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Brooklyn Daily
To the editor,
On behalf of my legal team and advocates, I thank you for writing such an objective article regarding my claim of innocence (New district attorney could free man convicted in controversial murder case” online, Feb. 3).
I also appreciate the comments and feedback from readers. I share the sentiment of Ken Klonsky of Vancouver, B.C. he stated that “this article is completely factual; it’s good to see such accurate and scrupulous reporting.”
I cannot be more appreciative that you wrote about this case at this particular time. I believe the article did well to keep District Attorney Kenneth Thompson and the public aware of this case.
Thank you for your display of journalistic integrity.David McCallum
The writer is an inmate at Otisville Correctional Facility in Otisville, N.Y.
Corner mourners
To the editor,
I would like to express my full support for NYPD’s action in ticketing motorists for ignoring the stop sign at Avenue V and E. 38th Street (“Locals want halt on stop trap,” online Feb. 20).
As a block resident, I witnessed numerous situations where speeding cars emerged dangerously from the corner while trying to beat the traffic light on Avenue U.
I do feel sorry for John Cortese’s daughter and consider a fine of $138 excessive, but find absolutely nothing confusing about the stop sign there. I firmly believe that police action here is absolutely necessary for our safety.
Let’s teach our kids to respect traffic rules and keep our roads safe. Alec Teytel
Brooklyn
Jo’s ‘right’
To the editor,
Joanna DelBuono asks about two dozen questions prompted by the recent teen trash mob at Kings Plaza (“Jo’s got a few questions about kids today,” Not for Nuthin’, Feb. 21).
The questions are right on point and, as usual, the thousands-of-years-old answer from the Bible has to be dusted off and deployed before our bloviating public officials, while the apparition of Charles Bronson’s ghost wearing a “Dirty Harry” Clint Eastwood mask weighs in on the juvenile anarchy: “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil” Ecclesiastes 8:11.
So, let me add summary question number 25 to her excellent two dozen: “Since no one is allowed to bat the cat because its owner is awol, who will bell the cat?” Perhaps it will be the mouse that roars at the fall convention of “Mice and Men.” Meow! J.J. Lauria
Sheepshead Bay
Dumocrats
To the editor,
I am mulling over how many pints of Kool-Aid were guzzled by Bay Ridge Democrats’ club president Justin Brannan at Longbow Pub and Pantry in Bay Ridge (“Ridge Dems toast Bam on State of the Union night,” Feb.7).
Brannan stated that since the moment President Obama took the oath of office, he has faced a stone wall of unprecedented Republican obstruction. His claim is utterly false. Obama and his left-wing party held the majority in both the House and Senate during his first two years in office. The president had free reign to pass virtually any bill during this period and instead of focusing on America’s number one major concern — jobs — he went all-in on the train wreck more commonly referred to today as ObamaCare!
The president’s approval ratings are currently so abysmal that democrats in swing states will steer clear of him like the plague while campaigning for the 2014 mid-term elections, if they expect to have any chance of winning vital seats.
I also noticed how Brannan subtly tossed in a good ole bogus “war on women” remark, while alluding to women’s pay equity. Let’s see, Bill Clinton, Elliott Spitzer, Anthony Weiner, John Edwards, the late Ted Kennedy who was allegedly responsible for a woman’s death, and nearly every so-called journalist on MSNBC — from Ed “Laura Ingraham is a right-wing slut” Schutlz to Martin “someone should defecate in Sarah Palin’s mouth” Bashir are all Democrats!
Perhaps Justin Brannan is spot-on in his assertion that a “war on women” phenomenon exists, but he neglects to inform us that it comes courtesy of his own liberal party. Rick Lundberg
Sheepshead Bay
Student labor
To the editor,
I applaud Councilman Mark Treyger (D–Coney Island) for having the foresight and determination to make things work for the People’s Playground (“Pol says rebuild Sandy plan,” Feb. 21).
As an educator and community education advocate in Coney Island, it’s always wonderful for me to see people stepping outside of the box to solve an issue that deeply affects their local residents.
Councilman Treyger, who is also an educator, realized that the numbers just didn’t add up to the amount of people devastated by Hurricane Sandy, and the amount of people that applied for repairs and reimbursements from federal funding.
Moving forward with the repairs in Coney Island, let’s utilize the technical skills of our local William E. Grady High School students. If these skilled students can build a house behind their school, they can definitely complete the repairs needed in Coney Island.
The resources are here, but you just have to know where to look for it.Scott Krivitsky
The writer is a teacher at PS 188 in Coney Island.
City flakes
To the editor,
Anyone remember the days when we had delayed openings in city schools due to inclement weather? The current regime at City Hall seems to have completely forgotten the concept.
Furthermore, I don’t want to hear the excuse that former Mayor Bloomberg screwed up the bus schedules. If that is the case, then you unscrew it.
Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina made a fool out of herself by restating that the reason to open schools is that children receive hot, nutritious lunches. She just reinforces the idea that schools are babysitting centers. At least with a delayed opening, many children and staff could be traveling after rush hour.
When Farina visits the schools, she should come into the cafeterias. Many of the lunches that she refers to are either on the floor, thrown up against a wall, or in the garbage can.
By the way, notice how quiet the United Federation of Teachers keeps during this situation. They’ll do anything to secure back pay and a $10-a-week raise for the membership.Ed Greenspan
Sheepshead Bay
Vocal on ‘mutes’
To the editor,
It is not surprising that the state Department of Environmental Conservation has set its sights on Sheephead’s Bay’s beautiful and majestic mute swans for eradication (“Swan song: State targets elegant, invasive birds for eradication,” online Jan. 24).
They have been murdering defenseless birds for a long time and they have become very good at it. The end will probably come very soon in a mission undertaken between midnight and dawn so that no one will be available to come to the swans’ aid.
Ever since the days of Robert Moses, this is how government acts and their actions are far from humane. The ecology of Sheepshead Bay will not be the better for it.Henry Finkelstein
Sheepshead Bay
‘Third World’ NY
To the editor,
Since my recent letter to this paper about an expensive SUV biting the dust in a Belt Parkway pothole, the mother of all potholes appeared.
On the east side of the decrepit Mill Basin drawbridge, a five-foot-by-five-foot hole appeared. This was no ordinary pothole, as it exposed the bridges steelwork and one could look straight through to the ocean water below. What a traffic jam!
New York, for that matter the entire country’s infrastructures have been deteriorating at a frighteningly fast pace. Thanks to environmentally friendly materials, roads fail all too frequently and, if you’ve passed over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge recently, the vast expanse of rust makes one wonder if the bridge will be there for another few decades.
We are crumbling into a Third World status, as politicians, the general public, and environmentalists battle. Our city will soon grind to a standstill. I’m sure our mayor won’t mind, as he will achieve his oddball quest of halting traffic for pedestrians safety, too.
Robert W. Lobenstein
Marine Park
Bam ’n Bill
To the editor,
There is an unexpected benefit to ObamaCare: “Job lock,” according to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is a problem that has caused many workers to remain in jobs that they didn’t really like in order to keep their health insurance, as well as presumably, to be able to provide food, clothing and shelter for their families.
Now, with the help of the president’s “signature accomplishment,” they will be eligible for free, or at least subsidized, health insurance, and will be able to leave their jobs in order to “follow their passions.”
By successfully fighting the battle against job lock, Democrats have finally proven the truth of one of their core beliefs, that not only is gainful employment not really necessary, but that it may, in many instances, actually be harmful.
Lists of allowable passions are expected to be released by the Department of Health and Human Services in coming months.
By the way, Sen. Rand Paul (R–Ky.), seeking to join in the frivolity by demonstrating that Republicans also possess the same analytical skills as their Democratic counterparts, explained in a press conference that because President Bill Clinton had “taken advantage” of a 21-year-old White House intern, no one with the same last name as the president’s — or even whose last name began with a “C” or a “Cli” or even a “Clin” — should ever be elected to the presidency again.
“Now you listen to me. I never had sex with that...”
Dr. Stephen Finger
Mill Basin
DC clowns
To the editor,
I am not someone who typically believes in the government stepping in to bail the American people and their businesses out whenever there is a problem, but I think they could and should help.
Because of attrition and other reasons, there is a clown shortage in this country and the show must go on. Congress is only in session about one third of the year. With their experience and free time, our representatives could step in and fill some of the positions needed to keep what is now the second greatest show on earth going — the greatest show on earth has been the show in Washington, D.C.
The clowns there must do this for the greater good. Please Mr. President, if we ever needed an executive order, now is the time.Maureen Parker
Sheepshead Bay
Bad-vertisements
To the editor,
Drip, drip, drip your tax dollars are going down the drain. Have you see all the “Don’t Let Tax, Water, Or Repair Charges Come Between You and Your Property” full page advertisements in your daily and weekly neighborhood newspapers?
Even worse, was the 108-page recent supplement which appeared recently in a New York daily. It lists line by line the name of every New Yorker who owes real estate tax water sewer, emergency repair or other property-related charges. Is this the best way the city’s departments of finance, environmental protection, and Housing Preservation and Development, can spend taxpayers dollars?
Why can’t all three agencies compare their respective lists of people who owe money with those filing city and state tax returns? Surely the technology exists to place a lien on any tax refunds? You could also extend citizens the courtesy of a telephone call or letter or email informing them of their overdue obligations. What’s next, will the city send out marshals going door to door serving subpoenas?Larry Penner
Great Neck, N.Y.