Dear Editor,
The Community Outreach Center’s giveaway served a lot of families. The location did not.
Hosting an event of this size on a main road on a Sunday, just as the new school year is beginning, produced exactly the kind of gridlock that could have been predicted. Emergency vehicles struggled to get through roads that need to remain clear, while traffic backed up throughout the surrounding area.
With Rosh Hashanah and the rest of the Yomim Tovim approaching, our main roads will already be strained enough without adding avoidable bottlenecks.
A park, large parking lot, or another location better equipped to handle a large crowd could have served the same families without bringing traffic in the area to a standstill.
The giveaway was a worthwhile initiative. Next time, organizers should plan the location with the expected turnout and its impact on surrounding roads in mind.
Sincerely,
A Gridlocked Citizen
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They put out that its supplies worth $50 i opened my sons bag 🎒 and i see its cheap Walmart supplies maximum worth $12 , waisting 2 hrs in the line and in traffic is more expensive then the 3 bags i received for my kids
When parents are willing to sit in massive gridlock for $50 worth of school supplies, it’s a glaring red flag about the current state of our economy and inflation. People are desperate. Huge kudos to the COC and Aaron Weider for providing the relief our families desperately need!
In contrast, all we see from Rep. Weber are blood drives and Rt 59 reporting while families struggle. We should all be calling his office to ask: when are you going to step up and provide real economic relief?
I really appreciated the giveaway. I also thought, “Hey, what’s in here already?” But when I sat down with my child to prepare her knapsack, we crossed off a lot of her list, and was left with a few filler items missing. Thank you for the thoughtful event.
Regarding location, my thoughts exactly. Park n’ Ride, Viola Park etc.. would have been a much more doable choice. Both for people attending the giveaway, and for people trying to navigate the streets for other reasons.
Dear Gridlocked citizen, if you feel that this gridlock was so foreseeable and preventable, why did you not attempt to make your voice heard before the event?
This event was reported on the Monsey Scoop in advance, you had ample opportunity to present your concerns and suggestions.
Please understand that this event was the first of it’s kind, and mistakes were almost inevitable. Next time they’ll be smarter.