Manhattan: I just read about the elderly gentleman who was killed for trying to hold a parking spot (“Gentle soul shoved to his death,” May 13). This is a new trend in NYC.

I live on the Upper West Side, where bike lanes and restaurant sheds take up a great deal of what should have been available parking for businesses’ customers. Twice when I wanted to park my vehicle, someone told me they were holding the spot for someone else who was arriving shortly. Twice, I got out of my car and told the individuals they had a choice. I won’t say what that choice was, but I wasn’t smiling when I said it. I backed my car right into the spot and told the individuals each time that what they were doing was dangerous. And it was. This has to stop before more people get shot, stabbed or punched. No one has a right to stand in a parking spot and tell a driver that they can’t park because they’re holding it for someone else.

Another thing happening is apartment buildings placing cones in legitimate parking spots so that delivery people don’t have to look for a spot. This happened to me on 81st St. off Broadway. The doorman even came out to tell me that he would have my car towed if I removed the cones. I removed them anyway, parked my car and called 311 to report the building management for this illegal behavior. People are behaving in a manner that is dangerous and will cause bodily harm to themselves. Don’t do it. It’s not worth your life. Marilyn D. Rodriguez

Landowner rights

Huntington, L.I.: I had to laugh when reading Anita W. Laremont’s op-ed (“Albany is interfering with NYC’s co-op market,” May 14). She states that the proposed bill would be found unconstitutional under the Takings Clause of the 5th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution because it limits a landowner’s ability to use their own property while simultaneously minimizing the return a landowner might receive. The same clause renders rent control and rent stabilization laws unconstitutional. The Takings Clause states: “Nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” The reason for my amusement is that I found it shocking to read a pro-landlord op-ed in the socialist Daily News. Tom Saracco

Shilling for drilling

Warsaw, N.Y.: I am a constituent of state Sen. George Borrello, who penned “Don’t raise the N.Y. HEAT Act: We have to be honest about energy costs” (op-ed, May 12). For those Daily News readers who don’t know this western New York Republican senator: Please ignore his misguided, fact-less rant against the NY HEAT Act. From opposing clean wind energy to rooting for polluting oil and fracked gas, we in his district are quite used to his shilling for the oil and gas industry that contributes handsomely to his campaign coffers. In his piece, he simply denies the cost savings for consumers from the act that have been established by multiple detailed studies and have been acknowledged by NYC utilities like Con Edison and National Grid. Instead, he claims with zero evidence that the costs of the gas infrastructure and the savings from reforming the public service law are inflated. Don’t believe a word of it. Lynn Saxton

Hung out to dry

Yonkers: New York’s governor is totally neglecting nursing home residents by underfunding these facilities. It is a disgrace that our elderly people are not able to be cared for because of government waste. Money should be used to fund facilities that care for the elderly and the veterans, not outsiders looking for a free meal ticket and housing. Gov. Hochul, take care of our own people first! Karl Reinecke

Euro vision

Allentown, Pa.: I’m a Navy vet, a former second-class bosun’s mate. I’m not usually into politics, but it’s like President Biden and the Democrats are trying to make the country more like Europe, where there is no middle class, only a small minority of the rich and everybody else is poor and dependent on them. That’s why a lot of people are lining up behind Donald Trump. Joseph Russo

Corrupted leadership

Jamaica: It’s truly sad that Republicans in the House of Representatives and the Senate can’t do the jobs that their constituents sent them to do because they are in New York giving the Orange Guy (Trump) support. The Orange Guy is a liar who assaults women, cheats people out of their money, got rid of Roe v. Wade, never keeps his promises (infrastructure) and does not like minorities nor gays, and this is who they care about. Republicans have lost all their morals and common sense. Just saying! Remember, vote for what you and your family need. Trump is only for himself and so are the Republicans. God bless America! Charlene Black

Internal rot

Blairstown, N.J.: Was it Nikita Khrushchev who once said, “We will take America without firing a shot”? Do you think we have enough pro-Putin members in our U.S. Capitol? The likes of Marjorie T. Greene, Paul Gosar, Lauren Boebert, Jim Jordan and more. And it’s amazing how many members of the American Legion and VFW support the orange fungus. If you were wounded, maimed or a POW, you are most assuredly called a loser by the Trumpkin. And for those killed in action, Trumpty will likely urinate on your grave. Ron Cristi

Single subject

West Vancouver, British Columbia: Re “Columbia grad rips diploma in protest” (May 14): The correct word is “her” diploma — she is one person. Anyone reading this is looking around for the second or third person involved. Proper grammar is important, and words have consequences. Please stop destroying the English language. Paul Silverstone

Familiar strategy

Bronx: To Voicer Bob Ory: The purpose of the campus protests are to get the universities to divest their investments in Israel and companies that support Israel, same as was done to end apartheid in South Africa. By the way, Israel wholeheartedly supported the apartheid government in South Africa. W. Twirley

Enhanced history

Woods Cross, Utah: Sen. Lindsey Graham recently said, “We were faced with destruction as a nation after Pearl Harbor.” The threat to the wheatfields of Kansas and the harbor of Charleston, S.C., was apparently so bad that we were forced to flatten Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Historians of World War II say America went abroad to come to the rescue of democracy in Europe and Asia, not because armies and navies were bearing down on our homeland. And many say we could have kept our nukes in our pants. Hamas soldiers crossed the border on the morning of Oct. 7, killed and grabbed up civilians, then ran back home before lunchtime. Suggesting this was somehow like Hitler occupying France in 1940 or Emperor Hirohito knocking off the Philippines in 1942 is crazy talk. Mr. Graham, you are teaching the same kind of fabricated history that Israel’s Netanyahu is teaching young people in Tel Aviv to justify his budding dictatorship there. Kimball Shinkoskey

Wholly mad

Manhattan: The 16th-century French philosopher Blaise Pascal said, “We are so necessarily mad that not to be mad must be considered a form of madness.” Thank you for covering this truth so well in your pages. Joel Griffiths

Day ahead

Brooklyn: In Tuesday’s edition, it seems those responsible for posting the evening TV schedule got ahead of themselves. Checking the schedule, I soon realized I was looking at Wednesday’s lineup. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Neil S. Friedman

Prophetic programming

Tuckahoe, N.Y.: How come Jesus is not on free TV? Look at the junk that is on. Channel 9 is all game shows and talk shows. Maybe people would be nicer to one another. Maybe people would learn something. Jesus is supposed to come back. Maybe it would be sooner. God is the boss, people are not. C. D’Onofrio

Brooklyn: Kudos to the Daily News for calling out the New York State Legislature for its inexcusable delay over several years as it relates to the pending Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) Act (“Life, death and Albany,” editorial, May 9). The sole purpose of this very compassionate legislation, contrary to numerous falsehoods irresponsibly spread by opponents of the measure, would be to allow terminally ill New Yorkers the option of a peaceful death if their end-of-life suffering becomes too great to bear. This kind of end-of-life autonomy has been very responsibly made available for years to mentally competent dying patients in 10 other progressive-minded states — including our neighbors in New Jersey and Vermont — as well as in Washington, D.C.

As a result of the procrastination and dithering in Albany, far too many New Yorkers continue to watch their terminally ill loved ones endure needlessly agonizing deaths. This points to a clear failure of leadership on this critical issue by Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (photo). Do these legislative leaders not realize (or care) that more than 70% of New Yorkers favor enactment of this truly compassionate and responsible measure?

