For What it’s Worth: Warren Hecht

There are many reasons why New York City is a popular destination for tourists. There are many things to do. As locals, we often do not take advantage of what the city has to offer. For a few weekends this time of year, there’s the special Holiday Train. The New York Transit Museum takes old trains out for a ride, and the public is invited. Some people dress up in period clothing, and there is a band. This year it was on the 1 line. Beth and I rode it on Sunday. I was a little disappointed since the trains were from the 1960s, which were in service until 2003. In the past, they had trains from the 1920s onward.

The cryptocurrency exchange FTX was valued in January 2022 at $32 billion. The investors in FTX include well-respected corporations SoftBank and BlackRock. On Monday, November 5, Sam Bankman-Fried, the chief executive of FTX, the world’s third largest exchange, took to Twitter to reassure his customers that FTX is fine and the “assets are fine.”

I would like to thank the Queens Jewish Link for placing an ad wishing me and my family Mazal Tov on my daughter Yael Rebecca’s engagement.

In a prior column, I had referred to Trump as Trumpty-Dumpty and had my own version of the nursery rhyme. Not surprisingly, the Trumpians were not amused and said so in their Letters to the Editor. This past week, the New York Post, not exactly known as a supporter of Democrats or liberal causes, on the front page, referred to Trumpty-Dumpty and had their own rhyme which was similar to mine.

The biggest domestic story that occurred during my vacation was Trump having a meeting with anti-Semites Kayne West and Nick Fuentes at Mar-a-Lago. Trump is amoral, so the meeting did not come as a shock. He will do what he believes is best for him politically. What is more upsetting is that Trump, who has shown an ability to read the mood of the Republican base, thought that meeting with two well-known anti-Semites would help his standing with the base. In other words, antisemitism has become mainstream in the Republican Party.

This past Sunday, I decided to take full advantage of the warm weather by riding by the beach. My favorite beach to ride is by Jones Beach, which has an 18.5-mile bike path. The night before, I looked at the weather and saw that there was a chance of rain, so I chose plan B: Rockaway Beach. For the first time, I decided to ride my bike there instead of putting the bike in the SUV and driving to Howard Beach. In the morning, I saw that Jones Beach cleared up but decided to proceed to Rockway Beach since it would take time to get the car ready.