Sound Off to the Editor

To the editor,

Three cheers for the honorable Hillary Clinton in her choice of location for her presidential campaign headquarters at One Pierrepont Plaza, which is right next door to the doomed Brooklyn Cadman Plaza Library. For as long as Hillary resides in her “cool” Brooklyn Heights address, our invaluable community library will be spared; granted a stay of execution for construction of the 55-floor skyscraper condominium.

This is the reason why the library, which is next door to Hillary, is not being excavated this year as originally planned. Can you imagine the dignitaries having to put up with ear-piercing pile-driving and dynamite blasting the bedrock four sub-basement floors deep, shaking the ground? Or the noise and congestion of construction crews adding to the stew of air pollution and hazards of flying debris on windy, gusty days?

Thank you, Hillary! For the time being, thousands of our neighborhood children and young adults will have a safe haven to study and socialize for a few more years. Our seniors will not lose their second home. Our unfortunate homeless will not have their only sanctuary in Brooklyn Heights demolished. And the wonderful hardworking librarians will still be employed. Good luck on the campaign! You have my vote.

Justine Swartz

Brooklyn Heights

‘Ignorant’ Shav

To the editor,

By her own words, reader Carina Gen clearly identifies herself as a disciple of British high priestess of fear, hate, and ignorance Shavana Abruzzo (“A Britisher’s View”).

She claims that Jewish residents of Brooklyn live in fear of their Muslim neighbors, but their population is growing by record numbers (“Shav basher,” Sound Off to the Editor April 3). They are not moving for sure, not even to Israel, and almost every single one of the terrorists that go to fight for extreme organizations in Syria and the surrounding area are from Europe (Great Britain or France) or the Middle East, not the U.S.

I have lived in my community that consists of Mill Basin, Marine Park, Kings Bay, Sheepshead Bay, Madison, and Homecrest since 1961 and in Brooklyn since 1949. Fear mongers and bigots like Gen don’t scare me. She may want to someday join Abruzzo in merry old England, but I’m not going anywhere. God bless America.

Henry Finkelstein
Sheepshead Bay

Balancing Stan

To the editor,

As a longtime reader of your newspaper, I am writing to urge you to offer a progressive alternative to your columnist Stanley P. Gershbein (“It’s Only My Opinion”).

Gershbein’s column is little more than a platform to bash President Obama, his administration, and Hillary Clinton. He would have us believe that they are responsible for all our woes, including flat feet and dandruff. He misses no opportunity to criticize the president and Mrs. Clinton, no matter how cheap the shot.

Even The New York Times has routinely published opinions that are at odds with its editorial positions. Over the years notable conservatives such as William Safire, Bill Kristol, and David Brooks have graced the op-ed page of the Gray Lady. The Times recognizes that a key to strong democracy is the honest and open exchange of differing ideas and viewpoints. Yet you continue to provide no alternative to Gershbein’s reflexive enmity toward the president and other progressives. What are you waiting for, Godot? He’s not coming.

Arnold Kingston

Sheepshead Bay

School ‘brats’

To the editor,

I just love reading that every time some recalcitrant dies while fleeing from the police, mama, grandma, auntie and some neighbor are screaming what a good boy he was, despite the long rap sheet. These are some of the same characters that teachers encounter during parent-teacher conferences. They literally come to do battle regarding their darlings. They constantly deny that it is their child causing all the mayhem in school.

Evaluating teachers based on student test scores? Gov. Cuomo, Mrs. Tisch and others: You’ve got to be kidding. Count yourself fortunate that you have a body in the room to attempt teaching. Some classes are so unruly that anything taught is gravy.

Where is the union and others demanding a disciplinary evaluation of children who chronically disrupt the education of others? I guess that’s all right to do as disruptive children seem to have more rights than those of students who want to learn and teachers who want to teach.

