To the editor,
I am writing you this simple letter to congratulate the good people of your borough, state and country on the outstanding accomplishment of voting Sen. Barack Obama into the White House (“Barack-lyn,” Nov. 8).
I’m a Canadian brewer working in the United Kingdom with no political tendencies and no real connection to the United States, other than that my best childhood friend now lives in Brooklyn and maybe the fact that I’ve been influenced throughout my life by American media. I guess I’m writing to say, “Well done America, crack a beer and have a momentary sigh of relief.”
And to those voters under age 21, fear not, I’ll have one or two in honor of you.
Iain Shuell, Yorkshire, England
Doggers comply!
To the editor,
Thank God for the cops! The reason dog rules are being enforced in Prospect Park is because many dog owners are the breakers of the rules and can cause great harm. (“Dog Daze, New P’Park signs please, annoy some dog owners,” Park Slope edition and online, Oct. 18).
There are signs in the park saying dogs are prohibited on the bridle path, and yet you often see runners and dogs racing towards horses and riders on a horse track! All that has to happen is the four of them colliding coming around a blind corner, and you have a tragedy.
Dogs are often off the leash in areas where they are supposed to be leashed. Some of these dogs, of course, attack the horse and rider. I have seen a dog owner in this instance call his dog, from a distance, instead of calling and running to grab his dog, to stop the attack quickly. It seemed he just did not want to be seen, and the dog did not come. The horse rider could easily have been slammed to the ground with the horse landing on top, or someone could have been trampled as the horse tried to escape. Remember Christopher Reeve, Barbaro, and Eight Belles. Remember, remember!Mark Adam, Manhattan
‘Queen’ is dead
To the editor,
The Brooklyn Paper has an award-winning tongue-in-cheek style, but your article on a gay and lesbian group’s battle with Bruce Ratner for a community center was absurdly headlined (“Ratner no king for queens,” Nov. 1). Why is a paper as smart and informative as yours for a community as smart and diverse as ours still mired in the lame, heterosexist cliches that reduce gays to lisping, limp-wristed queens? You can do much better.
Brian Vines, East Williamsburg
What did Jew say?
To the editor,
In reading about how some people complained about the sign hanging on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (“Hasidim: This ad is anti-sign-metic,” Aug. 30), which, according to them, is offensive to the Jewish community, I figured I might want to try and clear things up.
So, there is this organization headed by Rabbi Niederman. They haven’t got much to do with their time so they keep on finding things to “fight for their community.” As a fellow Hasid, all I can say is, not one of us ever thought that this sign should not be hanging there. Is the BQE our place? Does it belong to us? Should we be able to direct who may or may not hang their billboards there?
In no way can we decide who is to display their ads in Brooklyn. My goal with this letter is to make clear to all you people out there that whenever you hear these stupid comments, you should know that they do not reflect the mindset of the entire Jewish community, but rather reflect the extremism and inflated egos of the leaders of these so-called Jewish organizations.
Joel Levine, Williamsburg
Green with rage
To the editor,
Your article on the “Green Church” at Ovington and Fourth avenues (“Green Church is gone,” Oct. 25) beats down the people of Bay Ridge.
The bricks are turning to dust and are dangerous to passers by. As much as we’d love to fix it, it would take millions of dollars and there’s no guarantee it is even possible. Since Bay Ridge is no longer a Christian community, there is not enough money to take care of the problem. No one is willing to get us that much.
The biggest disappointment is that the new apartments being built will be too expensive for lower- and middle-income people. Some of us can barely afford $1,000 a month in rent.
I would love to see a nice four-story building, but I guess that’s out of my control.
Please, if you can’t be part of the solution, at least try not to be part of the problem. Too bad you didn’t get involved with the height of the building sooner. Maybe you could have kept the area from being so congested.Ruth Baron, Bay Ridge
LICH’s layoffs
To the editor,
Your front-page story of the layoffs of 100 staff people at Long Island College Hospital was troubling (“Layoffs begin at LICH!” Oct. 25).
My time working in the LICH Emergency Department is a foundation of my nursing practice. Lives were saved, and the emergency room’s proximity to the BQE as well as the active waterfront and Downtown meant medical care could be rendered quickly at a Level One Trauma Center.
The people in this community have been well served by this long-standing institution. With the borough’s population increasing, the LICH is even more needed, especially in the populous downtown area. I truly hope the physicians and good stewards of LICH’s future prevail. The state must look at the books and investigate where the money has gone.
Dianne Hauck-Johnson, Windsor Terrace
Democracy dies
To the editor,
When George Washington was president of the United States, he wisely turned down a third term in office. He did this despite the shaky state of our fledgling republic and the great esteem with which he was almost universally held. He believed that a third term could ultimately be a message used to support a monarchial government for the United States. He knew that we had just fought (with many of my ancestors) a horrible and bloody war to establish what would become the world’s first large democracy.
This to me set a precedent we should continue to follow on both the national and local levels of this country. I am sickened by the decision of the City Council to overturn the clear will of the people (“Terminated,” Nov. 1). There is no situation so dire that prior referenda should not be followed when they come directly from the citizens. It is not too excessive to say that Fascist governments have gotten their start by following just the same arguments as those made by the Council.
I am frightened for our democracy.
Natalie Burrows, Brooklyn Heights
