Letter: Dangerous ongoing situation in the Village of Port Chester

I have lived in Port Chester for the past five years and have never experienced the level of threat to my personal safety as I have this summer on a repeated basis. The number of bicycles and motorized scooters that are now being used with impunity on the sidewalks of Port Chester and Rye Brook are a threat to every pedestrian, but particularly to the elderly, the handicapped, and those with children and dogs. We are all endangered by this violation of what I understand are ordinances already in place that are simply not being enforced.

Until now I have never had a reason to be critical of the Port Chester Police Department, and it is distasteful to me now to have to openly express my frustration with them. However, they are simply not doing their job when it comes to this threat to the life and limb of the town's residents. I have gone to the trouble of attending a Village Board meeting where I spoke up about this issue and was told at the time that it had been "previously addressed" and would be "dealt with" by the chief, who is now on "indefinite leave," according to some of his subordinates. Since then, this problem has in no way been addressed and has only exacerbated.

I have been repeatedly barred from making specific civilian complaints by rude and incompetent desk sergeants who prevented me from entering the station to write up a complaint. When I asked for the e-mail address of the precinct captain, I was refused. In fact, this is the first police department I have ever encountered where potential complainants have to be buzzed into the station. Every time I have called the precinct to report an incident of one of these individuals on bicycles or motorized scooters missing me by a hair's breadth, I have been told that it isn't worth police time. I have lived in townships with police departments that were half the strength of Port Chester's which nonetheless managed to successfully cover over 10 times as much territory and do a far more effective job of protecting the law-abiding public than the Port Chester Police Department.

Motorized scooters are an invention of the devil and should be outlawed entirely, as they are a danger on the street as much as on the pavement. Bicycles should be confined to playgrounds or bike paths if the riders do not feel comfortable on the street. "Delivery" people should be adequately outfitted with cars. There is no argument for allowing bike and scooter riders—many of whom are badly brought up minors and recently migrated adults—to terrorize pedestrians just as there is no excuse for village government and police negligence around this issue. It needs to be addressed immediately before someone gets seriously and irreparably hurt. Since Mayor Luis Marino and the Trustees have been duly advised of the situation, there is a chance that a pedestrian injured by misuse of one of these vehicles on the pavement could have a case against the village.

Deborah Kramer

Port Chester