First you establish a zero tolerance for disruptive behavior and then we may talk about evaluations. Wait until some of those outside evaluators come in to observe and get hit by paper airplanes sailing through the room. Of course, it’s the teacher’s fault for not motivating these brats. Wake up. Time for military discipline in our schools.Ed Greenspan

Sheepshead Bay

Helping hand

To the editor,

I remember when you could get a Kit Kat chocolate bar for 50 cents. In my Brooklyn neighborhood there are places you can get one for a dollar, but a few nights ago, with a certain hunger in my stomach I walked past a certain drug store and when I handed the clerk my Kit Kat bar I was reminded that the last time I was in there I was surprised that it cost $1.51. It seemed outrageously high, but like I said I was hungry, so I said to the clerk, “It’s $1.51, isn’t it?” She smiled while scanning it and said, “Yes.” I said, “If I had travelled through time from 30 years ago and was told $1.51, I would be stunned.” She smiled and took my two dollar bills and handed me 49 cents in change. I walked outside the store and thoroughly enjoyed the eating experience of the four long, thin pieces of chocolate that make up the bar. So to the point and so sweet. Now, somewhat less hungry I made my way up the avenue. looking forward to my arrival home to have a full dinner. Maybe because I still had a growling in my stomach I stopped in my tracks when I saw a bedraggled-looking man who seemed to be homeless leaning against a building with a sign in front of him with a cup out. I reached into my pocket and thought if I didn’t have any change I didn’t want to give him a whole dollar. Then I remembered the 49 cents change from the outrageously overpriced Kit Kat bar. I dug deeper into my pocket and even though I could feel no change I knew it was in there and I kept digging until I found that one quarter that was in there. When I located it I pulled it out and walked over to the man and before I even dropped the quarter into his cup he looked at me with appreciative eyes and said, “Thank you so much.”

I heard the coin hit the other coins in the cup and I wished him well. He smiled and then I noticed what his sign said: “Thank you for any kindness.” So to the point and so sweet. I resumed my walk home and about a minute later it hit me — the Kit Kat bar had not been outrageously overpriced. It had been the right price, for it enabled me to have that quarter change to give to that man. It reminded me that whatever hunger I have in my stomach there are people much hungrier, and when we can, it’s good for us to lend a helping hand.

Alan Magill

Midwood

Edu-vacation

To the editor,

I saw in the paper that so many children were absent more than 10 percent of the time during the last school year. This doesn’t take into account the students who are marked present and then proceed to cut classes and cause mayhem during the day.

My favorite was when parents would come to school and inform me and other teachers that they were going on vacation for 10 days to two weeks and demand that we give them the work in advance so that their child wouldn’t fall behind. This is absolutely ridiculous. If the child was not there when the work was being taught, the best the teacher could do was to give them pages to read and questions to answer from the texts. The supervisory staff should have stepped up to the plate to remind the parent that school was in session and that these vacation days were totally illegal. This was never done because principals fear parents.

Years ago if a child was absent excessively, the child was not promoted. This would never occur today, as supervisors look to get rid of children who are chronic discipline problems and whose absences are a relief both for them and the teacher.Ed Greenspan

Sheepshead Bay

Martial schools

To the editor,

I was about to come up for tenure when Hugh Carey defeated Malcolm Wilson to become governor of New York in 1974. The United Federation of Teachers wholeheartedly supported Carey. No sooner was he governor than tenure was changed to five years, and therefore myself and others had to wait two additional years to achieve this job protection.

At the time the union urged membership to donate to vote for the Committee on Public Education to get the tenure back to three years.

Gov. Cuomo is falling into the same trap as Gov. Carey did. It doesn’t matter how many years of teaching is required as long as the system allows us to work under the same abysmal conditions. City classrooms have the largest classroom registers and consequently disruptive children in them. No matter what is tried nothing will work until we attempt to resolve the problems of class size and children who refuse to behave themselves in school. It is ridiculous that people who never spent one day in the classroom as a teacher attempt to make rules that classroom teachers have to work under.

Stop with the liberal nonsense of total child, alternate assessments, and other jokes, and institute military discipline in those schools requiring it. Any teacher cannot teach without discipline — Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina knows that.

Ed Greenspan

Sheepshead Bay

Oaf-icials

To the editor,

Looks as though the veterans’ affairs chief was caught with his foot in his mouth, lying about his military service, and on camera too! It is a sad state of affairs as one by one, our leaders, our so-called impartial newsmen and the people that seek the trust of the populace are exposed. Especially when they boast of experiences they never had or college degrees they never earned, though, most have an excellent B.S. in bull!

My generation was taught not to trust anyone over 30 (I’m 63 now), and my father had a saying that pretty much covered his opinion of politicians and glad handlers: “They all lie — like a rug!” As each politician is disgraced or carted away in handcuffs, it only reinforces my opinion of these leaders. Dad was only too right.

