To the editor,
A lawsuit has quashed the 30th annual Marine Park Halloween Walk (“Marine Park Halloween Walk canceled!” online Sept. 20).
This seems to be the trend as of late. Our society is too litigation-happy. The battle cry is always, “Sue!” Many times it’s over the smallest thing that has nothing to do with an actual injury, but everything to do with embarrassment or pride.
I handled insurance claims and litigation for 12 years. I am not a lawyer, but I worked with them. I got tired of the ridiculous lawsuits and reasons people gave for suing everyone in sight. Here are some winners. Plaintiff ran into the company’s car, while looking behind them. The contractor barricaded the area where he was concreting. Signs placed everywhere warned all to walk around. Plaintiff was annoyed that it blocked his direct access to the elevators. I could have written a book, but would have run out of aliases for the various characters and clowns.
The Halloween walk is held in the daytime. Yes, there are scary characters, but they are easily seen. Young children are escorted by parents and there is a police presence. The walk is held in Marine Park, not in the woods and bushes bordering Gerritsen Creek. Though civic association staff are keeping mum on the suit, if this case concerns bodily injury, I hope it is of a legitimate nature. If not, the litigant best beware. There are laws against fraud, and such cases should be prosecuted to the fullest extent.
Hopefully, it doesn’t permanently curtail this or other future civic events. Otherwise, we best just give up living life because someone will find a way to spoil it for all of us.Kevin Hanley
Marine Park
Muslim-mad Shav
To the editor,
Shavana Abruzzo is back to her old ways of hate and bigotry (“Focusing on Islam,” A Britisher’s View, Sept. 27).
She seems intent on writing the modern-day version of “Mein Kampf,” with the entire Muslim community as her targeted victims and this newspaper as her vehicle. This is pathetic and totally un-American.
Members of the Brooklyn and American Islamic community deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, just like all our citizens. No one should be attacked in such a prejudicial manner because of their race, creed, religion or country of origin.
Cherry-picked examples of a group don’t stigmatize or represent the entire community. Unfortunately, Shavana Abruzzo has proven she will never change, and that she has only one real topic to share with your readers. How truly sad.Henry Finkelstein
Sheepshead Bay
Do-nothing pols
To the editor,
Councilman Lew Fidler (D–Canarsie-Flatlands) and Assemblyman Alan Maisel (D–Canarsie) have done nothing to ease our traffic problems. E. 66th Street, from Avenues T to U, is the worst, where the speed is close to triple digits almost every day.
Where are the surveillance cameras and speed bumps? This is a perfect example of why we need term limits on public officials.
I saw in a school in Park Slope with signs that say what the speed limit should be in the school zone. I guess in that area they have real politicians who care. What is the community board doing here? I have dealt with them, and they are always nasty. These beauties from the Carl Kruger regime are insensitive.
We must take back our streets. If these elected officials can’t do it, then it’s time for them to resign.Perry November
Mill Basin
. . .
To the editor,
Witness Michael Yuryev, who recorded the terrible accident on E. 66th Street on camera, said he appealed to Community Board 15, Assemblyman Alan Maisel (D–Canarsie), and Councilman Lew Fidler (D–Canarsie-Flatlands) for a traffic survey (“Lambchopped! Lamborghini cut in half in Mill Basin accident,” online, Sept. 26).
Save your breath, Michael. In January, I sent Councilman Fidler a list of hot shots in our community, where we have lived for 53 years, listing their plate numbers, auto descriptions, and their traffic offenses. He said he sent it to the police, and advised that I do likewise.
The police do not issue a summons unless they observe the violation.
Ugo Rosiello
Mill Basin
Singing the blues
To the editor,
I don’t recall reading a discussion of the bigger picture about what will happen to the concert series after Borough President Markowitz leaves office (“Board spanks Marty’s Childs play?” online Sept. 26).
I don’t believe that the local papers covered the final Martin Luther King, Jr., concert, when Marty became emotional on stage and had to be comforted by, I believe, his wife. He said he didn’t know how it would be continued, but made it clear he would not be spearheading these shows as he has for these past decades.
