LETTERS: Joanna DelBuono is ‘correct’ about meanies

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Brooklyn Daily

To the editor,

Thanks a million Joanna DelBuono (“Not for Nuthin’”), your reasons for the increase of meanness are correct (“Let’s just stop it with the meanness,” Feb. 22).

Nevertheless, it spirals down to something much more compelling. There’s a total lack of empathy and compassion for others.

If sensible people don’t renounce this abnormal social attitude, then everything is going to become extremely chaotic on our little rock. And it’s going to ultimately continue onward to the stars.

Personally, the meanness I deal with in my neighborhood is people who twist around whatever I say. Neither I, nor anyone else needs that kind of mental anguish. These mean-spirited people think I am being too meek. At my age of 50-plus, I don’t need to keep up with this battle.

Another reason for meanness is hatred. Brainwashing one to be other than themselves is plain wrong. There’s a variety of ways some people express their gender. Not all females feel maternal or totally feminist — and vise versa.

I appeal to those mean-spirited individuals to make an effort to stop creating this whirling windstorm of meanness because there is a lot at stake. Mark my words.Amy Kaye

Sheepshead Bay

Pol speak

To the editor,

Community Board 15 chairwoman Theresa Scavo’s bid for the seat being vacated by Councilman Mike Nelson (D–Midwood) is welcome news, considering the other announced candidates definitely would not represent my progressive agenda (“Chairwoman makes Council bid,” Feb. 27).

I am an activist who attends and testifies at City Council hearings, but I would like the political focus not to be just on road conditions, the implementation of stop signs, tree pruning, street repaving, and building larger sewers along Emmons Avenue.

It is also important for a councilmember to be informed about the criminal justice system, poverty amongst our seniors, and working families earning less than $18,500 for a family of four — the poverty level.

Is it justice when someone works, but cannot even get out of poverty? The present criminal “injustice” system results in 66 percent of released inmates returning to jail within five years.

I ran for the assembly seat in the 45th District last November, and your political coverage greatly increased the awareness of readers to the issue of the horrors of solitary confinement at Rikers Island.

Only 16 percent of inmates are placed in solitary because they are a physical threat to correction officers and other inmates. Allan Feinblum

Midwood

Thanks, Courier

To the editor,

I was glad to read that someone in the press is finally looking into the terrifying traffic conditions in my neighborhood (“The Bay Ridge 500 — Fourth Avenue a racetrack south of Gowanus Expressway underpass,” Feb. 28).

Pedestrians are truly paying the price. I hear of someone getting hit every week, sometimes more.

Somehow, measures to slow down traffic keep getting voted down. Bay Ridge parents would love more focus on this issue. We’d like to get our hands on a radar gun to begin collecting statistics for ourselves!

Ridge Boulevard has become an autobahn for late-night drunk drivers.

Again, thank you for the press.

Christine Fitzsimonds

Bay Ridge

Teach breach

To the editor,

Ugo Rosiello (“Suspen-shun,” Letters to the editor, Feb. 15) conveniently forgets that there are schools out there where there is so much daily disruptive behavior on the part of students, that the deans and assistant principals are unable to get a handle on the situation.

As a result, these schools are in complete chaos, as rampaging students run amok through the halls and constantly disrupt classes.

Mr. Rosiello should be hearing the complaints of current special education teachers. Referrals by them for student placement are now frowned upon. People are being harassed for submitting a plethora of such referrals.

He referred to flunky teachers submitting such requests. Sir, how about the current crop of Leadership Academy principals who never taught, but are now evaluating teachers? Teachers are to be judged by their ability to impart knowledge, not by how well they can control marauding students.Ed Greenspan

Sheepshead Bay

Americans first

To the editor,

I’ve read that our government released some 2,000 illegal immigrants from prisons into our cities.

Will that mean that they will join throngs of other needy folks who are on government handouts, including Section 8 housing, food stamps, and welfare?

Between that and all the foreign aid we give to undesirable countries, where does that leave American citizens?

Joan Applepie

Mill Basin

Vendor bull

To the editor,

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is promoting a street vendor bill, although she gets the majority of her campaign money from real estate interests. The idea that she would support any law intended to help vendors is absurd since the people she represents want all vendors eliminated.

The vending advocacy group that lobbied for this law is financed in large part by the City Council. This group has done more harm to vending rights than the mayor or any Business Improvement District. All this law means is that instead of giving a vendor one $1,000 summons, the police can now give them two or more $500 summonses. The net benefit to vendors is zero. In exchange for this imaginary benefit, the law increases the distance vendors have to be from a residential doorway from 10 feet to 20 feet. This will make virtually all residential streets in the city illegal to vend on, eliminating tens of thousands of legal vending spots. The BID-operated vending concessions, which Quinn supports, are exempt from following any of the vending laws. That’s why, for example, an artist has to be 50 feet from a monument, while a park concession can set up right on top of a monument.

The city created a corporation to vend souvenirs from vending stands. Those vending stands will be rolled out by the BIDs sometime in the next mayoral administration. This bill is just another step in bringing that billion-dollar vending agenda to completion.

Robert Lederman

Soho, Manhattan

The writer is president of Artists’ Response To Illegal State Tactics.

MTA goes our way

To the editor,

Take a brief trip down history to understand why the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has had to implement previous and this months fare hike. For decades, under numerous past MTA five-year capital plans, the city and state cut billions of their own respective financial contributions.

They repeatedly had the MTA refinance or borrow funds to acquire scarce capital funding formerly made up by hard cash from City Hall and Albany. For those public officials who oppose any fare increases and are quick to demagogue on this issue (for political purposes to win upcoming primary or general elections), just how would you assist the MTA in balancing current financial shortfalls? Which capital improvement projects would you propose the MTA cancel to help balance the budget and avoid fare increases? Which routes would you reduce to save operating dollars? Would you volunteer to reduce service, and cancel or delay any capital projects benefiting your constituents?

How many public officials have a Metro Card and ride the system like millions of constituents do on a daily basis?

The MTA’s services continue to be one of the best bargains in town. Since the 1950s, the average cost of riding either the bus, subway or commuter rail has gone up at a lower rate than either the consumer price index or inflation. The MetroCard, introduced in 1996, affords a free transfer between bus and subway. Prior to this, riders had to pay two full fares. Purchasing either a weekly or monthly pass further reduces the cost per ride. Many employers offer transit checks, which pay even more of your costs.

Fare hikes are probably justified if the MTA is to provide the services millions of New Yorkers on a daily basis count on. They are inevitable due to inflation, along with increasing costs of labor, power, fuel, supplies, materials, routine safety, state of good repair, replacement of worn-out rolling stock, upgrades to stations, yards and shops, and system expansion projects necessary to run any transit system.

In the end, quality and frequency of service is dependent upon secure revenue streams. We all will have to contribute — be it at the fare box or through tax revenues generated by different levels of government redistributed back to the MTA.Larry Penner

Great Neck, N.Y.

Sandy’s shafted

To the editor,

The elevator in our aunt’s apartment building in Brighton Beach went out of service due to Hurricane Sandy, and it still has not been put back into service.

As a result our aunt —a woman in her 80s — has not been able to leave the building to go for walks and to visit her doctors.

The landlord was summoned to court and has been warned to complete the repairs necessary within a month, but that has since expired. I hope this letter can somehow initiate an outcry from the community to expedite the reversal of this dire situation. David Yachnes

Brighton Beach

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