To the editor:

As I look out of my front door and across North Main Street at an empty lot where the original Obici Hospital stood, I cringe at the thought of apartment buildings and a shopping strip being built on what I consider to be hallowed ground.

I don’t suppose Amedeo Obici intended his gift of that land and hospital to the people of Suffolk to one day be desecrated with commercial and residential buildings.

Many of our children were born there, many loved ones passed there, and so many lives were saved there. What an achievement it would be for our City Council to provide a memorial park as a legacy for the citizens of Suffolk.

I also invite City Council members to stand in my front yard at 1805 N. Main St. and imagine how they would feel if what has been proposed for said property were to be located across from their homes.

The relative peace and quiet the Northgate community is still able to enjoy does not deserve to be disturbed by yet another stop light and additional traffic and congestion.

Many thanks are extended to Monette Harrell, Geoff Payne, Doug Naismith and others who spearheaded this endeavor and the many who wrote letters.

Yes, this proposal for a park should have been addressed years before now. However, “better late than never.”

Frances Shotton

Suffolk