Robert W. Lobenstein

Marine Park

Jeb Boo-sh

To the editor,

If Jeb Bush runs for president he will not get my vote. He is a job killer. Back in 1989 he outlawed “dwarf tossing” in Florida. Many little people lost their income because of this ban. It was a safe sport mostly played in bars. The dwarfs wore helmets and other protective gear and were tossed onto a mattress or against a wall of velcro. They made a pretty good living until then-Gov. Bush stopped it. Who is he to decide what people do for a living?

Nick Finer

Hallandale, Fla.

Bad economics

To the editor,

Is there real reason to celebrate the 22nd anniversary of the New York City Economic Development Corporation? New York City prospered and successfully grew prior to creation of this group and it’s predecessor, the N.Y.C. Public Development Corporation which was created in 1966. In 1991 the N.Y.C. Public Development Corporation (P.D.C.) was merged with the N.Y.C. Financial Services Corporation (F.S.C.) to form the N.Y.C. Economic Development Corporation. In many instances projects supported by these government corporations have been heavily subsidized by taxpayers, commonly known as corporate welfare. Between direct government funding, low-interest and below-market-rate loans, and long-term tax exemptions, the bill to taxpayers in the end is greater than the so-called public benefits.

There is also a relationship between pay-for-play campaign contributions from developers to elected officials looking for favorable legislation, private-property condemnation under eminent domain, building permits, public infrastructure improvements, along with direct and hidden subsidies. In some cases city and state development corporations actually compete against each other attempting to outbid each other in offering potential investors the best deal. This translates to the highest subsidies at taxpayers’ expense.

Don’t forget the conflict of interest for senior staff from municipal regulatory and permitting agencies. Too many leave in the twilight of any mayoral administration to become employees or consultants to the same developers they previously oversaw.

Take Seth Pinsky, former executive director of the N.Y.C.E.D.C. who went on to become executive vice president of the RXR Realty. Some developers try to purchase the support of local community groups by making so-called voluntary donations. They also make promises for capital improvements, which after the major project is completed don’t always appear. Other commitments for creation of permanent new jobs and tax revenues frequently do not meet expectations. If these projects are worthwhile, why can’t major developers use their own funds or obtain loans from banks, like medium and small businesses?

Real business people who believe in capitalism build their companies on their own. How sad that some don’t want to do it the old fashioned way by sweat and hard work. They are looking for shortcuts in the form of huge subsidies at taxpayers expense and favors from elected officials.

Larry Penner

Great Neck, N.Y.

Blott Stringer

To the editor,

Comptroller Scott Stringer is a spoiled child having a temper tantrum. Perhaps he needs a time out. Who knew that taxpayers are paying for members of the NYPD Intelligence Division to serve as his personal security detail. Stringer recently fired four of New York’s Finest from this security detail because they were late in picking him up from his expensive Manhattan home one morning. Is anyone aware that Stringer is the target of any terrorist groups which would merit this level of protection? I seriously doubt that al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Islamic State or any other terrorists are even aware of his existence.

Municipal employees could never get away with the same abuses. They could not use city vehicles during work hours to chauffeur spouses around town. At a minimum, they would have to reimburse the city for the costs of all these personal trips. The Department of Investigations needs to take a look at this serious potential waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayers dollars.

Let Stringer assign one of his several hundred staff members to serve as his personal chauffeur. Better yet he could set an example and follow Manhattan Councilman Dan Garodnick’s bill requiring employers with 20 or more workers to sign up for transit checks. Stringer could do likewise and give up both his free parking space at City Hall and his special police parking permit. He can use his transit check to purchase MetroCards. This will afford Stringer the opportunity to join several million constituents who use public transportation on a daily basis and also contribute to a cleaner environment. Stringer talks about being a friend of the 99 percent, yet he prefers the perks of a one percenter.Larry Penner

Great Neck, N.Y.

Cop cop-out

To the editor:

Is excessive force the new norm? The police go through an extensive period of training in hand-to-hand combat, use of a nightstick, pepper spray, and Taser guns. The purpose of this training is to keep the cops safe, have his orders obeyed and in the event of a physical altercation, for the other person to survive and face justice. Killing a person should be the last resort and then, only on the rarest of occasions.