In the handful of weeks left in this year’s legislative process, I can only hope that Albany gets off the sidelines and enacts the critically needed MAID Act. Although death is inevitable for all of us, our legislative leaders’ inaction on this issue continues to translate into far too much intolerable and unnecessary agony throughout New York. Bernard O’Brien

Industry arguments

Valhalla, N.Y.: National Grid’s Long Island, Staten Island and Brooklyn customers’ gas rates are poised to increase by nearly $65/month by 2026. This comes on the heels of recent Con Edison gas rate hikes of nearly $30/month in just one year in NYC and Westchester. Substantial portions of both these hikes are the result of wasteful investments in new gas pipes, and downstate N.Y. can expect larger hikes in the future. The NY HEAT Act will address this issue while also directly addressing energy affordability for all New Yorkers. Yet, right-wing politicians and fracked gas propagandists from upstate published a double dose of disinformation, “Don’t raise the N.Y. HEAT Act: It threatens the safety of all New Yorkers” (op-ed, May 12) and “We have to be honest about energy costs” (op-ed, May 12), in a single day. Anshul Gupta

Former phrase

Saratoga Springs, N.Y.: Since nobody else is doing it, I hereby decree that as of Monday, June 17, 2024, the phrase “X, formerly known as Twitter” will cease. Henceforth, the phrase will be merely “X.” Please notify all concerned parties. Bob English

Practice what you preach

Woodland Park, N.J.: Tom Selleck spent last week being interviewed on every available TV show promoting his new book and telling us how disappointed he is that his show “Blue Bloods” has been canceled. He said he worries that if he does not work enough, he may not be able to hold on to the 63-acre avocado farm he lives on. With the extra time he now has, perhaps he will see one of those constantly running commercials with him promoting reverse mortgages for exactly the problem he is worried about. Check it out, Tom. Problem solved. John Dent

B movie A-lister

Tivoli, N.Y.: One of the best directors of the 20th century passed away a few days ago (“Farewell ‘King of the Bs,’ ” May 13). He was 98. Roger Corman made mostly B movies but they were entertaining and brought new life and fans to actors such as Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre. He was the first director to use a new actor in his movies — Jack Nicholson! He also directed one of my all-time favorite movies, “The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.” Best Valentine’s Day movie ever! Marc Savino

Lamentable loophole

Manhattan: Voicer Louie Russo has the right idea about enforcing laws concerning e-bikes speeding on sidewalks, but he misses a point. How do you issue a ticket to an e-biker who is often an undocumented person who has no ID and might not speak English? There are no licenses to suspend or registrations to revoke — documents a cop needs to enforce the law. E-bikes are treated like any other bike except they are required to speed no more than 20 mph. But many speed past me in my car as I drive the 25 mph limit. Rewiring the lithium-ion battery cells will produce more voltage, which means more speed but also an unbalanced charging that could create a fire. The city is now considering lowering the speed limit for drivers to 20 or 10 mph. Good idea, but it won’t apply to e-bikes because it can’t be enforced. Vincent Novak

Public unsafety

Brooklyn: The tourist who was stabbed in Times Square and the famous actor randomly punched in the face (“Actor Buscemi randomly punched on Midtown street,” May 13) are alarming because it has become a trend with people walking the streets and traveling on transit every day and night in NYC. They say the attackers are mentally ill, so they are let go soon after they are arrested because of lenient district attorneys, judges and jurors who feel sorry for them. But whether the ones committing serious crimes are mentally ill or not is no excuse to let them back onto the streets with no real jail time to commit even more crimes, sometimes taking someone’s life. Joseph Comperchio

Well said

Staten Island: Kudos to Voicer Nancy Reilly for her contribution to Voice of the People re the raising of the American flag that was removed by protesters at City College of New York. She totally nailed it. Nobody could have said it better! What a patriot. Brian O’Leary

Dress to impress

Massapequa, L.I.: Thank you, Voicer John Brandenburg, regarding your letter about dressing professionally at work. When I was a young girl, I admired how classy and professional the women looked as news anchors. I learned from them how to dress professionally and feel respectable, ladylike, etc., when I wasn’t partying. Maybe Fox News wants the women to look “foxy” so more men will watch. There are other local stations that have no dress code. Two anchors on News 12 with their cleavages and tight pants; PIX11 has one who really dresses inappropriately. However, I admire Kaity Tong on PIX11, who always looks classy and casually elegant. Other women will respond that it’s “body shaming” to tell women not to show their bodies. I feel the problem is no self-respect and no respect for their coworkers or the audience. What message are they sending? Jean Marie Chiaramonte

Things change

Tarrytown, N.Y.: To Voicer Dennis Burge: It’s because of me that newsstands are going out of business? I guess you’re going to blame me for the end of VHS tapes, 8-tracks and not putting our kids in car seats. It’s called adapting, Dennis. I am 60 and continue to keep up with the times as much as I can. I understand your frustration of paying a dollar more and not receiving the latest edition. That is why my advice to you was to subscribe to the digital version. And I definitely do not subscribe to get the latest on the Lupica family. But if you’re like me, like it or not, we have grown up with them. Stephen Talenti

Fortify yourself

Warwick, R.I.: Most Americans live their lives anticipating no serious concerns as they pursue their daily activities. We usually expect that the car will start, your job is secure, your money and valuables are safe, your technology will respond normally and your personal safety is assured. But even when one negative occurrence happens, we become desperate to find an immediate solution, as time is not an option for resolution. Therefore, we should live our lives expecting sudden changes, as they surely will occur. A health crisis, loss of a job or financial concerns are just a few of the adversities we all will face someday. Preparing for the unknown is hard, therefore accepting these difficulties with composure and resolve can be a start for resiliency and recovery. One option is to live life with enthusiasm and purpose so these difficulties can be processed clearly. Time is a factor that mends. Bob Sweeney

Ancram, N.Y.: Re “Randy Mastro is a bad pick for NYC’s top lawyer” (op-ed, April 30): Unlike Charles King, I know Randy. We worked closely as deputy mayors, and I consider him among the finest public servants ever to serve New York City and a great choice to be our next corporation counsel.

When Randy and I served together, the city administration did not “cut and restrict essential services for low-income people with HIV and AIDS,” as King suggests. In fact, both of us personally advocated within the administration to maintain funding for such services and to preserve the Division of AIDS Services, and we prevailed.

As to Housing Works’ 1997 dispute with the city, Housing Works was being audited in connection with potential renewal of its multi-million-dollar contract to provide housing support for those living with HIV. It could not account for more than half a million dollars of its city funding it was supposed to have used for supportive housing, and then refused to further cooperate with the audit. As a result, under the oversight of the Human Resources Administration commissioner, Lilliam Barrios-Paoli, it was decided not to renew Housing Works’ contracts. It is true that Housing Works then sued, and the case, like so many others unfairly targeting the city as a “deep pocket,” ended up being settled years later by a subsequent administration. But King’s claim that its contract was not renewed because of its political advocacy is false.

As to King’s reference to cases Randy later handled in private practice defending landlords, I understand those were settled responsibly, ethically and honorably. Fran Reiter

Stated right

Manhattan: In your editorial on ethics in Albany (“Albany needs a real ethics cop,” May 10), you declare that the state Constitution “is the binding rulebook, not just a list of suggestions.” Much akin in wording to the federal Constitution’s Second Amendment — which the Supreme Court has determined applies to individual citizens — NYS Civil Rights Law, Article 2, Section 4(a) states: “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms cannot be infringed.” Just saying! Paul Weiss

Cheeky tantrum

Manhattan: I belong to a well-traveled, upscale Upper West Side health club that shall remain nameless to protect the guilty. The bustling gym sometimes runs out of towels. Its entitled members sometimes use two or three. The shortage is usually quickly remedied. Recently, a member stepped out of the shower and got himself up to locker room level to find the place was out of dry towels (you might assume he used several in the shower area). The cheeky gent marched out into the crowded entry level to the front desk to noisily complain that there were no towels — as naked as a jaybird. After some ruckus, he was coached back into the locker room and by that time there were plenty of towels. The next day, he made an even bigger commotion when they wouldn’t let him back in. He just could not understand why. We suspect his mother would be sick about it. James Fragale

Modest proposal

Whiting, N.J.: The lady newscaster on Ch. 5’s “The 10 O’Clock News” frequently wears scanty party dresses for the newscast. I have to wonder why her bosses put up with her attire. The lady and her bosses apparently have no shame! If she can’t wear appropriate modest business dresses, she should be fired! John Brandenburg

Study abroad

Manhattan: Send the Columbia “for Palestine” protesting students to learn some history at Dachau (or Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, Treblinka or Sobibor). R.B. Brandel

Criminal complicity

San Mateo, Calif.: What does real moral leadership look like? A “no” vote on the recent House bill providing weapons to Israel. Reps. Barbara Lee and Ro Khanna came through on this, but not Nancy Pelosi, Anna Eshoo or Kevin Mullin. We commend many votes that all five representatives have cast in the past, but Israel’s war against Palestine has gone well beyond self-defense and is patently criminal. Arming Israel makes us complicit in the wanton murder of innocent Palestinians and foreign aid workers alike. It will take time for the International Court of Justice and the UN to address the crimes of Oct. 7 and Israel’s subsequent crimes, but when they do, the U.S. may easily be found guilty of aiding and abetting war crimes, even genocide. Our country’s reputation requires an impartial commitment to human rights and the rule of international law, not facilitating mass murder. Mike Caggiano

Who’s in charge?

