To the editor,
I have been a Brooklynite my whole life and I was shocked and disappointed by the 6–0 vote to replace sections of wood on the Boardwalk with concrete (“City chops Boardwalk planks,” March 15).
It appears as if the decision was made well before the “open” forum. I wonder if any members of the committee have ever been to the Boardwalk to feel its history, beauty and majesty? It is an historic part of this city and borough.
There are millions of people, residents and tourists, who walk, exercise or just enjoy the Boardwalk in the summer, and thousands during the off-season. The Boardwalk should not become just another concrete street or an Internet video, with the title, “When the Boardwalk was the Boardwalk.”
In their decision, the committee cited three reasons, all of which are poor excuses for not doing the right thing. They stated concrete is cheaper, lasts longer, and allows emergency vehicles access. First, concrete may be cheaper, but based upon the total cost of the project, the additional cost is minimal. Second, concrete will last longer; however what is ruining the boards are the huge number of vehicles that constantly ride up and down the boardwalk — not people and the elements. The problem is that the vast majority of vehicles riding up and down are either providing rides for workers or just doing routine patrol.
The use of lighter vehicles, such as scooters, would take the abuse off the boards. Emergency vehicles can easily access the boardwalk when needed.
If this decision holds, what will stop the city from using concrete on playgrounds and school fields and any other surface that is not concrete?
Remember, concrete is cheaper, lasts longer and allows emergency vehicles access.
The mayor constantly talks about the quality of life in this city. Bloomberg and the Council need to stand up and insist that the Boardwalk not be done in concrete; we need to maintain the beauty of this unique part of New York.
Harry Rattien
Bergen Beach
Stan’s the man
To the editor,
Thank you Stanley Gershbein for reminding your readers to make smart giving choices, and for recommending Charity Navigator as a tool to help with such efforts (“Robert DeNiro, Michelle Obama, and racist bumper stickers,” It’s Only My Opinion, online April 4).
Have a great day.
Sandra Miniutti
The writer is vice president of marketing and the chief financial officer at Charity Navigator.
Uncool slopers
To the editor,
So some Park Slope residents want to ban the ice-cream man from their neighborhood because their little brats are having tantrums when they are told no. Well too darn bad. Don’t try to deprive me or my child or anyone else of an occasional treat because you can’t control your child.
What about the ice-cream man working long hours to support his family? I guess that doesn’t matter either. Teach your child some self control and the word “no” — he or she will thank you for doing it someday.
Maureen Parker
Homecrest
Brooklyn & NJ Nets?
To the editor,
The New Jersey Nets will be moving to Brooklyn in the upcoming 2012-13 NBA season, but the Nets should continue to play some of their games in New Jersey. The Nets have a following after calling the Meadowlands and recently, Newark home.
The Nets’ move to Brooklyn is risky. There is strong competition from the Knicks, and Brooklyn alone cannot carry a professional team. Customers will have to support the Nets from the entire Tri-State area. The Barclays Center can accommodate three-quarters of the 41 games and the Prudential Center can carry the remainder.
To make both venues happy let the franchise be called the Brooklyn-Jersey Nets! The name “Jersey” is a reference to its four-decade history in New Jersey, and to the jerseys basketball players wear. What do you think?
Does Brooklyn want to share the Nets and does the ownership want to keep ties in both Brooklyn and New Jersey? Let’s be real, the Nets need all the support they can get. This is one idea.
Kosmas Patikoglou
Astoria, N.Y.
Lawless Bam
To the editor,
The absolute lies coming from this president’s mouth are appalling and intolerable. He said that if the Supreme Court tanked ObamaCare, it would be an “unprecedented example of judicial activism.” For a man who taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago, he shows an unbelievable lack of constitutional knowledge.
Every lawyer in the U.S. has been taught in Constitutional Law 101 about Marbury Vs. Madison. More than 200 years ago, this case settled the issue of whether the Supreme Court could declare a law “legally enacted by elected legislators” (his words), to be unconstitutional.
It is the job of the Supreme Court to do this and President Obama should know it. Apparently Mom and Dad Ayres’ money was not well-spent on his education. For him to be pressuring the Supreme Court is an unbelievable usurpation of judicial authority, and a violation of the separation of powers.
I can only imagine what a second Obama term would be like.
David Podesta
Marine Park
Early judgements
To the editor,
Why is it that every time a black person is gunned down by a white person, everyone is extremely quick to persecute the white person. Nobody has all the answers. That’s why we have courts. We don’t need Al Sharpton to rile the black community. We don’t need politicians to wear hoodies on the House floor. We don’t need the family to go to Congress for action.
Let the investigators do the research to find out what really happened on both sides. The public has no right without information to act as judge, jury and executioner.
With sentiment running rampant as it is, there is no way that George Zimmerman could ever get a fair trial. The time for cool heads is now. We don’t need another situation like Tawana Brawley.
Ronald Cohen
Sheepshead Bay
Supermarket loss
To the editor,
It’s been almost a year now that Pathmark closed its doors on Nostrand Avenue.
Remember when you heard it was closing? I thought it was a rumor. Pathmark would not do that to us, I thought. Well, they did, and now they’re gone. It’s sad to walk by the big, empty shell of a store.
We are told that diversity in a neighborhood makes it stronger, but maybe that theory doesn’t work for supermarket investors.
Politicians who represent our area had high hopes that another supermarket chain would take over the store, but I think their hopes have been dashed, for now anyway. Many small stores that were close to Pathmark have also closed or moved. I think they needed the anchor of that large supermarket to bring more customers in.
Hopefully, one day in the not so distant future, we will see a big sign on the window of the empty store, saying, ““Coming soon…”
It will be good to welcome a new, vital, mucu needed supermarket to our neighborhood. We are waiting, patiently.
Ruth Weiner
Sheepshead Bay
‘Bully’ pulpit
To the editor,
I saw the documentary “Bully” about how students are bullied by other students because they are regarded as geeks, gays, and African Americans, among other reasons, where the tougher kids prevail in making the lives of the more defenseless kids miserable.
The film portrayed mostly the south and the southwest, and the school principals and superintendents frankly admit they are limited in protecting the less fortunate. They are like the old woman who lived in a shoe and had so many children that she didn’t know what to do.
The problem of bullying is as severe, if not more so, in the northeast. It’s exacerbated by unethical principals who press teachers with what many regard as a friendly suggestion to elevate or lower a student’s grades, regardless of his or her performance.
I believe if more philanthropists would invest in more non-sectarian private schools, which would be more affordable to the middle class, it would help to increase competition in secondary education, and create a better environment for teachers and students.
Elliott Abosh
Brighton Beach
