interference. He cited the
need for "labor flexibility" and
said, the railroad must know its
cost when dealing with the 17
unions that represent the em­ployees.
He said each Union vyes
with the other in obtaining money
and benefits. He stated there is
a poor labor management re­lationship.
Harold Pryor of the Train­men's
Union recommended the
State pump 25 million into
the Railroad immediately to solve
some of its. ills. He said if
the City's subways can be amply
subsidized by State Funds why
not the railroad serving Nas­sau
and Suffolk taxpayers.
The Commuter groups called
for "immediate action". A call
for a "proper climate" to en­courage
meaningful negotiations
was made by the President of
the Long Island Commuters As­sociation
and that the "selfish
interests of both sides take a
back seat". The cOmmuter or-,<?
ganizations submitted reports on
the condition of equipment and
also made recommendations
calling for greater autonomy for
me LJURJB. under toe State and
also recommending commuter
representation on the L.LRJt.
Board.
ft was also suggested that a
moratorium of- one year be
placed on fare increases until
the crisis settles. >
One thing was certain in every-body'jS
mind -- "toe railroad
is i#deep trouble and the serv­ice
is lousy — something hasd
to be done NOW!
r^*~"