Goodyear, Ariz.: If Brandon is too old and feeble to be charged with taking Senate and vice presidential docs without legal authority, should his caretaker (Dr. Jill) be held responsible? The immediate response from libs will be no, but his caretaker had to be involved with a ghostwriter for the lovely couple to get an $8 million check for his memoirs (as if he knows what those are!). If Dr. Jill approved the $8 million contract knowing Brandon was not capable of understanding it, isn’t she complicit in a transaction that was illegal given the documents were taken illegally (as a senator and VP) and her spouse is not of sound mind? Dr. Jill should tell the DNC her husband’s real cognitive condition! Peter Provenzale

Just bluster

Bronx: Ex-President Donald Trump is again using his old “on Day One” speech. Let’s see what he accomplished on his previous Day One in 2017. He would build an impenetrable wall that Mexico would pay for (not), deport 11 million “criminal aliens” (not), end gun-free zones (not), give us much better health insurance and get rid of Obamacare (not). If elected again, he will be a dictator on Day One only (yeah, sure); he will roll back protections of LGBTQ citizens (Title IX) and continue to take away a woman’s freedom to choose her medical care (hopefully not). I guess his Day One promises are a failure. Hopefully, he won’t get a chance to say it again on Jan. 20, 2025. Lydia Milnar

That’s rich

Brooklyn: I want to thank Voicer Luana Dunn for the laugh of the day. I was happy to finish Saturday’s letters with yours. I haven’t laughed that much in a long time. Trump’s the victim? Just way too funny. What a sense a humor you have. I’m still laughing. Greg Ahl

Outta his element

Linden, N.J.: To Voicer Diane Pagen: Would you let an environmental lawyer perform an operation on you? Would you fly in a plane flown by one? No? Then why do you trust an environmental lawyer to be president of the United States? RFK Jr. has absolutely no political experience. He has never held office. So his only resemblance to his illustrious father would seem to be his name. He had even seriously considered making a football player his vice president! As it is, he has picked a running mate who also has no political experience. Ron Jackowski

Driven out

Brooklyn: As Voicer Lee Rottenberg correctly points out, “The goal of congestion pricing is to cut traffic in Manhattan.” However, if the city reduces the number of cars on the road while reducing these same roads to bike lanes, we will be gouged with “the same congestion as we had before,” coupled with tolls. The government’s goal seems to be to drive cars out of the city. There are lower-income New Yorkers who have to drive for work and disabled residents for whom neither public transportation nor bicycling are feasible. Notwithstanding the out-of-towners, who will be paying more than us to enter the toll zones? Despite concerns from various stakeholders, the MTA is going full speed ahead with congestion pricing as planned. It’ll take a village to stop this. Or, at the very least, Lee Rottenberg of Middle Village. Howard Jay Meyer

Spend wisely

Brooklyn: Why do we need the Second Ave. subway that is already serviceable by MTA buses? Improve safety and security on the existing subways and bus lines. Stop wasting MTA funds! John Corbett

Manhattan: Re “NYPD chief backs out” (May 8): NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell may have backed out of one political event, but he won’t back down from his political posturing and shenanigans whilst in uniform and otherwise touting his prominence in the NYPD. Shockingly, our lame Mayor Adams — himself a former police captain — won’t rein Chell in. Adams actually defends this chief, notwithstanding Chell’s flouting of clear departmental rules and regulations against political proselytizing.

Why haven’t the mayor or his hand-picked police commissioner decried or punished the NYPD chief of patrol for using his uniform, badge and high position to espouse personal views? The chief has even openly defied media and civilian critics who lambasted him. So, it’s no wonder that Chell will ignore the rules and defiantly push back, with self-righteous social media postings and sheer rhetoric that bring attention to himself and sully his badge and the NYPD’s nonpartisanship.

Alas, realizing his self-absorbed pandering and posturing scheduled to appear at a GOP event in Queens would be too much, the chief pulled out — without apologizing for the event’s picturing him in full uniform and regalia, badge and all. Even as he withdrew from the partisan event, the chief reassured his reputed fans that he was never going to stop proselytizing. Why would he, when the mayor and Commissioner Eddie Caban wink at and excuse his shameless behavior in uniform and while wearing a badge?

Tell me: Who’s the real boss at NYPD anyway? Perhaps only a censure from the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board will finally shut Chell’s big trap. Michael Meyers

Unwelcome allies

Massapequa, L.I.: To all of the young men, women and trans pro-terror radicals on college campuses across this country: Do you not understand that the people you are supporting hate you and would throw you off a roof or behead you faster than you could say, “From the river to the sea”? Tom Ascher

Permanent consequences?

Plainview, L.I.: My question is to all the students who were arrested for protesting in different states. Will it be on their permanent record and will it affect them later down the line when they apply for a job? Will it come back to haunt them? Employers will not hire people who have a record, no matter when it happened. They will regret it in later years. Frank Mauceri

Misdirected

Charlotte, N.C.: To Voicer Blake Fleetwood: How gleefully you crow about war protests in 1968 from the safety of your college campus, hiding out from the draft using daddy’s money for your college deferment. Thousands of kids without your resources were sent to Vietnam in your stead to die as cannon fodder or return to America, disillusioned and beaten down by combat, only to be scorned by the nice, safe college kids. They were victims of the war, betrayed by their government and sent in waves to a battle that couldn’t be won. My husband spent his military service in North Carolina since he was an only child, but he too was called “baby killer,” etc. because people reacted to the uniform, as if the guy wearing it could make any change in policy. Protest the war in Vietnam, but why attack returning soldiers? Protest the war in Gaza, but why attack Jewish students? Barbara Haynes

Abandoned value

Dartmouth, Mass.: It is amazing, disconcerting and infuriating that so many of the proponents of the right to life are indifferent to the death and suffering of so many Palestinians. The images of fetuses in utero move them more than pictures of mutilated, bloody and dead Palestinian babies. In the same vein, there is scant compassion or understanding for the thousands of migrant children and their desperate parents who risk or lose their lives pursuing freedom and escaping poverty and violence. Further inconsistency is demonstrated by so many of these zealots who advocate withholding assistance to Ukrainian children and families who are bombarded, dispossessed of their homes and killed or maimed. Successful at outlawing or severely restricting abortion, they have turned their attention to denying military aid to Ukraine and continuing assistance to Israel. You can’t claim respect for human life and render aid to murderous regimes and turn your back on besieged millions. Betty Ussach

Force an end

Brooklyn: If the UN is truly dedicated to peace, why doesn’t it intervene in Gaza? The UN should mobilize a peacekeeping force to stabilize the situation. Vito Labella

Letter to a soldier

Pasadena, Calif.: Were you not, as a baby, given milk to drink, cradled in the arms of love? Did you not, as a child, hold a roll of string attached to a kite, and gaze up at hawks circling above the clouds? Did you not run through fields, swim in rivers and chase dreams? Were you not enveloped by an embrace, which is the gift of existence in this world? Was your heart ever filled with such magic that it might explode without taking pen to paper to express the beauty? Why do we fight? Why do we give birth to and raise children only to send them out to kill and be killed? I will not fight to satisfy your greed. I will not sacrifice my children to satisfy your greed. I will not kill your children in retaliation, as a consequence of your greed. Please, stop fighting. Robin Bevan

Religion, not race

Astoria: Why did the Daily News publish Voicer Herb Paserman’s letter when it was riddled with inaccuracies and half-truths? The most glaring is when he alludes to Trump’s “racist Muslim ban.” There is no race of Muslims, and that fact should have stood out to your editorial staff. But then again, accusations rooted in identity politics is Liberalspeak 101 for shutting down dissent, facts be damned. Bradley Morris

Nobody wins

Melbourne, Australia: I could say that I like playing one-sided chess with only white pieces, as I never lose, but that would make no sense and it would corrupt the nature of the game. However, the exciting world of Scrabble is facing a potentially catastrophic update with collaborative games rather than individual players or even teams. Depending on the way the four players work together, the magic word “caziques,” worth 392 points, could finally be played, although it might require cheating. If all four play at the same time “antidisestablishmentarianism” could be put down using all of their tiles, although it would fall off the edge. The weirdest part is this change is designed to attract Gen Z youths, a group who could not get off their screens long enough to even pick up the seven tiles. Dennis Fitzgerald

