With our lack of housing, put New Yorkers first
Brooklyn: Re “The U.S. must act on NYC housing crisis” (op-ed, Aug. 7): Nick E. Smith writes about “a mass exodus of folks leaving this city” and says “more people will flee our city and state.” Sometimes, perception is more than reality.
I do not minimize the problem of New Yorkers being unable to find affordable housing. Residents find themselves competing for it. They are sometimes competing against non-residents who have come to NYC specifically to find housing that is known to be in short supply at several if not all levels. When the competition is among, for example, college grads who have accepted job offers in NYC, the competition is at a certain rent level. When the competition is among, for example, those without a college degree, it may be at a lower rent level between those residents of NYC, working and non-working, and those non-residents — for example, asylum seekers — who are in NYC to get a foothold in America. NYC has decided to prioritize the housing needs of non-residents (placing them in hotels) over offering the priority choice of available housing to pre-existing residents.
Why should the choice of available housing not be offered first to the established NYC resident (taxpayer or not) over the newcomer who has not contributed to financial or cultural life in NYC? The perception that pre-existing NYC residents are disadvantaged has overtaken the reality of the plight of asylum seekers, who are viewed by more and more New Yorkers as illegal aliens.
This remains a New York problem. Rent subsidies and new affordable housing alone will not solve it. Elliot Neustadter
Rolling through
Brooklyn: To Voicer Greg Ahl: Nobody stops for stop signs either. Without enforcement, they are merely suggestions. Jim Carney
Dank return
Spring Hill, Fla.: I lived in NYC for 68 years and moved to Florida two years ago. Last weekend, I had to return to the city due to a death in the family. Everywhere I went, from the Lower East Side to the Upper West Side, reeked of marijuana smoke. I know it’s legal, but really? I left there with a headache that I’m still trying to get rid of. In addition, the city looked filthy. I saw the biggest rat I’ve ever seen, dead in the street. What is Mayor Adams doing to rectify this? Where is the taxpayers’ money going? I’ve always loved NYC and I am saddened by the shape I found it in. Yolanda Padilla
Nonviolent anti-violence
Bronx: Re (“Gaza protesters hit B’klyn again,” Aug. 9): Cathy Wilkerson, formerly of the Weather Underground, described the book “Fugitive Days” by her former comrade in arms, Bill Ayers, as a “cynical, superficial romp through struggles waged in the 1960s and 1970s to change our country’s unjust and inequitable institutions.” I think the same description applies to these cowardly acts. Instead of taking lessons from the proactive actions of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, they are taking their cues from the bombmakers and throwers of the Weather Underground. My advice to them is to read “The Children” by David Halberstam, or the life story of Dorothy Day and Abraham Joshua Heschel. Gene Roman
Plain language
Camas, Wash.: A critical part of successfully campaigning is a candidate’s ability to define themselves in positive terms — and avoid being defined negatively by their opponent. Kamala Harris’s choice of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her vice president may provide us with a unique approach. Why? As a scholar of communication who studied political discourse for more than 45 years, I believe it will be rhetorically hard for Donald Trump and JD Vance to define Walz, who has not been on the national stage and someone most Americans don’t know. Unlike other politicians, Walz’s words and images paint a picture that is clear, genuine, authentic and understandable — hence, hard to dispute. Moreover, Walz proudly owns his identity and will use it to persuade independent and undecided voters — people who will like and identify with his down-to-Earth (tell it like it is, often humorously) discourse and common-sense approach to governance. Richard Cherwitz
Any update?
Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y.: Is Kamala Harris still in favor of defunding the police and giving the money to social programs? She said so on CNN and “The View.” We don’t know because all she talks about is Donald Trump. Peter McKenna
Trump trick
Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.: Game of bridge, Vice President Harris’s bid: “One no Trump”! Renee Keane
Time for change
Staten Island: To Voicer Maureen Deman: I plan to vote for Kamala Harris for the very reason that I love America. I proudly served in the military, and for that, the orange nightmare thinks I’m a sucker and a loser. I’m not voting for Harris only because she’s a woman of color, although that is part of it. We’ve had more than 200 years of old white men running this country and I think it’s time to blow the cobwebs out of the Oval Office and let some fresh air in. I’m planning to vote for Democrat Andrea Morse for Congress for much the same reason: Incumbent Republican Nicole Malliotakis is nothing more than an old white man in drag. I had been a registered independent for most of my voting life. I registered as a Democrat so that I could take part in the primaries. And I’m an old white man. Victor R. Stanwick
Turn ahead
Huntington, L.I.: In 2020, President Biden campaigned as a moderate. After the election, he made a hard left turn. Kamala Harris is now disavowing the far-left positions she espoused in 2020. If elected, she will follow Biden’s lead and make a sharp left turn. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Tom Saracco
A real character
Staten Island: What do Kamala Harris and the Scarecrow from “The Wizard of Oz” have in common? They look alike and neither have any brains. Rich Buttermark
Discredited
Staten Island: So, let me understand this. Christie Whitman, who told all of us that the air around Ground Zero was safe to breathe, now says Donald Trump is unfit to be president. Sometimes, comedy writes itself! Thomas Fraumeni Jr.
Anti-intellectuals
Forest Hills: Of course the Republicans want to abolish the U.S. Department of Education. They want to ensure that all future generations grow up to be just as ignorant as they are. Alan Hirschberg
Strategic move
Bayonne: To Voicer Vincent Novak: About ABC, NBC and CBS not reporting anything without any real evidence, you’re joking, right? And about Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems: With out-of-control jury judgments these days, sometimes it’s better to settle for Fox — and it’s peanuts. A jury conviction could have cost them maybe 10 or 20 times the amount. They also could have taken the chance and won. Mike Armstrong
Continue her legacy
Tarrytown, N.Y.: Former FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh’s relentless advocacy for lithium-ion battery safety was rightly celebrated in your Aug. 7 editorial “Laura Kavanagh’s mission continues.” Shining a light on the scourge of e-bike battery fires has not only inspired swift action on the part of our representatives at all levels of government, but it’s saved lives in the process. According to reporting in July 2024, e-bike battery fires had led to only one fatality versus 13 at the same point in 2023, no doubt due to greater consumer awareness of what to do in case of these fires. But more must be done, as the number of fires, year over year, has remained pretty much the same even as fatalities and injuries decline. Congress must pass federal safety standards that will keep improper equipment off the market and ensure that manufacturers doing business in the U.S. are traceable and insured. Michael P. Mezzacappa
Int’l appreciation
Hamilton Square, N.J.: As an American, I always root for our Olympians. However, if we have no one in the competition, what is objectionable about cheering on any of these amazing athletes who have dedicated their lives and bodies to the faster, higher, stronger mantra? Just enjoy this amazing spectacle and stop being childish. Eileen T. Johnson