To the editor,
There is a great new work of fiction to be found at every bus stop. Is it found on Kindle? Available at Amazon? No, it’s the newly posted NYC Transit schedules. As is said on food packages, these are only suggestions bearing almost no resemblance to real life.
Take for example the Marine Park Avenue R bus, B2. All too many times my fellow travelers and I find ourselves waiting in the blowing cold for a bus, only to find that the one scheduled came and left 5-plus minutes early.
Worse than that, several of us commuters are stuck in the rain waiting only to see that the scheduled bus never comes and we were forced to wait yet another 20 minutes for the next one. A bus dispatcher told me that the MTA wants passengers to use a smartphone to track their buses. Gee, I wonder when they will get us one?
The MTA is preparing to change it’s upper management soon, and I pray that these new officials take a good hard look at operations and get things back on the (bus) schedule once again.Robert W. Lobenstein
Marine Park
Lobe-otomy
To the editor,
In response to Mr. Lobenstein regarding “Circus leaves town” (Sound off to the Editor, published Jan. 20), Mr. Lobenstein, I am very bothered by your comments regarding Ringling Brothers-Barnum Bailey circus.
This is about the animals. Elephants, bears, lions, and tigers are not meant to perform for us in any show. These animals are meant to be free and live in thier own habitat. When we are kids and our parents takes us to the circus, we don’t know any better until we grow up and see that these animals are born to be free — not to be captured, chained up, and maybe abused to entertain us.
I’m glad that PETA and other organizations care enough for these animals. Shame on you for calling PETA nuts and low-lifes. You should be ashamed of yourself that you get pleasure from an animal’s misery.
Do you think these animals are happy being chained up and put on a train or back of a truck for a long journey to go and perform for you? Think about it what these animals are really going through — but you don’t. I see you only care that PETA and other organizations took away your viewing pleasure of these animals that are meant to be free and live free.Paula
Sheepshead bay
• • •
To the editor,
I am glad that I and letter-writer Allan Rosen have reached some common ground about the traffic problems in South Brooklyn. However, I am infuriated by Robert Lobenstein’s letter, “Circus Leaves Town”. I too was very upset to learn about the closing of the historical Ringling Brothers Circus, but, as an animal lover, I side with PETA and the other animal-rights organizations.
Animals, whether wild or domestic, deserve the same care and consideration we give our beloved household pets. All living creatures have the same basic needs and the same rights. Why should lions, tigers, and elephants be removed from their jungle homes to be beaten and tortured so they can learn tricks to amuse humans?
Mr. Lobenstein, I wonder how you and your sister would have felt as children had you been able to go behind the scenes at the circus and observe how the animals you loved were treated. How would your children have felt? I wonder if Emmet Kelly was crying because of the animal abuse he saw.
I know you would like your grandchildren to enjoy the circus, but wouldn’t you also like them to grow up in a world where there is no abuse, either human or animal?Elaine Kirsch
Gravesend
Not his bag
To the editor,
The New York City plastic bag fee is a bad idea. It will place an unfair burden on New York City residents. It will not solve the problem of plastic bags in the landfills because people will now have to buy plastic garbage bags which will end up in the landfills anyway. Many city residents use the plastic bags from supermarkets as garbage bags.
Now, in addition to the inconvenience of having to carry reusable bags into the store, we will have to incur the added expense of having to buy plastic garbage bags. Meats and poultry placed in reusable shopping bags is not sanitary. Bacteria will build up in the bags which could result in illness. It may also lead to an increase in shoplifting.
Richard Greenfield
Coney Island
Blotters a crime
To the editor,
“Police blotters” dictionary description of criminals: Baddie, brute, cad, fraudster, goon, lout, jerk, miscreant, nogoodnick, punk, pirate, pilferer, skunk, snake, scalawag, and villain.
Descriptions as the aforementioned will never advance your reporters to a bigger and better newspaper, but perhaps they could write a beginners’ guide to crime!
Billy “the kid” Glassman
Marine Park
L’chaim, Babs
To the editor,
Wonderful hearing that George and Barbara Bush are coming home from the hospital. Let them remain in good health. Amen.
I was reading that Mrs. Bush could have come earlier but didn’t want to since her husband was still hospitalized. Since when does a patient dictate when they may go home?
As we are all aware of, hospitals can’t wait to discharge you. I know this full well having been discharged three days after open-heart surgery. It just shows that when you’re an important person, you get what you want.
By not coming home, someone was denied a bed and had to spend additional time in the emergency room.
Ed Greenspan
Sheepshead Bay
Trump no Hitler
To the editor,
Shame on your publication for printing Mr. Raisman’s disgusting letter in which he compares President Trump to Hitler and shows his ignorance as to why [Hillary] lost. On the very next page, Tom Allon gives James Comey partial credit for the demise of HROD’s presidential campaign ignoring the fact that 67 percent of people polled felt that the country is going in the wrong direction. Having another four or eight years of another failed presidency was not an option for most of them. It is time for your publication to reconsider its obvious bias. Time to bring back S. Gershbein.M. Halpern
Bay Ridge
Executive hoarder
To the editor,
To me there was one thing that was not mentioned in any article that I read about the women’s marches. Although Trump was mentioned constantly, there was not mention of Pence, Ryan, McConnell, or the rest of the Republican House. They all should have been targeted. Each is as bad as the other.
One thing Trump mentioned several times when campaigning was the number of executive orders Obama signed, even though George W. Bush signed more than Obama. And what was the first thing that Trump did? Sign a couple executive orders. One against the ACA.
The other removing a $500 tax credit that homeowners would have received this year. So, all you homeowners out there who backed Trump: How do you feel now? Betrayed?
Ronald Cohen
Gravesend
Remembering Mario
To the editor,
There is more to the second anniversary for the passing of former Governor Mario Cuomo. He was not a reformer, but rather a proud product of the Queens County Democratic Party clubhouse machine. After losing the Democratic Primary for Lieutenant Governor in 1974, Governor Hugh Carey appointed him Secretary of State in 1975.
During his race against then-Rep. Ed Koch for NYC Mayor in 1977, there were “Vote for Cuomo not the Homo” posters all over town.
Mario was never above using class warfare as an issue to divide and conquer. Remember his reference to Republican Governor candidate Lew Lehrman’s expensive watch during a debate in 1982?
One of Mario’s claim to fame was being a great orator and debater. In 1986 Mario followed the infamous Rose Garden strategy in his race for a second term. In the end, Mario agreed to one token debate at the 11th hour.
Rather than increase the level of state support by billions under MTA Five-Year Capital Plans, Mario started the trend of having state authorities like the MTA borrow rather than providing hard cash contributions.
We all mourn for the loss of anyone’s father. Mario is not worthy of sainthood. He was a mere mortal, like the rest of us. Larry Penner
Great Neck, L.I.