Hard on hard copy

Brooklyn: To Voicer Stephen Talenti: Don’t tell me to get with the times. It’s because of people like you that newsstands are going out of business. I prefer to hold the paper, and if I am paying $3, I should get the latest edition. Explain why the N.Y. Post can charge $2 and have the latest edition. While the Daily News is a better paper overall, the sports in the Post is way better, unless you like to hear Mike Lupica write about his wonderful family and politics. Dennis Burge

Public benefit

Manhattan: It’s going to take more than Nicole Kidman’s promise of magic to get us to an AMC Theatre again any time soon. Last summer, a movie date with my husband at senior prices, pre-booked and fees included, was about $30. Now it’s close to $60. That’s without popcorn. But listen up, Mayor Adams: $30 is already way too much for plenty of people, while the New York Public Library is free for everybody. With the help of wonderful librarians, you can borrow books, audio and movies, learn English, gather for afterschool programs and use computers for everything from homework to job searches. Libraries help people grow, educate themselves, lead productive lives and have fun. You don’t need Kidman to tell you where the magic is. You’ve got me and New Yorkers, lots of kids included, who pass libraries’ thresholds of knowledge, advice and entertainment. Restore library funding. No magic, just common sense. Laurie Aron

Bronx: After evicting protesters from City College of New York, school workers and some high-ranking members of the NYPD removed a Palestinian flag and replaced it with the American flag that had been taken down by protesters. This action of proudly raising our flag, which should never have been taken down and replaced, has raised negative commentary from Joo-Hyun Kang, the director of some organization claiming efforts in police reform.

In addition, this person claims that this is an act of propaganda and questions why cops are doing this. I can tell you why they are. This is the United States of America, and no flag flies in place of ours, or above ours if the space is shared. Our flag is a symbol of our freedom — freedom that was fought for, and people died for. That freedom gives Kang the right to exercise free speech and belittle the action taken to raise our flag.

It has been accepted that free speech, whether on X or by the action of raising a flag, is tolerated by some, not all. If City Council members and organized groups can protest and disagree on social media, why can’t everyone? If the so-called individuals who commented negatively on the political leanings of councilmembers were to compliment them or agree with them, I wonder if they would raise their voices to have them punished for it. I think not.

Remember, this is America, and despite our disagreements, our flag reminds us of what it took to be who and what we are. Nancy Reilly

Won’t walk

Camden, N.J.: Graduation ceremonies are meant to affirm a monumental milestone in an individual’s life (“Columbia calls off main graduation,” May 7). Not everyone can afford the opportunity to receive a higher education. It’s unbelievable that an act against humanity in another part of the world could have such a profound effect domestically. Wayne E. Williams

Collective responsibility

Purchase, N.Y.: Palestinians support Hamas as their ruling authority, and we all know Hamas to be a vicious terrorist group, responsible for killing babies and committing numerous other atrocities. While it is unfortunate that Palestinians have to suffer the repercussions of their ruling authority’s unending quest to wipe Israel off the map, that is what happens to a people led by a terrorist group. Similarly, and even worse, was what happened to the citizens of Hiroshima and Nagasaki when the Japanese government refused to surrender in WWII and the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on those cities. The bottom line: What is this world coming to when people protest in support of a terrorist entity and completely ignore the abominable atrocities it has committed? Marlene Danoff

Obstinate official

Chicago: I don’t know what campus demonstrators hope to accomplish, but it won’t change the mind of Benjamin Netanyahu. If the autocratic leader of Israel won’t listen to his own people, much less President Biden and the UN, what makes anyone think disruptions on American soil will have any effect in Israel — especially if Netanyahu is allowed to remain in power? Isn’t it obvious that no one tells the truculent prime minister what he should or shouldn’t do? He is Donald Trump but with a Hebrew accent. One gets the feeling that his greatest concern for the future of Israel lies in the total annihilation of Hamas, and if that can only be accomplished by wiping out Gaza, so be it. It would seem there is but one solution to the conflict and it starts with the removal of Netanyahu, followed by equal protection for Palestinians and Israelis. Bob Ory

Final stand

Highland Falls, N.Y.: President Biden has now come very close to saying the quiet part(s) out loud regarding Israel and Gaza. This “final assault” on Hamas is nothing less than part of an Israeli plan to depopulate Gaza through terror and massive civilian casualties. First they cut off any retreat into Egypt by seizing Rafah. Now Israel wants to use 2,000-pound American-made bombs against maybe 2,000 Hamas fighters surrounded by 1 million civilians. There is no “targeted” weapon in the world accurate enough not to cause massive civilian losses. The survivors, having no place to live, will have to move on. The U.S., having bombed more countries than anyone else in the last 80 years or so, has long used airpower to save troops and impose its will. If Israel wants to do the same, Biden is saying they can do so with weapons they make themselves. Joe Cyr

Low blow

Brooklyn: Is there anything that is off limits to Bramhall’s insensitive remarks about the sad possible diagnosis of RFK’s brain problem? All for a laugh! Shame on you for your perverted amusement. Ron Goldman

Background binary

Brooklyn: Your honor, Judge Steve Harvey, by now I’m sure you know that there are other races in addition to Black and white. Let’s break the ice and give them a shot at making a couple of bucks on your “Family Feud” show! Bill Glassman

Cold country

Shaftesbury, Vt.: Knicks guard Josh Hart made it crystal clear that he has no use for Indiana. He said he’d never set foot there if he didn’t have to and he’s not an “Indiana guy.” I happen to agree with him, and can tell you about the time we got stranded in Terre Haute. Our car needed a fuel pump and nobody would stop to help us or give us a ride to the parts store. They were locking car doors and were paranoid of us. They are still living in the Dark Ages or something. Really unfriendly and hostile to strangers. I don’t know why anyone would want to live there. Tom King

Cash extraction

Great Neck, L.I.: The MTA proposal to charge the annual Five-Boro Bike Tour for using the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is just another MTA money grab, just like trying to tax the 26-mile annual NYC Marathon runners’ sponsors. Why doesn’t the MTA attempt to reduce more than $1 billion in annual excessive employee overtime and $700 million in annual fare evasion? Have the MTA Office of Real Estate lease 31 vacant storefronts at Grand Central Madison along with almost 100 others at various NYC Transit, Staten Island Railway, Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North stations. Larry Penner

Boost security

Brooklyn: The increasingly unpopular congestion pricing fee can be reimagined to make it more popular and more useful. I suggest that 10% of the revenue from this pricing tax should be designated to increase funding for public safety. I believe the public would be much more accepting if they knew that some of the revenue is going towards hiring more police officers and making the streets safer, not only against criminals but against reckless drivers with more red light cameras and redesigned streets. Do we really need to extend the Second Ave. subway when ridership is down 50%? However, we do need to improve safety on the subways. Robert Mascali

Imaginary friends

Scarborough, N.Y.: I read that people are creating friends with artificial intelligence, presumably to combat the so-called loneliness epidemic. That reminds me of 5-year-olds who play cowboys or sip tea with their imaginary friends. And then they grow up. Thomas F. Comiskey

Tepid testimony

Medford, L.I.: Lots of bizarre things going on in this alleged hush money payment trial. In 2018, Stormy Daniels signed a statement in which she denies any sexual relations with Donald Trump, dating back to their alleged 2006 tryst. How does the prosecution not see this as problematic? Why would they call her to testify if they know the defense has this statement that completely obliterates her credibility? It reminds me of an under-oath testimony of a famous boxing promoter in the 1990s, when he testified in open court, “Yesterday I was lying, today I am telling the truth.” The promoter was laughed out of court! Furthermore, regardless of the alleged sexual relations, Daniels also signed a non-disclosure agreement after accepting a $130,000 payment. So, she signs the non-disclosure agreement and blabs about the alleged tryst, thus violating the NDA? If there’s any victim here, it’s Trump! Luana Dunn

Manhattan: As I was heading home on Tuesday night, I witnessed the NYPD’s dramatic and disproportionate response to the peaceful student-led protests that have been happening on the Fashion Institute of Technology’s campus for weeks.

I was proud of the behavior of the students and shocked at the tactics of the cops. There were hundreds of police — nightsticks out, helmets on, shields down, carrying zip ties. At one point, cops with bicycles used them to force students and myself back onto the sidewalk at W. 28th St. without warning.