This is not the case: excessive force is the new norm. This allows cops to use excessive force with impunity. Whether this occurs out of malice or fear is irrelevant, the result is the same — dead civilians, and cops who go on as if nothing happened.

As a first-year college student at Bard’s BPI campus, a victim of the criminal justice system, and a man who has studied and practiced law for the past 16 years, I am well aware of how our criminal justice system works, or rather does not work. In my own case, the district attorney and every witness testified that I used a .38 caliber revolver. At the age of 17 that was used to indict and convict me. According the medical examiner and an NYPD ballistics report the victim was shot with a 9mm gun. Guilt, innocence, and evidence are irrelevant, the district attorney will trump all else.

Cops, who are not given consequences for killing civilians, sends a message that cops can kill with impunity. No race of people is safe, as cops kill more white people than any other race. It has been reported that cops have killed everyone from kids to old ladies. None of these cops are locked-up. This encourages a cop versus civilian atmosphere. A civilian has no way of discerning a good cop from a bad cop, a killer cop from one who will not kill them or someone around them. People have video footage of some of the deadly incidents and have seen the footage explained away as inaccurate. This leaves people in danger at the hands of the police, prosecutors, and judiciary. Accountability for cops is not on the horizon.

A civilian that kills a cop is put in jail, generally with no bail, or bail that should be called a ransom. They will remain in jail for years facing either a death or life sentence, before the case is adjudicated. Their conviction is almost certain. In contrast, a cop whokills a civilian, in the extraordinarily rare instance they are charged and indicted for the person’s death, will remain free on bail for years. They will usually not be facing a death or life sentence. Once the case is resolved, which statistically results in an acquittal, or a conviction of some lesser included offense, but not the murder they will go about life with no more than a slap on the wrist. This reinforces the notion that cops are beyond the law, and their lives are more valuable than civilians are.

Michael Kirshtein

The writer is an inmate 96A7220 at Eastern Correctional Facility, Naponoch, N.Y.

Jes’ saying

To the editor,

I came across a poster that read: “If the USA can’t afford to provide basic medical care, feed the poor, protect the environment, maintain our infrastructure, or teach our children anymore, then what exactly is our bloated military budget defending?”

This question has been asking umpteenth times and never seems to be acknowledged and addressed by those whom are elected to office to represent the welfare of the citizens who put them in office.

The electoral and political systems in place in Washington D.C. and in most state legislatures represent and focus on the welfare of those who pay to put them in office, the so-called one percent corporate class.

Extreme party gamesmanship and partisan politics has taken over this country. I do believe the GOP has been, since the day President Obama has taken office, purposefully and maliciously obstructionist to prevent this administration from having successes, and will continue to do so until a new president is sworn into office in 2017. Despite all denials to the contrary, obstruction seems to live in the hearts of many Republicans, as does a perceived racism which includes disdain for the poor.

Reasonable discourse and ideas need be put on the table by all sides of a debate with compromise ruling the day so that advances and laws and such can be put in place that do address the needs of the country, of the citizenry. This is not happening at all. The GOP can claim to have made effort, but in reality all they do is knock down ideas put forth that do appear to have the best interests of “the many” at the core of the discussion. They also tend to create many distractions, that though some may be valid concerns, in reality they shut down all conversation and thus possible movement.

I think many politicians on both sides of the proverbial aisle are inept, partisan, and do not have our best interests at heart.

To quote the great John Lennon: “everybody’s talking and no one says a word…everybody’s runnin’ and no one makes a move…strange days indeed…most peculiar.”

Barry Brothers

Homecrest

Tunnel vision

To the editor,

Your story “Tunnel Aversion” (March 26) concerning the proposed Cross Harbor Freight Tunnel which might connect New Jersey to Brooklyn and Queens is under consideration again. In theory, it might move thousands of trucks on a daily basis off the roads and on to railroad tracks for significant portions of the journey between New Jersey and Long Island. It reminds me of the long-forgotten proposed tunnel between 69th Street in Bay Ridge and St. George on Staten Island. The concept was to extend subway service from Brooklyn to Staten Island. Ground was broken with entrances at both ends in the 1920s, but the project quickly ran out of money and was abandoned to history. When living on Shore Road in Bay Ridge, friends and I would look to no avail in attempting to find the abandoned site filled in decades earlier. Flash forward almost 90 years later and we have the proposed “Cross Harbor” rail freight tunnel project.

