Letters to the editor
Bike FatalitiesReferring to your reporting of the cyclist fatality (“Cyclist Killed on West Side,” July 6 - 12), it is always a real tragedy when anyone loses his/her life in a bicycle accident. The mayor and other bike proponents are disingenuous when they express surprise when such a bike fatality occurs. How can you unleash thousands of additional bikes onto city streets which repeated studies have cited as among the most congested in the country and not expect that serious injuries and deaths are going to occur from bike/auto collisions? Hundred of millions of dollars are being expended to accommodate bicycle riders, yet they pay no fees, are not required to carry insurance or to wear safety helmets. The police department as well as the Department of Transportation have done a very poor job of regulating bicycle riders. I would only encourage my worst enemy to ride a bicycle on the streets of this city.
B. Wallace Cheatham
Tribeca
Pizza MemoriesWhen I asked Carmine around 40 years ago why they didn’t deliver (“A Slice, a Cel-Ray and a Scowl,” July 6 - 12), he said he and Sal had once had delivery service, but they were tired of the pizza delivery pranks of yore: kids calling up, ordering five pies for delivery to a bogus apartment number, and watching the frustrated delivery guy have to turn back carrying five boxes of pies. He encouraged phoning in advance and having your order ready for pick-up.
Eileen Stareshefsky
Upper West Side
Losing NeighborhoodsBrava to Betty Dewing for her loving, if sad, piece on the loss of “neighborhoods” (“Restore Our Good – With Neighborhoods,” June 29 - July 5). What Ms. Dewing says about her beloved East Side is equally applicable to my beloved West Side.
She mentions the loss of “community places to buy or break bread.” Re the latter, in 2013 we lost Big Nick’s, a local staple for over 50 years. Reasonably priced, and open 24 hours, it provided exactly the type of atmosphere Ms. Dewing notes. And just this year, we lost Restaurant Dan (open over 35 years) and Isabella’s (over 30 years). In all three cases the cause was landlord greed, and, again as Ms. Dewing points out, the loss was not only of community eateries, but also the jobs of dozens of dedicated employees. And these are only the three most egregious examples: the UWS has actually lost over a dozen local eateries over the past two or three years.
Ian Alterman
Upper West Side
Mixed BlessingThe appointment of past Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Joe Lhota to assume his old position is a mixed blessing (“NYC’s Subway Savior,” June 29 - July 5). The good news is no doubt that as MTA Chairman and CEO between November 2011 to December 2012, he did a great job bringing MTA transportation back from the damages brought by Super Storm Sandy. Lhota’s previous experiences at the MTA and at City Hall serving as NYC Finance Commissioner, Office of Management and Budget Director and Deputy Mayor for Operations under former Mayor Rudy Giuliani position him to hit the ground running. The bad news is that it is disappointing to learn that he will retain his position as a senior Vice President of NYU Lagone Medical Center. Now, more than ever his MTA assignment is a full-time job well beyond the standard 9-to-5 hours most New Yorkers work. Lhota can’t serve two employers at the same time. Transit riders, taxpayers, transit advocates and elected officials can accept no less.
Larry Penner
Great Neck, NY
Global PerspectiveI read with great interest the article “Preventing Elder Abuse,” (The Spirit Westsider, June 22 - 28) describing the important event by JASA on June 14, 2017. But there was no mention [of] the UN General Assembly 2005 Proclamation of WEAAD [World Elder Abuse Awareness Day] celebrated all over the world on June 15th, including the most recent presentation at the UN Headquarters in NYC on June 16, 2017.
Rosita Resnick
Upper West Side
Concern about the IDCNew Yorkers deserve strong leadership on climate change from our state elected officials. With Donald Trump dismantling the Environmental Protection Agency and pulling out of the Paris climate agreement, it’s clear that states and local governments must be more aggressive than ever before.
Sadly, New York’s state legislative session just ended with no progress on climate change, one of the the most pressing issues of our time. The reason for this is simple: Senator Marisol Alcantara and the seven other members of the Independent Democratic Conference have handed control of the State Senate to the party of Donald Trump. Just like they have across the country, New York’s Republicans blocked any action on climate change. And the IDC has made it clear that whenever the Republicans need a majority, the IDC will supply it.
This is unconscionable, of course. The good news is that New Yorkers are waking up with near constant rallies calling on Senator Alcantara and the other IDC members to end their ruinous alliance with the Republicans. Simply put, it’s time for Senator Alcantara to stop playing political games and get to work moving New York off fossil fuels and on to 100 percent renewable energy. We simply cannot wait for climate justice.
Daniel Marks Cohen, Corinne Constantine, Wendy Dannett, Daniele Gerard, Mary Ann Marks, Marie Lunn, Lynn Max, Steve Max, Merle McEldowney, Lois Safian, Lorraine Zamora
Members, Board of Directors
Three Parks Independent Democrats