Take the right pages from France’s transit book
Brooklyn: Micah Lasher’s article on what NYC can learn from Paris’ public investments (“New York needs an Olympic goal,” op-ed, Aug. 18) includes some good ideas. But on subway safety, he misses the mark. Lasher says that in the Paris Metro, “tall, paneled fare gates make it much harder to get in without paying,” and claims that “nothing would produce a bigger, quicker boost to riders’ sense of safety” than doing that in NYC. He’s wrong on both counts.
Whenever I’ve been in Paris, I’ve seen people get into the Metro without paying every day, about as often as in NYC. Paris is an expensive town, and most workers in its service jobs make low wages. Many use their human ingenuity to reduce the cost of their daily commute — and as a rider, I never felt this threatened my safety. But the Paris Metro does have “tall, paneled gates” that make riders safer than in NYC. They’re on the platforms, providing a transparent wall that makes sure no riders fall or get pushed onto the tracks. These safety doors exist on six lines already, and their use is being expanded with the Grand Paris Express construction plan. Safety doors on the platforms are long overdue in NYC. They’d not only improve our “sense of safety,” they would actually make us safer.
As for transit fares, the French city of Montpellier has the best idea: make public transit free. Free transit passes were introduced gradually over the last three years (starting with seniors and children), and since last year, streetcars and buses have been free for all Montpellier residents. It has given the town an economic and environmental boost. Peter Hogness
Free pass?
Manhattan: Having recently read that the city has initiated a $35 million campaign to stop fare-beaters from entering the transit system, I am appalled that there are still so many who are illegally jumping the turnstiles. I enter the No. 1 train at the 86th St., 79th St. and Chambers St. stops and observe at least two guards at each stop watching the gates. On several occasions, I have seen the guards watch people jump the turnstiles. After several times, I asked the guard why they are not stopping them, and he replied, “We are only guarding the gates.” I am not only shocked by his response, but by the fact that the MTA and the media have not been checking up on this. So, $35 million down the drain! How about it, Daily News, maybe an article on this? Brent Saunders
Exorbitant
Cedarhurst, L.I.: While I concur with Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman railing about the $15 fee if congestion pricing goes into effect, I believe he should be complaining about something closer to home. The $150 fee in Nassau County for a traffic ticket from a camera is outrageous. The actual ticket is $50. Then they added on an additional fee of $100 for public safety and administrative fees. To the best of my knowledge, almost any other traffic charge in Nassau court can be adjudicated to lower fees or no points. Good way to make money for the county. Taxation without representation. Maybe we should dump some tea on the legislators (just kidding). Ellie Weiner
Alternative garden
Manhattan: I appreciate the efforts of Patti Smith, Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese (whose art I adore) in support of the Elizabeth Street Garden. As a community gardener myself, I understand the vital importance of green spaces, particularly in park-starved areas, such as Little Italy and the Lower East Side. That said, I would argue that in this instance, affordable housing needs outweigh the loss of this green space. I would invite these luminaries and neighborhood residents to visit the 40-year-old M’Finda Kalunga Garden (Garden at the Edge of the Other Side of the World) in Sara D. Roosevelt Park, which is a five-minute walk east from the Elizabeth Street Garden. The entrance is on Rivington St. between Chrystie St. and Forsythe St. We love visitors and can always use additional helping hands. Rob Watson, founder, LEED Green Building Rating System
Land theft
Dover, Del.: Alan Dershowitz writes about Black folks and the relationship with Israel (“An anti-Israel bias among Black leaders,” op-ed, Aug. 22). This is from the man who supports the Big Fat Felon who is totally against all minorities. Israel began with the idea of democracy but it has totally abandoned that goal. Any time Europeans arrive claiming to be Jewish in order to take land from folks already living there, using the pretense that their ancestors once were on the land, is not true democracy! It is reminiscent of the Native Americans being wiped off the land in the name of freedom. Chalky White
Humane reinvestment
Kew Gardens: Alan Dershowitz is absolutely right. The U.S. should cease financing Israel’s military operations in Gaza and divert those funds for the humanitarian efforts needed to ease Sudan’s catastrophe. Glenn Hayes
Narrowly averted
Brooklyn: I believe that if it wasn’t for the debate that exposed President Biden, the Democrats would’ve continued pulling his strings from behind the scenes. This is a very scary time for America. Rocco Conte
Crazy talk
East Meadow, L.I.: Donald Trump has been rambling incoherently at his rallies about sharks, batteries, Cary Grant and sand. He slurs his words and sounded like a cross between Elmer Fudd and Sylvester during his interview on X with Elon Musk. He thought he was in North Carolina during his rally in Pennsylvania this past week. He also said that Vice President Kamala Harris stole his economic plan, then he called that plan “communism.” When will the press relentlessly attack Trump’s mental fitness like they did President Biden’s? Richard Skibins
Use what you have
Smithfield, R.I.: Has anyone from this administration considered running the Strategic Petroleum Reserve down to near-zero? It should be done in order to crush inflation and goose the economy. I believe it will also go a long way to keeping a future dictator out of the Oval Office. Ideally, this will also have the happy effect of putting the orange Jeff Davis behind bars within a year or so. Please consider this and act upon it very soon. Stephen De Falco
Public consumption
Glendale: It figures that desperate people would take swipes at things like copyright infringement. If such things mattered when a candidate uses songs to make their point related to rallying their voters, it would only affect their alienation of a certain demographic of the country. Nothing stops the use of songs in today’s political, cultural or societal context. If it was relevant at all, every nitpicking artist would reap billions of dollars from lawsuits against deejays, home-listening users and every other kind of modern music device. For what it’s worth, Trump will be playing “I’m Still Standing” by Elton John this November. If EJ doesn’t like it, maybe we can just watch him and other artists crying all the way to the bank. Jonathan Kiddrane
News reduction
Bronxville: What has happened to the Daily News? When I was a child, my mother would purchase the Daily News and place it on the kitchen table. When she finished with it, I sat on the table and turned each page, marveling at the stories and going through the sections. I am now 62 and have seen the paper wither away. Gone are the business, entertainment and other sections of yesteryears. We are getting much less and paying a lot more. George Garcia
Universal values
Rego Park: Message to Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk: If we are to fulfill our destiny of intergalactic travel, we must come together as people and as organisms. Only then can we present ourselves to those who may be out there as a diverse and inclusive Earth-people. I think it was Ruthie Ginsburg who said, “There are beings out there. We must find the outer beings.” Let’s do this for Ruthie. Earth strong. Milky Way strong. Jeff Rosenblatt