The ball drop as a public-private partnership
Jenkintown, Pa.: I am an enthusiast of gender reveal parties and the annual New Year’s celebration in Manhattan, and I have observed a growing trend: More people are choosing to host their gender reveal parties in Times Square. These events typically involve a countdown before popping a balloon or blasting confetti or powder cannons, much like our beloved New Year’s Eve tradition.
Imagine this: building suspense not just with a countdown but also with the descent of the famous ball, culminating in an explosion of pink or blue light (and rice paper confetti) as it reaches the bottom of the pole. This would further solidify Times Square as a hub for memorable occasions and add an extra layer of excitement to such celebrations.
It would also be a great way to prevent these celebrations from getting out of hand. I have heard several stories of gender reveal parties starting fires. But in Times Square, with professional event coordinators, there would be no chance of any such tragedy happening. According to NYC Tourism + Conventions, the official marketing organization for New York City, more than 50 million people visit Times Square annually. By making the Times Square Ball available for gender reveals, we could potentially attract even more visitors and create unforgettable experiences for expecting families.
It is time we take this step forward and make the city even more inclusive by adapting one of its most famous traditions to cater to modern celebrations, such as gender reveals. Let us bring joyous personal moments into public spaces where they can be shared with all. Dante Medori
Pissed off
Brooklyn: There are some residents in 34 Plaza St. who let their dogs urinate right in front of their building. They are too lazy to walk to the corner and curb their dogs. As the weather is warm now, one can smell the stench when you walk by. This probably won’t help the situation, as these people are usually oblivious or entitled, but I am sure other people in the building would like to see this letter. Dennis Burge
No team in self-esteem
Davie, Fla.: Regarding recent concerns by the Yankees and their fans about the decline of Luis Gil, his problems started when Gerrit Cole returned from the injured list. With Cole on the list, Gil, in his mind, became the #1 pitcher. Now with Cole’s return to the lineup, Gil’s confidence started to wane. The problem with Gil is not his pitching arm or his velocity, his problem is between his ears! Alan Abriss
Minority unity
Great Neck, L.I.: Today marks the 77th anniversary of Larry Doby playing his first Major League Baseball game for the Cleveland Indians in 1947. It was a milestone for integrating the American League, along with Jackie Robinson playing his first MLB game for the Brooklyn Dodgers, integrating the National League. It was a time when most baseball fans could afford a bleacher, general admission, reserve or box seat. Hot dogs, beer, other refreshments and souvenirs were reasonably priced. Just as Robinson and Doby fought racism in the 1950s, Detroit Tiger Hank Greenberg had to do the same with antisemitism in his time. Doby, Robinson and Greenberg all document the long-lasting relationship between African-American and Jewish sports fans standing together for decades in support of each other. Larry Penner
Ageism
Forest Hills: Whether or not you like President Biden politically regarding the debate, I am disgusted by the comments about his age. So many of them are just disgusting and mean-spirited. Is it really necessary? Most of you sound like adolescents. I just hope that all of you, when you reach a certain age, are treated in the same disrespectful, dismissive and undignified way! How dare you. That would be good karma. By the way, Ronald Reagan had Alzheimer’s. Stew Frimer
Leadership crisis
Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.: We can now comfortably say that the June 27 debate was a greater threat to our national security than Jan. 6, 2021 ever was. Michael P. Devine
On thin ice
Swarthmore, Pa.: Biden and his aides and allies are trying to send two messages to the public: that he’s fit to serve and to run and that he’s not ignoring the concerns about his age and health. I would add a third critical message, and that is to convey to the public that he still has a real chance of winning the election and defeating Donald Trump, despite recent setbacks. In the coming days, Biden will seek to convince the public of his fitness and ability, despite being in his 80s, to be a competent and effective president and commander-in-chief over the next four years. He will sit for a television interview on Friday and hold campaign events in Wisconsin and Philadelphia. It doesn’t feel too hyperbolic to say that one more devastating performance, as he had in the debates, and his bid to be reelected will, for all practical purposes, be over. Ken Derow
Early warning
Whitestone: On Sept. 8, 2023, I wrote the following to the Voice of the People: “Yo Biden! Do the right thing, swallow your pride and walk away. You are handing this country to the Republi-cons on a silver platter. Man up!” Robin Mazzia
Plan B
Fairview, N.J.: A Vice President Barack Obama would be a source of knowledge and experience if, God forbid, something was to affect Biden’s ability to serve. Kamala Harris would fill a cabinet position and learn from both. She would still be the leading contender in 2028. The country must do all it can to avoid Trump and all he can do to hurt our country! Alex Accomando
All a sham
Hoboken: To Voicer Peter Giunta: You said the orange blob plans to secure the border, cut taxes and bolster American manufacturing, among other things. Let’s see, secure the border — where have I heard that before? Oh yeah, 2015. Build a wall that Mexico will pay for. A few miles of wall was built and Mexico certainly didn’t pay for it. Cut taxes. Yup, he certainly will — for the rich and corporations. Leaving the average working stiff stiffed yet again. It’s page 1 of the GOP playbook. Bolster American manufacturing. You mean like Harley Davidson, for example? An iconic American company he tried to kill, like so many others on his watch? Please stop using page 2 of the GOP playbook by lying and making up stories. Your moron base is too intellectually inept to understand the difference. Joe Ewansky
Bad example
Kew Gardens: To Voicer Robert Lobenstein: John Deere has decided to move some operations from one of its Iowa facilities to Mexico by the end of 2026. The layoffs themselves (about 600, not “thousands”) are due to reduced demand for products from those factories. Meanwhile, they’ve recently purchased 234 acres in northwest Indiana with plans to build a 1.2-million-square-foot warehouse and distribution facility on the plot and create hundreds of jobs. Under Trump, GM, which received $6.9 billion thanks to Trump’s 2017 tax legislation, closed its giant Lordstown, Ohio, auto factory in 2018, thereby terminating the employment of 4,500 workers — and that’s just one of the many disastrous results of Trump’s reign. He couldn’t care less about working people or the companies that employ them. Anne Cox
Above the law
Sebastian, Fla.: How can Diaper Don and his inner circle of fiends, stooges and flunkies claim immunity (now granted by a corrupt Supreme Court) and indicate they will seek action/indictments of President Biden for his actions on the border, which are within his official duties? How can they also say they will seek to indict him for weaponizing the Justice Department if, when Trump is elected, he will end all investigations into himself? Doesn’t the current legally elected president enjoy the same immunity as a convicted (and multiple indicted) felon does? Harold Lichtman
Official syndicate
Mount Laurel, N.J.: I guess DJT could pardon El Chapo on the premise that they can go halfsies and protect the operation from federal oversight. What do you think? Jeff Schaeffer