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Brooklyn Daily
To the editor,
Aldi’s is anything but a “super” supermarket (“Aldi replaces Pathmark in Sheepshead Bay,” Aug. 5).
At checkout we presented our credit card and were told they are not accepted. When we asked for a box, they said they had none, but we could buy a shopping bag for $1.
Aldi’s website claims that by not accepting credit cards and not offering bags or boxes, it keeps customers’ prices down. This is utter nonsense — it merely maximizes profits.
The world’s largest discounter, Walmart, accepts credit cards on name-brand and Walmart items. There is a plentiful selection of store-brand products at Waldbaums, Food Basics, and Stop & Shop. They all accept credit cards and while Basics does not offer free shopping bags, large sturdy ones may be purchased for five cents. Free boxes are always available.
Our neighborhood was in real need of a supermarket. Aldi’s, with its limited size, lack of name brands, and no-credit and no-container policy, clearly missed the mark.Martin E. Boxer
Sheepshead Bay
‘Pond-scum’ terrorists
To the editor,
Thank you Shavana Abruzzo for cheering on America against these “pond scum” (“On Sept. 11, America shows it can rise from the ashes,” A Britisher’s View, Sept. 6).
A few months ago, two of these pond scums blew up a bomb and killed innocent civilians in Boston, and we called them terrorists. A few years ago, another man attempted to blow up a bomb in Times Square, and he was labeled a terrorist. Right now this country is contemplating an attack against Syria because we disagreed, and rightfully so, with the horrendous attacks on their own people. So why aren’t we terrorists? We are contemplating attacking a sovereign country that did not do anything to us to warrant such a response. Isn’t that an act of war?
Why is it when someone from those countries that we bombed in the past are considered terrorists when they respond to our actions? Think about it.
The past president bombed Iraq and Afghanistan. The president before him bombed Serbia and Bosnia and helped the Taliban in Afghanistan fight the Russians. The president before him, Ronald Reagan, gave military arms to the Iraqis to fight Iran — the same Iraq that also gassed Iranian military without the slightest objection from the U.S. When will this nonsense stop?
We need to bring our soldiers home and take care of our own country first.
Name withheld upon request
Gerritsen Beach
Columnists’ fan
To the editor,
I just finished reading this week’s Courier, and of course enjoyed what the columnists had to say. Always timely and usually thought-provoking.
Joanna DelBuono’s column this week hit the mark, for sure, about the white senior who was killed (“Old man dies, and nobody cares,” Not For Nuthin’, Sept. 6). I wish she had told readers to phone certain community telephone numbers to express outrage, or to tell readers to mail her article to others, maybe in postage-paid envelopes, or enclosed with other mailers to get the message out.
But that’s not why I’m writing this. My reason for writing this is to let Shavana Abruzzo know I’m about to add a sentence from her column to my list of insults (“On Sept. 11, America shows it can rise from the ashes,” A Britisher’s View, Sept. 6). I love her phrase, “Here’s hoping they trip on their tongues on the way to hell.”
When I have words with a creep, I end the battle with: “You need a set of training wheels for your brain.”
Or, “You’re living proof that manure can sprout legs and walk.”
Another comeback to a cursing creep: “You ought to wash your mouth out with a revolver.”
Or, “Was your mother a loud bark?”
Oh, the list goes on and on. Goodness, a thought: Miley Cyrus just might trip on her tongue on the way to hell.
Joan Mangano
Mill Basin
Stan’s fan
To the editor,
The editorial comment by Stanley P. Gershbein requires a response to his statement, “stupidity or racism?” (“Stan talks Oprah and the Trackchair,” It’s Only My Opinion, Sept. 6).
No salesperson at any time should give anyone a hard time, especially if an individual is behaving in a civil manner. A salesperson’s job is to sell.
Stanley, while you stated that you and your son were dressed in casual attire, Oprah specifically stated that she was well dressed, in full make-up, and looking very Oprah-like (as shown on her television show). The problem is we continue to make excuses for those that we feel have slighted us or who use racist undertones in our direction. By not addressing it, the problems will continue and never meet the light of day for change of attitudes, domestically or internationally.
The salesperson’s job was to sell the handbag, and not tell a customer what she felt they could afford or could see. You and Oprah both had a Julia Roberts moment from the movie “Pretty Woman.” The salespeople lost two major sells and their commissions.