This has been a peaceful protest led by students for weeks. It was the NYPD that was aggressive and provocative throughout. I don’t know why FIT would put their students in danger of being beat up or arrested by the police like this. It has nothing to do with education. As the blue sign above the former encampment states, FIT serves unconventional minds. On Wednesday morning, after menacing and arresting students for hours, they were power-washing the space students had peacefully occupied.

W. 27th St. between Seventh and Eighth Aves. is one of my favorite streets in all of New York City. The students of FIT are always full of energy and vigor on this part of their campus. FIT public safety always has a presence. The administrators of the school let their students down on Tuesday night and betrayed their mission to educate unconventional minds. They should be ashamed. FIT’s students should be proud. Jim Behrle

B&E

Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y.: Those who broke into campus buildings and committed a crime therein are burglars. Burglary is a felony, punishable by a year or more in prison. Let us see if Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg puts on his big-boy pants and charges these felons with said crime. Will he use the same enthusiasm he had for prosecuting Donald Trump? History says no way. Peter McKenna

Enlist

St. Albans: Before you go out to protest for the Palestinians and your universities to divest from Israel, many of you should forfeit all money from loans from federal and state taxpayers and altruistic alumni. You have benefited from the investments of these institutions. They granted you the funds required to attend these universities — money that your labor, diligence and intellect couldn’t produce — for dreams of a prestigious university and an upper-class lifestyle in America. If you refuse to make restitution, you are a hypocrite. If you decide to make a repayment but find the amount daunting, there is a job that offers prestige and honor and upholds the Constitution: The military that is daily prepared to defend all of you from acts of terrorism and terrorists such as Hamas. Patricia Singletary

Stopping short?

White Plains, N.Y.: I don’t understand why President Biden doesn’t want Israel to do everything it can to defeat Hamas once and for all so they no longer govern Gaza and no longer are a threat to Israel. In my opinion, the only ceasefire that makes sense is one in which Hamas releases all the hostages. Joan Cocurullo

Aid stunt

Astoria: Wait — they impeached the last guy for withholding approved aid because he wanted the ally to look into corruption. Now this guy is withholding approved aid to an ally because he wants votes. Hey, Nancy Pelosi, hey Dems, what is going on? What about “no one is above the law”? Sounds like impeachment time. Tim Austin

Proxy fights

Ormond Beach, Fla.: Neither U.S. nor Israeli interests are served by the Biden administration’s decision to allow the passage of a UN Security Council resolution that called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza without first requiring Hamas to release the hostages it has held for seven months. Any U.S. attempts to prevent, delay or complicate Israeli operations will neither hasten the war’s end nor bring peace, but only serve to prolong the conflict and the suffering of the Palestinians. Hamas and Hezbollah attacking Israel, Iraqi militias launching drones at U.S. troops, the Houthis firing missiles at international shipping, and Russia bombarding Ukraine are all part of one threat network supplied by Iran. Abandoning Israel to pander to Biden’s Muslim constituency in the coming election will only embolden Russia and Iran to continue attacks against the U.S. and our allies. Charles Michael Sitero

Saturated sweets

Brooklyn: Obesity and food addiction is a worldwide disease. Food, cakes, candy and soda advertising is overwhelming on TV. Why doesn’t our government recognize the health hazards of these constant visual food images and consumption and apply the same advertising restrictions as it does for alcohol advertising to the food industry? Marie Walsh

Border bungler

Manalapan, N.J.: It irks me that conservatives blame Biden for the ongoing border crisis but fail to acknowledge Donald Trump’s disastrous border policies that got us here in the first place. When Trump took office, he never once sought legislation from Congress to fix the border, but thought he could do it all himself. He began issuing executive orders, most of which violated our asylum laws and were shot down by the courts. A few stuck for a while but stirred a lot of controversy, like the racist Muslim ban and separating families. He also tried to build his disastrous border wall, which proved easily vulnerable to penetration. Only 455 of the 2,000 miles were completed. How did Trump respond to criticism? In February, he deliberately helped kill the historic bipartisan border bill to feed his own cheap campaign script about “our immigration crisis.” Typical Trump politics. Herb Paserman

Fee fleece

Brooklyn: I agree with everything Voicer Lee Rottenberg wrote about congestion pricing except one point. The goal is not to cut traffic, it’s to squeeze more money from hard-working citizens. Glenn Brown

Follow the research

Albany: The op-ed “New York City’s child welfare crisis” (May 6) is a calculated and disingenuous attempt to discredit use of public resources that promote children’s safety and welfare by supporting family and community stability, health and wellbeing. Decades of research show that all children have better life chances when their families can rely on strong family-centered supports and well-resourced communities. By contrast, children taken from their homes — most often for reasons related to lack of basic necessities — painfully struggle in adulthood. Reactionary responses to extreme outlier cases drive foster care panics, spurring unnecessary and harmful family investigations that disrupt children’s lives, often leading to forced removal from their families and placement with strangers in unfamiliar and harmful environments. Amid growing calls to scale back excessive and unnecessary removal of Black children from their families, it’s important to focus on what we know works — ensuring that all New Yorkers have access to economic security and city services that bolster family life. Angela Olivia Burton

Press play

Valhalla, N.Y.: Rick Carlisle, coach of the Indiana Pacers, has Indiana filing a complaint with the NBA about “unfair” officiating during their games with the Knicks. He is sending in 78 clips of officiating decisions that he feels went against his team. The Knicks will also see these clips. The actual reason Indiana is sending them is to tire out the Knicks. Besides the constant full-court pressuring by Indiana, they feel that if the Knicks watch all 78 clips, they won’t get any sleep before the next game! Good idea, Rick! Michael Grisanti

Acts of God?

Staten Island: I’ve been watching the various tornadoes, drenching and flooding thunderstorms and “yuge” hail (hah) never before seen, all hitting red states very hard. In light of these obvious signs from God that the red states must repent and change their evil ways, where has truth-sayer Moscow Marge gone? Why, only a few weeks ago, when a 1,000-year predicted solar eclipse happened around the same time that New Jersey had a minor earthquake — a naturally occurring phenomena — Marjorie Taylor Greene was calling down God’s wrath upon the Northeast, saying we must repent. From what, she didn’t say. God’s wrath when the Northeast has weather and geology, yet what, Marge, just weather elsewhere? Margie, darling, troll of trolls, it’s called spring on the planet we broke, you dolt. The GOP is hellbent on tearing this country down, and this idiot from Georgia is just one example. Tom McGuire

Manhattan: The day after we sat in a Queens courtroom with the tearful family of a hero police officer who sacrificed everything to protect this city — a proceeding the Daily News didn’t bother to cover — we were outraged to read your editorial disparaging the integrity and courage of all New York City police officers in connection with the tragic death of Win Rozario (“There’s another way,” May 8).

By claiming that police officers are willing to risk “not much” of their personal safety to protect the public, The News isn’t just insulting cops and the families of our fallen heroes. You are also ignoring a key fact in this case: police officers weren’t the only ones in danger. Rozario’s family members were also in harm’s way. As the body-camera footage makes clear, these officers were trying to minimize the risks to everyone in that room, not just themselves, and were forced to make split-second decisions based on those risks.

The News’ condescending remarks about the threat of “some scissors” trivializes both this incident and the difficult reality police officers face when responding to many calls. Less than a year ago, in another Queens precinct, a mentally ill individual jammed a blade into a police officer’s neck and slashed his partner. The attack occurred mere seconds after the officers arrived on the scene, before they had a chance to “de-escalate” and before they discovered that the man had just butchered his whole family with the same knife (“4 stabbed to death, including girl, 11, and boy, 12, by relative fatally shot by NYPD cops outside burning Queens home,” Dec. 3, 2023).

Police officers understand that failing to react quickly to a threat can have deadly consequences — again, not just for police officers but for members of the public, as well. The time to prevent tragic outcomes to mental health crises is long before police officers or anyone else is called to the scene. It will require a functioning mental health system that takes action to protect those who may be a danger to themselves or others, with mandatory outpatient or in-patient treatment when necessary, instead of allowing the cycle of crisis and response to repeat over and over again.

The News’ unnecessary speculation that the outcome in this case could have been changed by a mental health co-response program like B-HEARD — which, as even The News acknowledges, still requires police officers to continue responding to crises where “safety questions” are involved — does nothing to improve the situation. Police officers don’t choose which calls we’re sent to, and we can’t control the dangers — once again, to both ourselves and the public — that we face when we arrive.