Construction of any new freight, public transportation tunnel or bridge project can take years if not decades by the time all feasibility studies, environmental reviews, planning, design, engineering, real estate acquisition, permits, procurements, construction, budgeting, identifying, and securing funding is completed. This is before the project reaches beneficial use. Construction for the 2nd Avenue subway began in the 1960s. Bond money intended for this project in the 1950s was spent elsewhere. The latest completion date for the first segment of three stations between 63rd and 96th streets on the upper east side of Manhattan is 2016 at a cost of $4.5 billion. Construction for the original tunnel to support bringing the Long Island Rail Road from Queens into Grand Central Station began in the 1960s. The latest completion date is now 2023 with a cost of $10 billion. No one can identify the source for the estimated $16 billion to build a new tunnel for New Jersey Transit and Amtrak known as the “Gateway project” to gain additional access to Penn Station from New Jersey. Ditto for paying back the $3 billion federal loan which covered a majority of the estimated $4 billion for replacing the Tappan Zee Bridge in Westchester. Any guess who will find $5 to $10 billion or more needed for construction of a new Cross Harbor Freight Tunnel? This may be just another in the continuing series of feasibility studies sponsored by various governmental agencies and public officials over decades. They generate some money for consultants, along with free publicity, for elected officials who promise a bright future, but all to often move on to another public office before delivering. You are frequently left holding an empty bag with unfilled promises. At the end of the day just like the long abandoned Brooklyn to Staten Island subway project, don’t count on seeing any shovel in the ground before the end of this decade. Don’t count on completion of any Cross Harbor Freight Tunnel in our lifetime.

Larry Penner

Great Neck, N.Y.

No ‘Ted’ fan

To the editor,

A short while ago a friend sent me an email that included the following Susan B. Anthony quote: “I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do, because I notice it always coincides with their own desires.” and out from my fingers came this:

At the behest of a friend I watched the short speech Ted Cruz gave the other day in announcing his candidacy for the 2016 Presidential election. Ugh, it was not easy to make it through.

Ted Cruz, an anti-establishment candidate, is extremely biased in his views and hopes for the country; what he expressed is not inclusive of the many. The mere fact that he chose to announce at a strictly Christian university speaks to his affirmed bias that negates the inclusion of far too many citizens.

Constitutionalists like Ted Cruz are extremely focused on the issue of “freedom.” They feel that government and freedom are not great bedfellows and that many governmental decisions impinge upon freedoms. The other side of the coin is that there are many who believe that without governmental oversight, absolute freedom allows those in positions of power to retard access and progress of those who are less “wealthy” or to harm the environment without care, or responsibility should harm be done. Often time they feel that those who are strict constitutionalists interpret aspects of it to their own beliefs which negates those of others. They use the correct wording that “every child, every citizen,” but their conservative backgrounds and leanings negate the needs and beliefs of far too many citizens. The whole concept and usage of the “G” word in itself offends many citizens.

Their concept of “liberty” and “freedom” is limited, and far from inclusive of everyone. They use their fundamental religious and constitutional rhetoric to disguise their disdain for the poor and needy, for people who are not like them.

I was just informed that after bashing the Affordable Care Act relentlessly, that he was “forced” to see medical insurance via Imagine this bigoted nincompoop is not re-elected in Texas? Can hardly imagine that after seeing the reception and responses Cruz got from the born again audience at Liberty University. The cheering they offered up each time Cruz mentioned things like lessening accessing to food stamps or health care for the poor, or putting up electrified fences around the country’s borders, or mentions the guns issues around the Second Amendment. Imagine how aghast I was at this creep using the “imagine” image of John Lennon as the theme for his announcement.

What I can imagine is this jerk disappearing into the vile woodwork of his inner demons, getting himself and his minions to secede from the republic to turn back their clocks to any century they want, leaving me and my ilk far, far away and free from their hell. I’m quite sure that other can easily continue this “rant” by pointing out many examples of the great hypocrisy that exists between the rhetoric they spew and the decisions they try to enact on behalf of the citizens they represent while in Washington, D.C. Come all future elections, city, state and federal, if the preponderance of voters choose to stay home again, instead of voting with a clear and thoughtful mind and heart, they’ll get exactly what they deserve, and I’ll have to move somewhere, far away.

Barry Brothers

Homecrest