We’ve all been seeing the wonderful promise of “development” coming soon to the Apollo Plaza in Monticello. But for all that I have seen of the coverage, what I seem to have missed, or has been omitted, is the addressing of the toxicity of that site prior to any development plans.

I am not sure of the source, but I seem to recall something about the toxicity of the landfill which sits right behind the plaza. I remember the gases and leakage into the floors of the stores, but I remember even better the cancers and the deaths that became way too common among store owners. And not to beat a dead horse, in this economy of jobs and money coming before health and welfare, doesn’t anyone remember the brain cancer incidents (yes, that is plural) in one single community right behind the landfill?

What price are we as citizens and residents willing to pay for growth, when that growth is beginning to wipe out all that we have known and felt to be important? Perhaps it doesn’t matter anymore. But there are still regulations, and I would like to know how this massive problem is being addressed.

Cathy Farris

Mountaindale, NY