The police officers involved in this incident deserve a fair investigation based on the facts and the law, not demonization by activists who are exploiting this tragedy to advance a broader anti-police agenda. Moreover, all police officers deserve better than The News’ sneering about “the necessity to accept danger, especially if it will help the public they’re sworn to protect.”

The scale of that danger cannot be determined from the comfort and safety of a newsroom. Police officers across this city must make the determination and accept the danger in real time and under immense pressure, every single day. In case the News has forgotten, we have one very recent example of what that acceptance can cost us, our families, and the city we serve. Patrick Hendry, president, Police Benevolent Association

Hands-on help

Brooklyn: To all you college students who think protesting will fix things, go over to Gaza and see what is really going on. Fix things there. Hunger, thirst, no housing. Fix things. Carol Matovick

Historical omissions

Lackawaxen, Pa.: Voicer Ephraim Savitt gives himself away when he ridicules the name of my Pennsylvania township in the Munsee language (of the Lenni Lenape indigenous peoples of the area). This is the same culturicide (a form of genocide) that the Zionist state has employed to eradicate artifact evidence of Palestinian presence. Savitt’s history conveniently begins with the United Nations’ partition plan, thus ignoring the demographics when the U.K. was granted its mandate over Palestine, where 90% of the population was Muslim (incidentally, “national home in Palestine” has no meaning in international law, but certainly does not denote statehood). Disregarded also in the Voicer’s truncated timeframe is that the British double-crossed the Arabs, whom they had promised independence for helping to topple the Ottomans, by entering into a secret agreement with France and Russia to allow Jewish settlement. My initial letter was pragmatic: The events are irreversible, so move on. John A. MacKinnon

Traffic squeeze

Middle Village: The city is planning on adding new bus and bike lanes with congestion pricing on the way. How absurd is that? The goal of congestion pricing is to cut traffic in Manhattan so vehicles can move faster, which comes about by reducing the ratio of cars per street. If you diminish the number of cars and simultaneously remove traffic lanes, you will wind up with the same proportion, creating the same congestion as we had before. Lee Rottenberg

Support families

Manhattan: Re “New York City’s child welfare crisis” (op-ed, May 6): Child safety is the paramount government responsibility, and all families must have their basic needs met. Commissioner Jess Dannhauser, together with nonprofit agencies and the Administration for Children’s Services, has led efforts to: Increase use of vouchers that help low-income families in NYC cover the cost of child care, reducing stressors on families, by more than 350%; utilize an empowerment framework, CARES, to address family needs collaboratively, connecting families to resources to prevent removal, increased by 46%; boost workforce recruitment and retention supports, including scholarship investment, critical to ensuring that a stable, well-trained workforce can timely assist families; and promote family resilience and connection via expansion of family enrichment centers. Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies urges support for increasing reimbursement for family preservation and investment in human services professionals supporting families. Kathleen Brady-Stepien, president and CEO, COFCCA

The people’s people

Monroe, N.J.: Every day, public servants carry out critical work that allows our society to function. We rely on them for our daily safety through emergency services and preventing crime and terrorism; to ensure we build and maintain the physical infrastructure allowing us to move from place to place, communicate across long distances, power our homes or drink clean water; to educate our children; to administer critical social programs like Social Security and Medicare; and much more. Too often, their work goes unnoticed until something goes wrong. Yet public servants work every day to provide a stable foundation for all of us to enjoy our lives and freedom. That’s why, since 1985, the first week of May has been designated Public Service Recognition Week. I hope you will join me in expressing your appreciation to those who serve for what they do for our communities and our country. Jeffrey Bender

One-man takeover

Milwaukee: Vice President Al Gore graciously presided over the Electoral College vote in 2001, a contentious and controversial election that he lost to George W. Bush. After he announced the vote count, Gore asserted, “May God bless our new president and our new vice president, and may God bless the United States of America.” Similar circumstances 20 years later resulted in Donald Trump defending the Jan. 6 rioters’ “Hang Mike Pence!” chants. How tragic for our democracy that the Republican Party has become the party of Trump. Terry Hansen

Hideous hypocrite

Howard Beach: Trump commenting on Sen. Jon Tester’s weight, saying that he “looked pregnant,” makes you wonder if he ever looks at himself in the mirror. Not only does he have a weight problem himself, but he has an orange face and dyed blond hair that is styled like a bird’s nest. Trump is the last person who should be putting someone else down. Barbara Berg

Loose lips

Kearny, N.J.: Donald Trump suffers from oral incontinence, and Depends doesn’t make anything for it! Joseph F. Catrambone

Olivebridge, N.Y.: Rep. Virginia Foxx summoned the presidents of some world-famous universities to Capitol Hill to investigate and criticize their handling of recent demonstrations on their campuses. Headlines in The News and the N.Y. Post, articles in The New York Times – a national platform for Foxx’s work with her committee.

Is she and her committee competent for such a task? Does she have the capacity to understand what these universities mean to education, and how they developed their standing? Yes, she has a doctorate in education, but is this investigation more about politics? Is this an effort to hold these universities accountable or is it simply a platform for Foxx to advance her distorted political views? In December 2020, she signed an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit attempting to overturn Joe Biden’s decisive election victory. On Jan. 6, 2021, she voted against the certification of electoral votes — clearly, someone with a personal agenda misaligned with a sane, rational view of events. Foxx represents a district of 754,512 people (as of 2022), 0.2% of the U.S. population. Yet, she has the authority to summon leaders of these fine institutions and demand their resignations. If you do not agree with Foxx, you should be fired.

While debate swells over this intense and divisive issue of Palestine and Israel and people demonstrate, Foxx continues this misguided inquisition. Since the University of North Carolina is also being investigated, you have to wonder why Foxx is fixated on Columbia University in New York rather than summoning the president of UNC to be subjected to political statements disguised as questions. Warren Davis

Bathroom breaks?

Brooklyn: Where do the protesters who are protesting at Columbia University and other locations around the city go to relieve themselves? Charlie Pisano

War interrupted

Brooklyn: Harry Siegel’s May 5 column (“Campus radicals, cop crackdown have Weimar vibe“) complains about “the protesters’ campus Kabuki play of sparking conflict and then crying about it.” Sounds like the common criticism of sit-ins during the civil rights movement — that protesters were just “making trouble.” Today’s students are following the advice of veteran organizer John Lewis, to “get in good trouble, necessary trouble.” As Eugene Robinson said, Lewis understood that “change does not come without conflict — and that ‘nonviolent’ does not mean ‘nonconfrontational.’ ” Maybe Siegel’s real complaint is not the students’ tactics, but their cause. He never mentions the more than 14,000 children killed in Israel’s assault on Gaza, or the thousands of civilians it is now starving to death. Like Howard Zinn said in 1971: “They say we are disturbing the peace… What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war.” Peter Hogness

Depraved tactic

Brooklyn: Hamas kidnapped Israeli civilians and put them in its general population. Even the Nazis and Communists did not do that. They set up prisoner-of-war camps and concentration camps for civilian enemies. Hamas merged the hostages with the civilian Palestinian population that it governs. They clearly bear major responsibility for the deaths of the population they rule, yet I do not hear any of the pro-Palestinian demonstrators condemn Hamas for its despicable acts. Alan Podhaizer

One flag

Brooklyn: To Voicer Peter Mancuso: I’m curious what flag should stay up at City College? Don’t be a sucker, because if the flag was on the other foot and it was a campus in Palestine, the American flag wouldn’t have a chance to fly free. Mariann Tepedino

A greater menace

Beechhurst: Sen. Bernie Sanders says that this widespread college campus backlash against Israel could become “Biden’s Vietnam.” But like so many others on the left, Bernie is oblivious to Biden’s Munich — his unforgivable, abject appeasement of Iran, which enabled that “death to America/death to Israel” fanatical, theocratic regime to unleash its terrorist proxies against the Jewish state. James Hyland

Missed heritage

West Hempstead, L.I.: In February, I noted that your paper published a full-page ad noting Black History Month every single day! Here we are in the second week of Jewish Heritage Month and how not-shockingly, you haven’t placed a single ad noting it or discussing contributions to this nation by the Jewish community. Is it because of prejudice or fear?  Samuel J. Mark

