NYC’s freewheeling roadways discourage visitors
Floral Park, L.I.: On the evening of Aug. 14, my wife and I decided to drive into Queens to enjoy a pizza at one of our favorite pizza places. We both grew up in Flushing, so we always go back once in a while. On the way, I was zapped by one of the 25 mile-per-hour cameras as I was traveling at 32 miles per hour. I did not realize I was going 32, but since I am a law-abiding citizen and am accountable, I will pay the fine and watch more closely when I am in the city limits.
On the way home, I was traveling on the Cross Island Parkway and was almost blown off the road by speedsters going at least 100 miles per hour weaving in and out of traffic. My wife was horrified. This is not the first time we experienced this. I was travelling the speed limit on the Cross Island Parkway and these criminals were flashing their lights at me and then speeding around me and other vehicles, almost causing accidents. I have worked all my life, although I am retired after spending 45 years at a company. I will be paying a $50 fine for traveling 32 miles per hour, and the criminals who roam the streets of NYC mug people and travel at exorbitant speeds on the highways — and nothing happens. Does this seem right?
I am glad I live in Nassau County, where County Executive Bruce Blakeman cares about protecting us, especially senior citizens, as Nassau is the safest county in the U.S.A. My wife and I used to love to go to Manhattan and visit Queens parks where we grew up, but we will not be doing that any longer. Robert Damato
Try the old way
Port Jefferson Station, L.I.: Voicer Alan Flacks is spot-on. Mayor John Lindsay used the NYPD in an innovative way and it worked to combat subway and bus crime. No robots or high-tech machines, just the foot soldiers of the NYPD, including plainclothes and K9 cops working with our MTA Transit crews. I was hired by Lindsay’s administration and started my police career back then. That strategy is what we need now! Joe Ayala
Deterrence tactics
Manhattan: A sure way to stop crime: Bring back two things, the draft and the death penalty. Raymond McEaddy
Signal lost
Bronx: What bitter irony that the great news radio station WCBS 880 is being taken off the air by a company called Good Karma. We are losing the best all-news radio station that was staffed with the pros’ pros. What a sad development for our city and the metropolitan area. Good Karma, indeed! Don Appel
Off-hours
Peters Township, Pa.: I do not understand what Democratic National Convention managers were thinking when President Biden was provided a speaking slot that was well past primetime, extending beyond midnight. The Democratic Party looks out for the working man and woman. I do not imagine that many who had to get up early for work were tuned to the convention as a new day dawned. If not, they missed an emotional and moving speech and a thunderous ovation provided to our outgoing leader. Biden has accomplished a great deal despite headwinds of an opposition party that wants him and our country to fail on his watch. The least he deserved was the respect and deference of being provided a prime speaking slot when he could address the greatest possible number of viewers. Oren Spiegler
Fatherly figure
Bronx: I watched the Democratic National Convention Monday night and there was not a dry eye in the house when President Biden came on. Oh, what a speech he gave! I am still annoyed at the way the Democrats treated him, but he had no bitterness. There was joy. There was love. I felt the love he had for his fallen son Beau, for all of his family and for the nation. His wife is always by his side. His daughter just adores him. Joe Biden is a decent human being. Thank you, President Biden, for who you are. I love you. Pauline Graham Binder
In stark contrast
Delray Beach, Fla.: Think about how far the Republican Party has fallen by comparing two speeches: one by the founder of the party, Abraham Lincoln, with his Gettysburg address, and Donald Trump’s speech claiming the Presidential Medal of Freedom is more important than the Congressional Medal of Honor. Barry Rudd
New moniker
Glendale: I thought of a new nickname for the Orange Menace: He’s a MAGA-lomaniac. Diana Mischler
Direct communication
Bronx: I agree with Voicer Pamela Butler on engaging with voters and not wasting time engaging with Trump. The time between now and Nov. 5 is too short to go tit-for-tat with a man who has no respect for other people’s time, name or existence. And as much as the mainstream media demands a press conference with Kamala Harris, why should she? The media has pumped up Trump for years. They don’t call him on his lies; they railed on Hillary Clinton for her emails, which went nowhere; they don’t fact-check anything he says and they ask the most asinine questions that don’t merit responses. The White House press corps behaved like a pack of lions at the most recent press conference in D.C. It is a waste of time to hold press conferences when the goal seems to be “gotcha,” not information. Let Kamala call her own shots. She has voters to talk to. Claudette Mobley
Change of terms
Flushing: I am surprised that the woke Democrats haven’t insisted on using the word “fetus” or “thing” for the word “baby.” Under the Democrats, you would not be able to say, “Oh, she’s having a baby” anymore. You would have to say she is “with fetus” or “thing.” When a wife tells her husband the great news, she would have to say, “Honey, I am with fetus” or “with thing.” When the child starts kicking, the mother would say, “Put your hand on my stomach and feel the fetus” or “thing kicking.” Reveal parties would be canceled, as they are sexist, since you don’t know or you are not allowed to say, “The fetus is a boy” or “girl,” as it would have to be a human to have those titles, and besides, the fetus might be gay or become trans, and mislabeling the fetus or thing would cause mental problems later in life. John Procida
Kids overlooked
Staten Island: I could not help but be disappointed that there was not one word regarding the MLB Little League Classic. The only mention in the Monday Sports Final was the story about the Yankees (“Yanks make memories for kids at MLB Little League Classic,” Aug. 19). Why would this paper fail to print anything about this fabulous event? How exciting for the Staten Island Metro team, players and parents to see one mention of this accomplishment. Shame on “New York’s Hometown Newspaper” for letting us down. Steve Rosen
Disputed deaths
Margate, Fla.: Voicer Sheila Edwards needs to remember that after Pearl Harbor, where Imperial Japan murdered 2,400 Americans in a surprise attack, the United States and its allies, to defend themselves, killed between 500,000 and 1 million Japanese civilians before Japan surrendered. In fact, the Jewish people of Israel, since Hamas’ surprise attack on Oct. 7 in which 1,200 Jews from all over the world were murdered, have killed nearly 20,000 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad Jew killers in Gaza. Obviously, Edwards’ “innocent civilians” derives from the Gaza Health Ministry, a documented propaganda arm of Hamas, which constantly throws out the amorphous figure of 40,000 dead Palestinians. The reality is that in Gaza, the ratio of civilian deaths to enemy combatant deaths is 1:1 or less. The message for Hamas is the same as it was for Imperial Japan: Don’t start something that you can’t finish. Richard Sherman
Seeing is believing
Manhattan: Thank you, Daily News, for your two graphic renditions of climate breakdown (“At least 1 man dies in currents whipped up by storm Ernesto,” Aug. 19), destructive “havoc” from Tropical Storm Ernesto on a North Carolina beach, and the swirling rip currents off Bermuda. We’ve gotta see it to act on it, and your photos make that possible. Thomas A. Caffrey