No rest (stop) for the weary

No situation epitomizes the mindset that makes it so hard to get anything done on Long Island better than the seemingly annual attempt to build a small rest stop at exit 51 on the Long Island Expressway.

Generating $6 billion-plus annually tourism is Long Island's larget industry. Yet nowhere on Long Island will you find a road-side rest stop. Drive anywhere else in the United States and you will come across a rest area where you can relax, stretch your legs, use a clean bathroom and perhaps learn more about the attractions the area has to offer. And spend money, especially if you have kids along for the ride. Not on Long Island. Here the mentality seems to be, "Welcome to Long Island; You're on your own."

According to an article in "The Long Islander", a local civic association official addressed legislators at a recent reception held by the Long Island Convention and Visitors Bureau to garner legislative support for such a basic tourist-attraction tool. The civic leader said, "If they want to have a rest stop that's fine but don't put it in people's backyards." Bear in mind, folks, that the rest stop is proposed to be right alongside the LIE and that these "backyards" abut an Interstate highway.

Assemblyman Andrew Raia suggested that the rest stop belonged "further out east," but you can be sure the "Out East" folks will fight that just as strenously.

Will Long Island's tourism industry crumble because there's no rest stop on the LIE? Most likely no. But Long Island's lack of hospitality and common courtesy - as well as its 'I got mine so everybody else be damned' mindset is disturbing. So is the lack of an Island-wide government entity that can step up and say, "Hey, this is good for the region so if a few people are inconvenienced so be it."

What rules on Long Island is the notion that the civic association who can make the most noise will get whatever he or she wants, just as long as the elected official in charge can be reassured of getting re-elected. I don't see this changing anytime soon. I just hope it does not lead to the ruination of the region.