To the editor,
I really liked your article about actor Tony Darrow — a.k.a. Anthony Borgese — coping a plea to extortion (“Mea culpa for mob-tied actor,” Dec. 15).
Your lead, “That Anthony Borgese,” was comforting, but it didn’t do much for me when everyone started contacting me and asking if it was me or if we were related!
I neither look like him, nor am I as good an actor as he is!
For the record, not all Anthony Borgeses are bad, but it was fun being confused with a mobster!
Anthony Borgese
The writer is the chairman of the Tourism and Hospitality Department at Kingsborough Community College.
No ‘can’ do!
To the editor,
I am concerned that the Department of Sanitation issues Environmental Control Board summonses without any verification of the offense cited.
As an example, my 91-year-old aunt received a summons for having three uncovered garbage cans when in fact she owns no garbage cans at all!
I represented my aunt at a recent board hearing and was denied my request that I be provided the opportunity to question the summonsing officer, and that he be present. I did present my case and am confident this summons will be voided. However, I had to get a notarized letter from my aunt who has a heart condition and is unable to go to the board’s court in Downtown. This letter authorizes me to present the case on her behalf.
I had to get letters from neighbors attesting to the fact that there are never any garbage cans in front of my aunt’s home. I had to take pictures to show that various homes adjacent to hers also had no garbage cans.
I also had to get letters of support from Councilman Vincent Gentile (D–Bay Ridge), state Sen. Marty Golden (R–Bay Ridge) and Community Board 10 — the latter provided the most help by discovering the summons itself was defective, contradicting the agency’s log records and incorrectly describing the house as a multiple dwelling. It also provided me with a copy of the certificate of occupancy as proof.
Why does the citizen have to do all this to prove that a summons was issued improperly and to the wrong address? I think that the agency should maintain its integrity and submit photographic proof — with time and date — of any offense for which a summons is issued. People do not have the time, energy or inclination to fight a bogus summons, and the one issued to my aunt could have been easily dismissed with photographic proof, verifying that the summons was written to the wrong house.
It’s up to the municipal government to prove their case without violating the citizen’s rights.
Jack La Torre
Bay Ridge
Nadler’s ‘blues’
To the editor,
Congressmember Jerry Nadler’s call for U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to conduct a federal investigation into how the NYPD managed the eviction of Occupy Wall Street protestors from Zuccotti Park clearly illustrates how out of touch he is from the day-to-day life of constituents.
This is the same attorney general who has no idea how several thousand “guns for drugs” ended up in the hands of drug cartels, resulting in the death of an American border patrol officer. Nadler is conveniently silent on many related issues.
The Occupy Wall Street protestors cost city taxpayers millions of dollars in overtime for reassigning hundreds to several thousand of New York’s Finest on a daily basis to preserve their right to protest. Many of these police officers had to be pulled from other precincts around the city. As a result, many of those neighborhoods may have suffered from a higher crime rate due to fewer police on patrol, and during Occupy Wall Street, several hundred people lost their jobs as adjacent businesses lost customers.
Several thousand people, including myself, who either work or live in the neighborhood were denied access to Zuccotti Park as our civil rights were violated by the occupancy. New York’s Finest conducted themselves in a professional manner with incredible restraint.
Congressman Nadler does a great job representing the most liberal elite of Manhattan’s West Side, but continues to neglect the overwhelming majority of both his constituents and other New Yorkers by constantly advocating on behalf of the “politically correct” causes of the moment.
Larry Penner
Great Neck, N.Y.
Yam yarn
To the editor,
In a recent article about an upcoming latke festival, you wrote that one of the competitors “is an iconoclast in the world of shredded, fried potato pancakes, a Hanukkah staple since at least the Diaspora.” Huh? Not likely.
The potato, a New World vegetable that originated in the Andes Mountain, did not make it to the Old World until the Spanish introduced it to Europe in the second half of the 16th century.
Happy Hanukkah!
Walter Greenspan
Great Falls, Mont.
Quinn-tastrophe
To the editor,
I would never vote for Council Speaker Christine Quinn as our next mayor since she would be a continuation of Mayor Bloomberg’s regime.
The mere fact that former Mayor Koch has endorsed her candidacy makes me feel that my decision is the right one. Koch has been as anti-union as they come.
Quinn, who is not exactly Mary Poppins or Mrs. Miniver, would probably continue in that vein.
Ed Greenspan
Sheepshead Bay
Unstable ‘novelty’
To the editor,
Carriage horses in the city are an atrocity!
These horses are not well-cared for, they work long hours in all weathers and endure horrid stables.
A good alternative to carriage horses — for those who want novelty — would be pedi-cabs. Those are employees of their own free will, and are allowed to quit. Horses don’t have that option.
So far, the animal protection groups have been unable to end the abusive situation of the carriage horses.
I pray for the day when these unfortunate and highly intelligent beings can be retired to a legitimate sanctuary.
Sarah Vogel
Seagate
Wrong war path
To the editor,
It seems that the war in Iraq is over, but I don’t see any flag-waving or hear any cheers!
What “revenge” did we get for the poor souls who died on 9/11? No one can say for sure.
The only thing that happened was that our soldiers died and we are in debt.
What’s the answer? Does anyone know?
Name withheld upon request
Good Samaritans
To the editor,
It sure is the season of goodwill!
You hear all the time that teenagers are boorish and bad mannered, but I would like to tell you about an experience I had last week that should restore everyone’s faith in the younger generation.
I am a senior citizen who fell recently near the train station on E. 16th Street and Kings Highway. I’m in pretty decent shape for a woman in her 70s, but still it was a shock to my system; one minute I was walking down the avenue just fine, and the next — boom — I was on the floor!
Before I had a chance to collect my thoughts — or think about many scattered packages — a pair of boys about 15 years old rushed to my aid. They made sure that I was okay before helping me up. They asked me if I wanted them to call an ambulance, which I didn’t.
Once they got me on my feet, they carried my packages for me until I could get my bearings again — about two blocks. I wanted to give them a few dollars to show my appreciation, but they wouldn’t hear of it.
I can’t begin to tell you how much their concern, kindness and selflessness meant to me. I forgot to get their names, but if they read this letter, I hope that they will understand what a gift they are to their parents. They must have been raised very well to rush to help me as they did.
I must confess that before this incident, I was wary of teenagers on streets, but now I have renewed hope, and for that I have two young strangers to thank!
If they should see this letter, here goes a great big “thank you” to them with best wishes for a great holiday. May God bless them and bring them luck for all their days.
Winnie Swenson
Midwood