Quote check

Margate, Fla.: Voicer Leonard Marshal claims op-ed writer Allan Chernoff (“Blacks & Jewish Americans retain a common bond,” May 5) smeared Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s name and cheapened his cause. Really? King was a Zionist, and Chernoff quoted precisely King’s famous words spoken in 1967, which make his embrace of the cause of Zionism indisputable. Chernoff’s  accurate quotation is not a smear, and it highlights King’s cause. Richard Sherman

Peace through prosperity

Penticton, British Columbia: Looks like the 1917 British Balfour Declaration-incubated Zionists produced the 2024 catacombs Hamas, which is a reflection of themselves? Both elude recognition as compassionate architects of lasting peace, worthy of a Palestinian-Jewish defacto 51st U.S. state. Thus we have arrived at this human disaster of horror, Gaza, with its incessant suffering cries and moaning of the ghosts of countless helpless annihilated innocents, ingrained in the dust of Gaza’s rubble. Perhaps this nightmare, combined with the looming, overwhelming climate change challenge, will be the incentive required to live in peace. War — the 20th century solution — even by the most powerful and educated, is obsolete and not an option. A recognized Palestine-Gaza nation joined by an international corridor of free movement (avoid the WWII Danzig problem) and a modern Gaza seaport facilitating all forms of ships, commerce and tourism is a practical solution. Joe Schwarz

N.Y.’s Sharpest

Rockaway: Over the weekend, I witnessed firsthand how the Department of Parks and Recreation tree trimming workers really face difficult situations. The danger comes not from the trees, but from individuals who get way too involved with the process. We often speak about the dangerous tasks faced by NYPD, FDNY and Sanitation workers. Let’s add NYC Parks tree trimmers to that list. And like the Finest, Bravest and Strongest, I say those men and women facing emotional residents while they are trying to operate dangerous equipment ought to be named NYC’s sharpest! Ellen Fitzpatrick

Signing off

Brooklyn: Longtime NY1 anchor Lewis Dodley announced Monday night that his legendary career in front of the news camera will conclude this month. Dodley did his job well. He reported the news as factually as possible without shaping it to go in a certain direction. Many in his field should take note. Good luck and thank you, sir. Louie Scarcella

Look to the books

Manhattan: When I first came to New York City almost 50 years ago, I quickly learned that if I spent too much time looking up (at skyscrapers, construction cranes, statues), I would always end up looking down to find myself standing in a pile of canine fecal matter. The problem was solved by appealing to the one thing New Yorkers cared more about than war, their losing sports franchises or even their parking spots — their wallets. Mayor Ed Koch passed the pooper scooper law. Pick up after Fido or pay a fine. Within a year, your average citizen was free to look up again. Today, our pedestrians, children and senior citizens are at risk as thousands of bikes, e-bikes and scooters race down our sidewalks. There is a law on the books: $100 fine for riding on the sidewalk. Enforce it. Louie Russo

Odd fixation

Auburndale: To Voicer Dan Arthur Pryor: I’m glad you agree that a woman is a person, although I don’t understand how you believe that a person has never gotten pregnant. How did you get here? Maybe you and Voicer Bob Pascarella can ask yourselves why you are triggered by this issue that doesn’t really involve you. Cathi Venis

New Hope, N.Y.: How does a democratic republic built for nearly a quarter-millennium by diverse immigration parse out its message of inclusion? One way is by being as neutral and non-partisan as possible, and appearing that way, in every aspect of how it provides services to the communities it serves, including police.

The case of the protesters at Columbia University and the mission to remove or arrest them is within the legal and normal bounds of American policing. The police displaying an American flag while doing so, however, begs the question, “Why?”

Mayor Adams offered this answer: “That’s our flag, folks. No take over other buildings and put another flag up. That may be fine to other people, but it’s not to me. My uncle died defending this country, and these men and women put their lives on the line. It’s despicable that schools will allow another country’s flag to fly in our country. So blame me for being proud to be an American. I thank [Deputy] Commissioner [of Operations Kaz] Daughtry for putting that flag back up. We are not surrendering our way of life to anyone.”

Adams’ reference to the flag was chilling in terms of democratic policing and its obligation to remain non-partisan and neutral. It is not the responsibility of the police to express their opinions by words or symbols while carrying out a professional duty. Those words from the mayor were particularly distressing, and made more so by how little alarm they raised to those present. Peter Mancuso, former assistant director of training, NYPD

Uninterrupted

Omaha: Per the national news media, student protests were months in the planning. Just where was any law enforcement entity? Tom Dahulick

Sanctified speech

Providence, R.I.: Re “Painful memories reignited” (column, May 5), where Leonard Greene points out that “people should be able to protest peacefully without being tagged as ‘outside agitators’ ”: Protests you don’t like to see / help to keep our country free / You may be distressed, it’s true / but it’s not all about you. Felicia Nimue Ackerman

Support within reason

Manhattan: Recent demonstrations at universities around the country are a response to Israel’s war with Hamas, which has resulted in the deaths of more than 34,000 innocent civilians. Protesters have publicly urged academic institutions to divest from Israel-linked companies. But the students have been less vocal in addressing other pivotal issues, such as Washington’s unconditional support for Israel, and President Biden’s apparent inability to reason with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which makes Biden seem ineffective. Biden has leverage, since Israel is scheduled to benefit from $26 billion in military assistance approved by Congress. Biden should convey to Netanyahu that the amount of funds in the future could be influenced by Israel demonstrating more respect for the sanctity of life in Gaza. If Biden can pledge a policy of support for Israel that is nuanced and equitable, he will enhance his reputation with young voters and, to some extent, supporters of the Palestinians. Darryl P. Miller

Don’t deny us agency

Manhattan: To Allan Chernoff (“Blacks & Jewish Americans retain a common bond,” op-ed, May 5): You portrayed the African-American race as betraying Jews because some Blacks support the Palestinians. Some Jews owned Black slaves and didn’t support civil rights, but we don’t condemn all Jews. And Blacks at Donald Trump rallies do not represent all Blacks. Your article is a soft racist dog whistle and divides Blacks, Jews and Palestinians. You smeared Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s name and cheapened his cause. I’m a Black combat veteran, and I’m offended by your lecturing the whole Black race on betrayal when thousands of non-combatant innocent Palestinian women and children have been slaughtered. You saying some Blacks are not free to choose who to support is akin to enslaving us all over again. Leonard Marshall

Financial demands

Yorktown Heights, N.Y.: I will bet that after causing havoc on college campuses, these pro-Hamas protesters are going to ask that their student loans be forgiven. Anthony Vegliante

Campaigning commentary

Tarrytown, N.Y. To Voicer Paul Feiner: Re your latest disguised free political ad in our midst, I suggest that all candidates for public office (you are town supervisor of Greenburgh, N.Y., and according to your official bio, “the longest serving chief elected official of any municipality in Westchester County,” yet that never gets mentioned in your comments here) be required to include a statement of how they would react to an anti-transparency attempt or expression of disinformation in the press. As you would require of college students to react to a hypothetical situation involving hate speech, would a politician like you be a follower and go along, or double down and lie and deceive even more? Isn’t it time for you to submit your self-serving words to “Your Turn” op-ed columns and not take up space meant for the rest of us non-politicians? Steve Ditlea

The bigger story

Brooklyn: For the last 10 days or so, news outlets have been dominated by the campus protests. Not one story about the killings of women and children or the leveling of homes, towns and hospitals by Israel in Gaza. I’m just thinking they may want to pump the breaks for a bit so we can get back to seeing the killing and leveling of houses that our tax dollars are paying for. Jim Carney

Electoral urgency

Rochdale Village: To Voicers Sarah Alboher and Michael Hooker: After reading your respective letters, I could not help but be in total agreement with your assessments of Donald Trump. Like you, I am of the opinion that #45 was an absolute disgrace to this once-proud nation during the four years he served, and he can not (né, must not) be given a second chance to perpetuate even more catastrophic harm to this country. Indeed, if it was up to me, this buffoon would not be allowed within a 500-mile radius of the White House. This is why I say to all those out there who may be on the fence, so to speak, about voting, get off your laurels and vote like your very lives depend on it. Because they do. Carlos R. Edwards

Warmer weather

Suffern, N.Y.: Donald Trump is complaining about how cold the courtroom is. Where he’s going, it’s plenty hot. Rick Sinclair

Transactional

Stockholm, N.J.: Is there any truth to the story that when Stormy Daniels and The Donald finished, they sat up in bed, looked into each other’s eyes and both said, “$50”? Nat Saraceni

