I would like to commend Mr. Gregory Lewis for his letter to the editor (New Cassel—The New Racism, July 14, 2016) wherein he states, “The New Racism in New Cassel is the continued refusal of the Town of North Hempstead to effectively enforce the housing codes to eliminate illegal rental housing.” Mr. Lewis cites how the Town of North Hempstead’s lack of consistency at best, and complete negligence at worst, has amounted to New Cassel becoming “drastically unstable because of the dominance of illegal housing…” The concerns Mr. Lewis raises extend from smaller everyday quality of life issues, to the greater burden placed on local and state resources, to what can only be called the most confused narrative of architectural planning evident in the mishmash of edifices that line Prospect Avenue.
I believe, however, that undue blame was placed on Councilwoman Viviana Russell and Legislator Robert Troiano, both of whom have had to operate within a political system that provides narrow margins in which to effect profound, long lasting change. The Town of North Hempstead’s relationship with New Cassel has been marred by cronyism, inattention, carelessness and opportunism. Within the town’s very borders the disparity in treatment between the minority homeowners of New Cassel and predominantly white homeowners, specifically those living in the localities closest to Town Hall, speaks to notions of certain privilege. More troubling, it displays a pattern of structural racism that the town refuses to address on a deeper level.
Mr. Lewis has framed an outstanding discourse of the frustrations that mark the reality of living in New Cassel—which has a diverse population and an industrial tax base that could render it as a dynamic, thriving community of the American Dream. Unfortunately, New Cassel is indeed the American Nightmare and the town’s lingering disregard prompts an updated turn of a better-known phrase: “Poor New Cassel. So far from Town Hall. So close to nowhere.”
—Edward A. Dugger
