Two Long Island housing related stories from Newsday:

• College grads push for affordable housing

Natalie Gaebelein started Stay on Long Island to lobby for affordable housing.

"There's nothing for people my age," Gaebelein said. "There's nowhere to live. You either live at home in your childhood bedroom, which is pretty embarrassing ... [or] somebody's basement."

Although my wife and I own a coop, we are looking for a house. Both of us spent plenty of time living at home. There is simply nothing affordable for college grads here. The condo complexes that are beautiful are mostly for people 55 and over. Houses that need a lot of work cost a huge amount of money. Although the housing prices are coming down, the taxes are not. When I saw some of the places my siblings lived in other states before they bought houses I was struck at how there was nothing comparable here on Long Island. Either something needs to be done to get affordable housing here, or people need to continue to move elsewhere.

• Ban on religious statues raises legal questions

"The community's homeowners' association board approved the rule this year, banning religious statues and bird feeders and birdbaths from all common areas. In those gardens, residents are allowed to place other small statues, gazing balls, scarecrows and even plastic pink flamingos so long as they don't exceed certain other restrictions."

The president of the Condo board Arlene Crandall -

"Typical decorations" should be allowed, as opposed to religious statues, for instance, which only appeal to one segment of the community's population."

So, pink flamingos appeal to everyone?
As mentioned earlier, I live in a coop so we have common areas for planting flowers and I am familiar with the types of rules complexes must set down. We are not allowed any statues or flags or anything except flowers to be put in the common areas. This is a sensible rule since people tend to lack common sense and taste. But banning only religious statues is simply bigoted, and does not make any sense when things like pink flamingos are allowed. If the complex didn't allow statues of Mary because or the danger of a huge wind storm picking it up, this would make sense, but they actually ban any specifically religious item. If I lived in this complex, I would respond to this by planting the biggest, most gaudy, ugly and tastless stuff in every inch I could.