Gender-unbender

Belvidere, N.J.: Newsflash for Voicer Cathi Venis: Voicer Bob Pascarella is speaking correctly for these weird times in America. Never before did a “person” get pregnant. Of course, it’s sort of redundant to identify that women get pregnant. But that’s how it’s been for centuries, everywhere in the world. The definition of people: “human beings in general or considered collectively.” Today’s bizarre society reclassifies the two sexes (male and female) as malleable as silly putty. Dan Arthur Pryor

Mass suffering

Jamaica: A civil war in Sudan caused by a power struggle between two generals has been raging since April 2023. Eight million people have been forced from their homes. Measles, cholera and other preventable diseases have spread. The Sudanese Armed Forces have prevented humanitarian aid from entering the Sudanese region of Darfur and members of the rival Rapid Support Forces are looting humanitarian warehouses. Entire villages have been burned down and their people massacred. Women and girls as young as 14 have been raped by the RSF militiamen. RSF advances in Darfur have been accompanied by widespread violence against non-Arab minorities. The total number of dead in the civil war is unknown. In 2004, genocidal violence in Darfur killed 300,000 people. Ebere Osu

Worth a tribute

Wallingford, Conn.: I find myself writing to Voice of the People once again regarding the passing of guitarist Duane Eddy. He was a rock and roll legend who needs to be remembered and respected. He was a guitarist who influenced many youngsters with his playing style, and he sold millions of records. Again, your newspaper neglected to mention his passing. Get with the program and honor him as he should have been. RIP, Duane Eddy. I’m sure he has a seat in God’s rock band. Ed Gerosa

Forked River, N.J.: After puppy-killer South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s political career is in the doghouse, she is now calling her own words “fake news” (“South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem defends executing 14-month-old dog in gravel pit,” April 26).

Noem bragged in her new book about shooting her puppy called Cricket, claiming she was “worthless” and an “untrainable” puppy. She went on “Hannity” on Fox News Wednesday night in a failed attempt at damage control, which failed miserably. She changed her story about shooting her dog yet again, this time telling people that she had a Cujo on her hands. She got this puppy so she could hunt birds, but after Cricket went after some chickens, she shot her in the face.

The last I checked, chickens are birds. Not to mention that any animal rescue group would have taken Cricket to a good home. There was no need to kill her. Here is a novel idea: Hire a dog trainer if you want your puppy to be trained.

She also shot her goat because he smelled like a goat. Sounds more like a death camp than a farm to me. Kristi, don’t fret just because you flushed your career down the toilet. I’m sure there are many dog meat farms in places like Vietnam and South Korea that are always looking for bloodthirsty employees. They would love your resumé and it will feel just like home for you. Jim Hughes

Vote-suck

Bayside: Re “Whose voters like RFK Jr. more? It’s very clear” (column, April 3): S.E. Cupp, thank you! You said it all. Just what I’ve been saying! RFK will take votes away from President Biden because he’s a Kennedy. Too bad most of the Kennedy believers are dead! Theresa Polese

Bad news

Brooklyn: I can’t understand why all these people would want to vote for Donald Trump. Look at all the damage he has done and is still doing. I agree with John Bolton and Mark Esper that he is a threat to democracy. Maria Santiago

Fraud flip

White Rock, British Columbia: Why could there not have been consequential voter fraud committed in Donald Trump’s favor? His supporters conveniently ignore this possibility. The actual hard proof of this fraud? Basically, the same as that for Trump’s side: Nada. Some people, likely Democratic voters, simply find it unfathomable that so many Americans had voted for him both times — especially in 2020 after experiencing his first-term mayhem. They have no real evidence to back up their claim, except for the fact that Hillary lost in 2016, with Donald garnering as much as 70 million or so votes — results they find possible only through consequential electoral fraud committed in Trump’s favor. It’s absurd, but then that’s the point, isn’t it? That, and to never underestimate the poor-loser emotional mindset. Frank Sterle Jr.

Felt reality

Oceanside, L.I.: Re “Biden, winning by the numbers” (March 7): You insult the readers by believing that Donald Trump is stirring the fear and malaise the country is feeling. You continue with the Democratic mantra of it’s not what you see and feel, but what we tell you. You can bring out all the stats you want, but I will go by the gut feelings and wits of my fellow New Yorkers. I welcome the increased police presence on the subways, but the presence has to be for a reason. We are playing a N.Y. lottery of who is next. In this game, no one wants to win. The concern is not about protecting the law-abiding citizen but the criminals who have a resumé of crime, aided and abetted by no-bail laws. The cost of groceries, gas, insurance and daily living is another gut punch. We are living this. Numbers can’t hide reality. Tony Giametta

BDS blitz

Brooklyn: Harry Siegel is absolutely correct (“Campus protesters’ Gaza cause is no Vietnam War,” column, April 28). The university protests aren’t about the current war in Gaza. It’s about pressuring the universities to divest from Israel and pressuring the country to cease aid to Israel. These efforts and demonstrations, although on a smaller scale, long predated the Gaza war and will continue long after the war is done. And by the way, Columbia students have elected as student body president for the next academic year an Israeli woman who has spoken up in support of Israel and against antisemitism. These are the real Columbia students. Howard Berglas

Recommended reading

New Rochelle, N.Y.: Everyone associated with higher learning — from administrators to faculty to students (from Ph.D. candidates to wait-listed high school seniors and parents) — should read S.E. Cupp’s “Violent campus protests are not about freedom” (column, May 2) to understand the purposes, places and pitfalls of protesting. Richard Rodrigue

Imperial boomerang

Brooklyn: The recent campus protests should concern every American, but not for the reasons many Americans seem to be concerned. The students’ message is easy to dismiss if you only look at their clashes with police and outside agitators, ignoring that their entirely peaceful encampments were set upon by people looking to stifle said message. Students and faculty were met with force — goaded into physical resistance that can then be classified as violence and delegitimized. This is a tactic long employed by Israeli soldiers and security forces against Palestinians demonstrating against violations of their rights, which they learned from British colonial forces who preceded them. Be advised: Many of the police departments deploying nightclubs, rubber bullets and handcuffs to suppress our own young citizens have programs that for years have been sending officers to Israel for training. We are seeing the lessons in squashing dissent that they brought back. Stuart Manning

Anti-American

Brooklyn: The fact that Republicans want to crush the anti-war protests on college campuses but let the Jan. 6 insurrectionists go free tells you everything you need to know about their priorities, doesn’t it? Patriots, the Republicans are not! Joe Ferra

National heroes

Bellerose: National Nurses Week begins each year on May 6 and ends on May 12. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, there are 2.8 million registered nurses. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, our nurses have been through a lot. Quite a few of them have gotten sick and some have died. In 2020-2021, these nurses were called true heroes. I would agree. I was operated on at North Shore Hospital in Manhasset, L.I., for aggressive prostate cancer. In the recovery room, I was attended to by the most caring and concerned nurses. In the next three years, I had three more operations. I am now 75 and still alive and well. We have dedicated nurses who go the extra mile for their patients. So, let me praise all these wonderful nurses who do what they do for the health of our nation. Frederick R. Bedell Jr.

No home team?

Hartsdale, N.Y.: There I am on Sunday morning, waiting for the puck to drop for round 2, Game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and there’s nothing in New York’s Hometown Newspaper about the N.Y. Rangers. I’m not surprised, just disappointed that all season long all we got from you were little blips from uninterested Associated Press reporters. Monday through Saturday you put out a 48-page edition, and the Sunday edition was 72 pages. There used to be a beat writer for each of the three local teams. Yet another reason why you are no longer “New York’s Hometown Newspaper”! Fred Feinberg

Write ’em up

Hillsdale, N.Y.: I totally agree with Voicer Jacquelyn Bonomo’s sidewalk safety issues referring to speeding bikes and motorized scooters using sidewalks as roadways, which is illegal and dangerous to pedestrians. These bikes use corner cutouts to enter one sidewalk while exiting another, creating a danger to everyone. Bikes that use streets instead of sidewalks cause other dangerous conditions by blowing through red lights and stop signs, creating a dangerous condition to pedestrians crossing on the green light. The only method to control this is to issue a two-part serial-numbered ticket. Hand one part to the rider and have the other attached to the bike, instructing the rider to pick up the confiscated bike at a disclosed location and bring in part two of the ticket with a $100 fine in order to recover their bike or scooter. Are politicians asleep at the wheel? Phil Antico