It’s a dog’s life for Sheepshead Bay’s captive canines!

To the editor,

You reported a very sad story that I have known about for more than six years (“Dog days over,” Feb. 23). What I did not know was that there was no heat, electricity or running water!

For me and the other rescuers who reported the house on Avenue Y, it was horrific enough that the dogs were being held captive without light of day or human contact. I agonized over my inability to bring action on their behalf. Fortunately, they will now have a chance at life, but why did it take so long? I was able to rescue three full grown Shelties and four puppies from the house some years ago.

Name withheld upon request

Ferry good

To the editor,

“Ferries: Dead In The Water?” (Op-Ed, Feb. 24) isn’t necessarily true. Consider the new East River ferry now into its eighth month of service. This route connects a number of neighborhoods on the East River from Queens to Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Our waterways are an under-utilized natural asset which can offer significant transportation alternatives for thousands of New Yorkers. Most of our existing public transportation and roadways are already operating at or above capacity. New ferry services can be implemented far more quickly than construction of new subway, commuter rail or highways. These can take years or even decades by the time you complete environmental reviews, planning, design, engineering, real estate acquisition, permits, procurements and actual construction before reaching beneficial use.

Completing all of the above, along with finding funding for ferry boats, docks and parking with costs in the millions, may be easier than finding the billions of dollars necessary for construction of new or extended subway, commuter rail or highways. Utilization of ferry boats makes a positive contribution to air quality. These new East River ferry commuters have joined the 66,000 daily Staten Island ferry riders in enjoying the fresh air and breeze that only waterborne transportation can provide.

Thousands of other Brooklyn residents from Canarsie, Sheepshead Bay and Bay Ridge, if given the opportunity, would also consider utilizing ferry services.

Larry Penner

Great Neck, N.Y.

Super Stan

To the editor,

Stanley Gershbein, I just wanted you to know that the first thing I do when I pick up this newspaper is to read your column (It’s Only My Opinion), then I read Joanna DelBuono’s (Not for Nuthin’).

You never fail to disappoint me! You are on the money every time. Thank you for voicing an opinion for me, too. Please keep it going. God bless you.

Beatrice Matias

Midwood

Don’t blame the teachers

To the editor

I met my former elementary schoolteacher just before I began teaching in city schools. She reminded me that a teacher is only as good as the material they have to work with.

Teachers who were rated well on the latest reports should congratulate themselves. In fact, all teachers should pat themselves on the back for doing a job which society has come not to appreciate.

As for the highly rated teachers, many of them will be called to the principal’s office in June and lauded again for their achievement. They will be told that they will be getting a class of challenged learners in September as they can handle it.

Years ago I worked with a colleague whose classes consistently did well on standardized tests. The principal told him that he was being assigned to special education classes in the fall. The magic suddenly wore off. The teacher was judged not as good and by November of that year, he filed his retirement papers.

Ed Greenspan

Sheepshead Bay

NYPD blues

To the editor,

There are some people — Muslims and non-Muslims alike — who feel as though their rights are being violated because they are being watched by the NYPD. What about everyone else’s rights, such as our right to be safe and protected from terrorist attacks?

Sorry if you feel that way, but if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. One word more: tough!

Ernesto Cavalier

Midwood

F-Rick-in’ GOP

To the editor,

Rick Santorum has finally showed his true colors. He is not interested in doing what is right in his conscience or for the people. He is interested in doing whatever the other Republicans want. He said so in the latest GOP debate. He stated that he knew the No Child Left Behind law was wrong and did not meet his beliefs, but he felt it right to join the ranks of the other Republicans and go along with whatever George W. Bush wanted.

Is this really the kind of president you want in office? One who will not rule by his conscience or by the needs of the people, but what the other members of the GOP want? Not me.

California again voted against the single payer option. Why did it fail? All of the Republicans voted against it. All but six of the Democrats voted for it. Of the six, two voted against it and the other four abstained. Here’s the kicker — of the six, five received between $100,000 and $250,000 from insurance companies. In other words, they accepted bribes. It doesn’t matter if it came from the companies or lobbyists, a bribe is a bribe.

All people must interrogate all candidates to make sure they do not believe in voting along party lines for the sake of joining ranks. If they do not believe in voting for the betterment of the people and society, they are not wanted. Lobbying with money must be outlawed.

Ronald Cohen

Gravesend

Gang truce

To the editor,

Of all the touching tributes to Whitney Houston, the one that really touched me the most was the one by the gang leaders in Newark. They called for a day of non-violence, no shootings, no robberies, no car-jackings to honor the late singer.

These are true leaders, wonderful human beings with hearts of gold who know how to respect others and express their love for a music icon, bless their hearts. Well, I guess it’s back to regular business after the burial.

Maureen Parker

Homecrest

Golden irony
To the editor,

Gov. Cuomo delivered a strong and inspired State of the State address, recapping the significant successes of his first year in office and outlining a vision for the future of New York that all New Yorkers can support.

It hit all the right notes on issues that matter to our neighborhood — reviving our economy, strengthening our schools, reinvesting in our transportation system, and giving New Yorkers the honest and transparent government they deserve. But, state Sen. Marty Golden (R–Bay Ridge) strangely chose to criticize the governor for being weak on public safety, despite the fact that Cuomo has proposed expanding the DNA database to cover all crimes, among other initiatives.

Sen. Golden’s criticism is ironic because he was curiously absent from the Senate chamber last year during a vote on a critical bill that would have helped our police officers investigate incidents of gun violence — clearly a top issue of public safety.

We can’t settle for just one good year in Albany. There’s still a lot to be done to fix the political dysfunction of the past decade. Our elected officials should be working with Gov. Cuomo to get New York back on track, instead of offering empty criticisms.

Andrew Gounardes

The writer is a Democratic state senate candidate in Bay Ridge.

True blue freedom

To the editor,

American empires were built with blood, sweat, tears and fossil fuels! Freedom must be guarded and protected or it ebbs away like the tide.

The best sailors and soldiers on the planet have overthrown tyrants, liberated the oppressed, rescued the lost and kept the American way of life alive. The Rev. John Winthrop’s vision in 1630 was “a shining city on a hill” that the entire world could see as a beacon of light and liberty. When 55 delegates met in Philadelphia in June 1787, they were charged with the task of improving upon the Articles of Confederation that garnered 13 wayward and capricious colonies for 11 years. A compromise, known as the Virginia Plan, would help found a nation, and draft the U.S. Constitution, our second document.

Today, the American left and Socialist renegades have pushed our Constitution aside. President Obama decided to attack Libya without the approval or consent of Congress. Instead, he went to the U.N. Security Council to announce his half-baked plan. Are Libyans freer today or better off? The flagpole at the Benghazi courthouse sports the al Qaeda black flag that says in Arabic, “There is no God but Allah.”

Tod Davis

Marine Park