Family-oriented
Manhattan: Contrary to the assertions in “Don’t remove immigrant kids from their families” (op-ed, Aug. 6), the Administration for Children’s Services honors the migration experiences of asylum seekers coming to NYC and their efforts to seek a better life for their children, and focuses on providing families in need with support so they can thrive. For instance, ACS started and expanded Promise NYC, which provides child care assistance for children whose immigration status would otherwise make them ineligible for state and federal assistance. We have providers stationed at Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers helping the newest New Yorkers with concrete goods and social service supports to address the traumas they faced. Foster care is historically low, we only file cases in court when the safety of children can’t be accomplished without court intervention, and in these instances, we seek to collaborate with all parties so that children safely remain with their families. Jess Dannhauser, commissioner, ACS
A people’s pond
Brooklyn: I love the kumbaya story about the hydrant fish in Bedford-Stuyvesant (“Fish pond stirs flap,” Aug. 12). My concern is if there is a fire, the firefighters would have to trample them to get to the hydrant. It was done with good intentions. The neighbors have a camera to check on the fish. I think that same attention to love and security would go a long way in just keeping tabs and helping one another in the neighborhood. Mariann Tepedino
Death and destruction
Kearny, N.J.: Before we nominate Donald Trump for sainthood, let us not forget his performance at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021! Five policemen died. Joseph F. Catrambone
Just enough
Itasca, Ill.: We hear so many numbers that we forget how large single digits can be — especially when followed by a percent sign. For example, if Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is polling at 2-5% but you didn’t plan on voting for him anyway, it’s no big deal. Kennedy’s recent bear-in-Central-Park story might register as nothing more than a chuckle. Then you remember that elections have turned on less than 2% (see John Kennedy vs. Richard Nixon, 1960, or George W. Bush vs. Al Gore, 2000). Two percent, in interest rates or votes, can mean hundreds of thousands of dollars or votes. Kennedy’s 2% could cause whoever you’re voting for to lose. Be careful what you chuckle over. Jim Newton
Talk it out
Rockville Centre, L.I.: As we wade through the political convulsion that is election year 2024, although the will of the majority will prevail, differences of opinion should not only be tolerated but celebrated, not proscribed, with reason left free to combat opinions through debate and deliberation. We should encourage debate rather than quash dissent. Those of the minority opinion still possess equal rights under the law, which must protect everyone equally, and to violate their rights is none other than oppression and a symbol of despotic rule. A difference of opinion between individuals is not necessarily a difference of principle. And as these times grow more murkier than in the past, collectively, we need to learn more through observation, reasoning and imagination rather than the fruitless redundancy of experience at the potential expense of millions of lives. Jason Randazzo
Deep roots
Williamsville, N.Y.: Voicer John A. MacKinnon’s curious distortions about Israel do not stand up to factual scrutiny. Jews are the indigenous people of Israel, Judea, Samaria and Gaza, as confirmed by reputable genetic analyses. There have been Jews residing in these areas for thousands of years despite efforts to expel them via ethnic cleansing. Israel is a modern Western democracy in every sense. MacKinnon’s comments on “Western Asian” states veer perilously close to racism. Israel has repeatedly made generous offers of peace and their own state to the Palestinians. In response, the Palestinians have waged a campaign of terrorism against Israel’s existence, culminating in the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre. The conduct of the Palestinians and Israel’s other enemies constitutes the real injustice, about which MacKinnon should be concerned. Daniel H. Trigoboff
Israeli hate
Bronx: Yo, Voicer Robert Brennan: Yes, no form of terrorism or hatred is acceptable — including the terrorism committed by Israelis and their hatred of Palestinians. I am Jewish. I have a cousin who taught his children to say “kill Arabs” when they were learning to talk. Richie Nagan