Stanley, how did this action make your son feel? I am glad that you took your business elsewhere, as Oprah did. Two lessons were taught on those days. Stupidity or racism? I believe it was a little of both.Debra Justin
Canarsie
Police state
To the editor,
According to Mayor Bloomberg, all tenants in public housing should be fingerprinted. May I remind him that those who are arrested are fingerprinted? Are you trying to say that all tenants should be treated like criminals?
Seems that this suggested policy of his is another form of stop-and-frisk, and it’s another step to a police state. Then again, why stop at just tenants in public housing? Let it be so that everyone in the city must be fingerprinted? Let everyone be a suspect for any crime.
I have a wish that I am sure many other people have. Let November come quickly, so we say goodbye to King Bloomberg.
Ronald Cohen
Gravesend
Gunning for Mike
To the editor,
I wonder, does it sadden you as well as me that another child has died do to gun violence? This child was only 16 months old. So my question is, how many children will die before something is finally done to stop all this madness?
Mayor Bloomberg should take a page from former Mayor David Dinkins’s Safe City Safe Streets program, where he put more police officers in the street as a way for the residents to get to know the local beat cop. Many young people were saved by the cop on the beat, who made sure the young people would and could stay out of trouble.
I can’t remember if Mayor Dinkins ever stopped a graduating class of police officers from being sworn in. How many police academy classes were cancelled due to Mayor Bloomberg’s “less-is-more” mantra?
Every year from Memorial Day to Labor Day, every precinct loses a certain amount of police officers, so they can protect visitors in Coney Island. That leaves many precincts less staffed. How smart can that be? Are the visitors in Coney Island more important than the rest of us?
Mayor Bloomberg, with his billions, can’t always get his way. He should put his money into the city’s gun amnesty program. Then maybe we wouldn’t be losing little children who have just started life.
Money can’t buy politicians who won’t vote for gun control — no matter how much money is spent. It is not in their DNA.Jerry Sattler
Brighton Beach
Dangerous crosswalk
To the editor,
The intersection at W. Fifth Street and Neptune Avenue is a hazardous crossing.
This is a heavily traveled road. Besides trucks, there are two city bus lines that turn at this intersection.
At one time it was controlled by the Barnes Dance, where all traffic stopped and pedestrians crossed every which way. It worked fine. Now it is controlled by a walk sign that gives only a few seconds to complete the crossing.
The problem is that while one is crossing, vehicles are turning from left and right into the crosswalk. In addition, a large percentage of the pedestrians are senior citizens using canes, walkers, wheelchairs, or motorized scooters.
Please give us back the Barnes Dance, so we can cross safely and not worry about turning vehicles.Etta Dorf
Coney Island
Limit frisking
To the editor,
I think stop-and-frisk should be limited, not abolished. The NYPD should only stop and frisk with probable cause, not pick certain individuals randomly.
Also, the NYPD, whose officers are sworn to uphold the law and to serve the public trust, should exercise courtesy, professionalism, and respect to the community, control their actions, and not use excessive force unnecessarily. Stop-and-frisk should be limited and done in a professional manner by all NYPD officers.
Shawn Webb
Staten Island
Mayor ‘de Blah-sio’
To the editor,
God help us, if Bill de Blah-sio becomes mayor. His TV commercial would make a great skit on Saturday Night Live.
He states, “If you live on Park Avenue, you’ve got housekeepers and nannies...Wall Street has hit an all-time high...Mayor Bloomberg only cares about Wall Street...We believe in everyone having a fair shot...We’ve got to change this city.”
Whaaat? Yeah, de Blah-sio, please change it, but what’ya gonna do about young black males running around with shotguns, killing people for 25 cents in their pockets, or viciously beating and murdering for a cell phone? Vicious rapes and crazy robberies are destroying people and public property in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brownsville, East New York, Bushwick, Flatbush, Canarsie, and other black-majority neighborhoods. I wonder what neighborhood Bill and his bi-racial family live in.
You think he is going to address this sick, scary, out-of-control, deep-rooted crime problem plaguing all five boroughs? Or how blacks and Hispanics make up the majority of these sick and vicious criminal acts? Too bad that NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly isn’t running.