Is the entity doing these concerts a private corporation, a non-profit, or merely an arm of a politician’s office? How much funding came from the government and how much from corporations? This last question is relevant because if someone takes over for Marty, there may not be the same relationships to ensure similar amounts of corporate contributions in the future. The focus on Childs, one of two locations, missed the more important questions.
Name withheld upon request
Joanna’s fans
To the editor,
I read Joanna DelBuono’s column, “A hate crime is a hate crime no matter what” (Not for Nuthin,’ Sept. 13). I think the guy behind this was probably mentally deranged. With hate crimes it is always a combination of what and how you do it, whether it is vocalized or not. And with any crime, if you are you mentally stable or not plays into it.
I understand that blacks are very angry at whites in general, and some blame us for their unfair shake in life. I suppose many blacks see all whites as the devil, as the cause of all their problems, and this makes it easy for them to feel justified in hurting white people when they are angry. There are a lot of bad white people and a lot of bad black ones because bad people come in all shades. But why do the good ones have to pay for it?
I feel sorry for those who are economically disadvantaged, but they think that whites had a lot to do with that, even though a lot of the slaves were initially kidnapped and sold by blacks in Africa to the traders. Ironically, Africa is the capital of slavery today. It is like the Middle East — sad all around. Tribal and ethnic “eye for an eye” spirals everything downward into hell. What disturbs me is the complete disregard for the lives and properties of others around the world by so many. Some people are devoid of a human conscience. Underneath is a great deal of hate, even if it isn’t ethnic, or racial, it is hate, an evil form of anger gone wrong.
You have to understand exactly what you hate, and avoid hating a person or group of people. As a member of a community of free people, it is the individual’s responsibility to never allow that emotion to lead him or her into criminal activity toward innocent people. Hate is not an excuse to commit crimes. Just the opposite, it should lead to change for the better, an improvement or a correction in the community environment, and this should be done non-violently.
Aldous Huxley once said, “The nature of the means determines the nature of the end.”Jonathan Kasso
Jersey City, N.J.
. . .
To the editor,
Joanna DelBuono’s column, “A hate crime is a hate crime no matter what” (Not for Nuthin,’ Sept. 13) had a ring to it that I have to agree with. I get the feeling that most of the news we hear nowadays is more Hollywood glamor, while celebrity news reporters put on their best smiles for the camera instead of pursuing actual facts.
Have you ever viewed Dr. Drew on CNN, where his guest panelists gather on camera in their Sunday best to jaw about their take on the latest headline? Last night they were considering George Zimmerman, and whether or not he was released on his own recognizance, if the jury had decided his case based on the “Stand Your Ground” law, or whether it was a racially biased crime or not. They were not only quite impressively for or with Zimmerman, as they opined on whether or not the jury decided if he was the victim or the perpetrator, but they said it with emotionally explicit expletives!
This latest round of discussion came about as a result of an altercation between Zimmerman and his wife. The drift of this Dr. Drew pointed out in gossipy, rumor-bin style.
Joanne Gennarella
Sheepshead Bay
‘Free’ market
To the editor,
I was at a Verizon store at the Flatbush Avenue Junction. Right outside, almost in front of the store, was a table set up with a man calling out, “Free phones, free phones, free minutes, free texts.”
This right outside a store that I know pays big bucks for rent, utilities, employees, and whatever else it costs to run a business in the city these days. Yet right there, in front of a legitimate tax paying business, was someone giving away the same product that the legit business was selling.
The man behind the makeshift counter outside continued, “Free phones — all you need is a benefit card.” The gold card, the card that gets you food and drink, also entitles you to a free phone. About 50 million people are currently using food stamps in the country today, so I guess there are a whole lot of free phones being given away.
If I was in business and paying rent for a store that sells lemonade and someone set up a lemonade stand right outside my store and was giving it away for free, I wouldn’t be very happy, especially since I also would be paying for everyone else’s free lemonade.
