Letters

I served four years in the U.S. Air Force, including one tour, from 1968 to 1969, in Vietnam as a canine handler, which required me to be a member of the security police. I saw a lot during the 11 months I spent in country, including many acts of true bravery and heroism.

So, I know courage when I see it.

Courage is standing up and doing what’s right even when the odds are against you. Examples of courage by elected officials are few and far between these days. But there was recently a rare display of it on the Southampton Town Board.

Board member Tommy John Schiavoni cast the lone dissenting vote against killing the long-awaited Liberty Gardens development that would have provided housing for Long Island workers and veterans. He did so even though he knew his vote was both unpopular and ineffective in the face of opposition by his fellow board members.

He knew his vote couldn’t save Liberty Gardens — but that wasn’t the point.

In casting his vote, Mr. Schiavoni referenced the town’s affordable housing “crisis,” which is pushing hardworking families and individuals out of their home communities. He also noted that the town itself initially invited the Medford-based nonprofit Concern Housing to develop the site on County Route 39 in hopes of trying to address that selfsame crisis.

But town leaders turned their backs on Concern and the veterans it serves. They did so to appease a few loud and insistent opponents, who, quite frankly, didn’t want the kind of residents Liberty Gardens would have accommodated as their new neighbors.

In the 30 years I have been working to support Long Island veterans and their families, I have unfortunately seen this kind of opposition before. It is not only an insult to the military members who have served and sacrificed for their country but also woefully ill informed.

My organization, United Veterans Beacon House, has developed short-term, long-term and transitional housing for vulnerable individuals across Long Island. We have turned dilapidated, dangerous properties into affordable homes and safe havens. In some cases, our opponents, upon seeing our success, became supporters and even allies.

The true measure of any community is how it treats the least of its members. Mr. Schiavoni recognized this when he voted to protect a much-needed project he knew was doomed.

Keeping your word is a true testament to public service. That is courage.

Frank Amalfitano

Bay Shore