Strong leadership is missing from each of the mayoral candidates. They should be focusing on the lawlessness, gang members, and thugs running around the city, scribbling graffiti and ruining our quality of life. How do these people get away with these criminal acts? They are making the city look like a filthy ghetto. There’s spray paint everywhere — on bridges, subway tunnels, beautiful buildings, storefronts, private houses, garages, the list is endless.
Mayor Bloomberg is a strong leader. Coherent. Confident. Bill de Blah-sio? He’s weak.
Name withheld upon request
Bensonhurst
Reel deal
To the editor,
Having seen the documentary “Zipper; The Fast Ride,” I am sorry to see the decline and fall of Coney island as an amusement park.
Councilman Domenic Recchia’s (D–Coney Island) plans to keep Coney Island as an amusement park for future generations, but building condominiums will weaken its economic growth.
According to the documentary, 1.5 million residents came to Coney Island in 2000. In 2006, tourism increased to 15.6 million. But in 2009, it shrunk to 3.7 million.
Joe Sitt bought much of the land near the Boardwalk, past W. 15th Street, but it sits vacant. I believe if Mr. Sitt had put in a new movie theater, it would have helped stimulate the sluggish economy. People young and old, who want to go to a movie, have to take a bus to Knapp Street or go to Avenue H to the Kent Theater, which is not open every day.
I am glad that the amphitheater proposal did not materialize, but having one or two movie theaters — and less condominiums — would preserve the vitality of the area.
Elliott Abosh
Brighton Beach
Keep it local
To the editor,
In these difficult economic times, it is especially important to patronize your local neighborhood businesses.
My wife and I don’t mind occasionally paying a little more to help our local businesses survive. Don’t forget your cook and server at your favorite local neighborhood restaurant. We try to tip 20 percent against the total bill, including taxes. If it is an odd amount, we round up to the next dollar. If we can afford to eat out, we can afford an extra dollar tip. When ordering take out, we always leave a dollar or two for the waiter or cook. It is appreciated. Remember these people are our neighbors.
Our local entrepreneurs have continued to create new employment opportunities without the assistance of federally-funded taxpayers’ stimulus dollars. They work long hours, pay taxes, and provide local employment, especially to students during the summer. If we don’t patronize our local community stores and restaurants to shop and eat, they don’t eat either.
Please join me and your neighbors in continuing to support this newspaper. Patronize its advertisers. They provide the necessary revenues to help keep them in business. Let them know you saw their ad.
Larry Penner
Great Neck, N.Y.
Unruly schools
To the editor,
Leave it to the Department of Education to come up with a new disciplinary code. We already have counseling for students. We need a system of zero tolerance for any disciplinary infractions. We don’t need the ultra-liberal nonsense of cooperative learning, alternate assessments, and focusing on the total child, when the city school system has become one of disrespect, defiance, and disruption. Of course, these ideas have been thought up by people who either never taught or were expert at getting out of the
classroom. Ask any teacher. You cannot teach without discipline, and that is why so many new teachers leave the system within five years of beginning their careers.
Some of our schools are so bad that the National Guard needs to be called in just to restore order. To complicate matters, many of the Democratic candidates for mayor are calling for no suspensions of unruly pupils. If they would only come in and try teaching for a week or so, I guarantee that they would change their attitudes quickly.
Ed Greenspan
Sheepshead Bay
Equine abuse
To the editor,
As a native New Yorker, a veterinarian, and a gay man, I am passionate about our city, and I love so much of what it has to offer. But two things that I have come to despise are the inhumane and corrupt horse carriage industry, and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.
My initial exposure to the abuse of the carriage horses was from the critically acclaimed documentary “Blinders.” After much research, and going with an equine veterinarian to see some of the actual inadequate and hazardous stables these animals were being kept in, I decided to join the crusade to rid the city of this cruel and abusive tourist attraction.
What I came to find was that under Mayor Bloomberg and Quinn, and their associations with the carriage owners and drivers, the horses were going to stay in their horrid conditions and continue working the streets indefinitely. What I would later find out was that speaker Quinn, in all of her time as speaker, had prevented every significant piece of animal welfare legislation from reaching the council floor.
Until Quinn is out of the City Council, and hopefully nowhere near City Hall, the city will continue to have dark clouds hovering over the buildings that house the imprisoned horses that are forced to mercilessly work in traffic, day in and day out, all in the name of entertainment.
John G. Hynes
Staten Island
The writer is a boardmember of the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association.