Peter Orsi
Marine Park
Dept. of ‘Ed’
To the editor,
Leave it to the Department of Education to come up with a new disciplinary code. We already have counseling for students. We need a system of zero tolerance for any disciplinary infractions. We don’t need the ultra-liberal nonsense of cooperative learning, alternate assessments, and focusing on the total child, when the city school system has become one of disrespect, defiance, and disruption.
Of course, these ideas have been thought up by people who either never taught or were expert at getting out of the classroom. Ask any teacher. You cannot teach without discipline, and that is why so many new teachers leave the system within five years of beginning their careers.
Some of our schools are so bad that the National Guard needs to be called just to restore order. Ed Greenspan
Sheepshead Bay
Public advo-grate
To the editor,
We can no longer afford a big and bloated city government. The city pays a public advocate. This is ridiculous. All elected officials are supposed to be public representatives and advocates.
I advocate that we erase this title and give the salary back to the city taxpayers. Remember, government is our servant, not our master. The city’s gross domestic product is 12 percent of the entire national gross domestic product.
Tax-and-spend will only end, if the people stop voting for corrupt politicians. That leaves us with a small list of leaders with integrity.Todd Davis
Marine Park
Keep it local
To the editor,
In these difficult economic times, it is especially important to patronize your local neighborhood businesses.
My wife and I don’t mind occasionally paying a little more to help our local businesses survive. Don’t forget your cook and server at your favorite neighborhood restaurant. We try to tip 20 percent against the total bill, including taxes. If it is an odd amount, we round up to the next dollar. If we can afford to eat out, we can afford an extra dollar tip. When ordering take out, we always leave a dollar or two for the waiter or cook. It is appreciated. Remember these people are our neighbors.
Our local entrepreneurs have continued to create new employment opportunities without the assistance of federally-funded taxpayers’ stimulus dollars. They work long hours, pay taxes, and provide local employment, especially to students during the summer. If we don’t patronize our local community stores and restaurants to shop and eat, they don’t eat either.
Please join me and your neighbors in continuing to support this newspaper. Patronize its advertisers. They provide the necessary revenues to help keep them in business. Let them know you saw their advertisement.Larry Penner
Great Neck, N.Y.
Papal compassion
To the editor,
I am a non-Catholic who is for pro-choice. I am overjoyed that Pope Francis believes the church should not stand in the way of a woman who wishes to terminate an unwanted pregnancy.
We are not living in an ideal world, but a hugely populated one, with decreasing food resources. What happens if the world population increases to 20 billion? Will people have to resort to cannibalism?
Pope Francis is both practical and compassionate, and deserves great praise.
Elliott Abosh
Brighton Beach
Equine abuse
To the editor,
As a native New Yorker, a veterinarian, and a gay man, I am passionate about our city, and I love so much of what it has to offer. But I have come to despise the inhumane and corrupt horse carriage industry.
My initial exposure to the abuse of the carriage horses was from the critically acclaimed documentary “Blinders.” After much research, and going with an equine veterinarian to see some of the actual inadequate and hazardous stables these animals were being kept in, I decided to join the crusade to rid the city of this cruel and abusive tourist attraction.
What I came to find was that under Mayor Bloomberg and Council Speaker Quinn, and their associations with the carriage owners and drivers, the horses were going to stay in their horrid conditions and continue working the streets indefinitely. What I would later find out was that Quinn, in all of her time as speaker, had prevented every significant piece of animal welfare legislation from reaching the council floor.
We need to remove the dark clouds hovering over buildings housing imprisoned horses that are forced to mercilessly work in traffic, day in and day out, all in the name of entertainment.
John G. Hynes
Staten Island
The writer is a boardmember of the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association.
Pro-Miley
To the editor,
I give Miley Cyrus mad credit, mad props, and mad respect for her sexy performance at the MTV Music Video Awards.
Madonna and Britney Spears had their time, now let Miley have hers.
If she chooses to share a sensual kiss with a man or a woman — or both — why should I have a problem with that?
So don’t go trying to shove that perpetual, conservative bull about being moral, and what’s respectful, and what’s appropriate down her throat because nine out of 10 times she’s not going to want to hear that. Just let the woman do her thing, and let her live her life. Period.
Sebastian Casalnova
Bensonhurst
