Dear Editor:
Back in August, I wrote a letter urging our community to contact local elected officials about the dangerous e-scooter rentals littering our neighborhood and putting safety at risk. I also led a group encouraging people to report every safety issue they encountered with these devices. Two weeks after that letter, our Councilmember, James Gennaro, came out publicly opposing the e-scooters, a reversal from an earlier position on the issue. Shortly afterward, Assemblyman Sam Berger also came out against them. This shows that community pressure is starting to yield results, but we still have a lot further to go.
Talk is cheap. So far, we’ve seen press events, comments, and public statements, but no concrete action. In contrast, Councilwoman Sandra Ung, who represents Downtown Flushing, has shown real leadership on this issue. She opposed the scooters from the start and proposed legislation to heavily restrict them in her district. Our local elected officials need to follow her lead and go beyond words. This is an election year for State and Federal offices, making it the perfect time to apply pressure. City Council elections are next year, which means now is a more effective time than ever to push for change.
Call Councilmember Jim Gennaro’s office at 718-217-4969. Assemblyman Sam Berger’s office number is 718-969-1508. Depending on where you live, our State Senators are Leroy Comrie (718-765-6359) and John Liu (718-765-6675). Those in Hillcrest can reach Assemblywoman Nily Rozic at 718-820-0241. It’s also important to contact Congresswoman Grace Meng at 718-358-6364 – her connections in local politics give her influence that could make a difference.
In an election year, politicians are more likely to act on complaints because they fear losing votes. We need to capitalize on this opportunity and make sure they know we want representatives who will take action on this issue. Reward them at the ballot box in November if they do, and hold them accountable if they don’t.
I’m not against e-scooters in theory, but their implementation has been a serious concern. Aside from the fact that there was no community input or hearings before they were introduced, other areas in Queens have had Town Hall meetings where local officials, city representatives, and scooter company officials discussed concerns with residents. We need the same here. Until all our safety concerns are addressed, these scooters should be removed from the streets, and only reintroduced once the issues are fixed.
If you look at the official program rules, it’s clear none of them are being followed. The companies are misleading the public when they claim enforcement. For example, they say they have photo-based enforcement to ensure scooters are only left in authorized areas and don’t block sidewalks or crosswalks. But we know this is a lie. Just this week, I had to move three scooters out of the way: two that blocked entire sidewalks and one that was blocking a crosswalk. Another example is that the rules state that users must be over 18 and this is enforced, and this too is a lie. Most of the riders I see are kids joyriding, often recklessly and especially at night. The companies claim scooters are only ridden on streets, but I frequently see them speeding on sidewalks or blocking traffic in the middle of side streets.
Until the companies actually enforce their rules – and new regulations are introduced to address the other issues – these scooters must be taken off our streets. We need full meetings with city officials, company representatives, and the community in each neighborhood, open to all, to ensure our concerns are addressed. And we must not let up on the pressure with our elected officials. To those who have already called, keep up the fight and get others involved. To those who share these concerns but haven’t yet made the call, now is the time. We can succeed as a united community and stop City Hall from walking all over us.
Dovid Hirsch
Dear Editor:
Port Jefferson LIRR riders should be concerned that the $68 Billion MTA 2025-2029 Five-Year Capital Plan for financial reasons is not worth the paper it is written on. Governor Hochul claims she can find additional state and federal funding to make up for the missing $15 billion in Congestion Pricing from the current $51 billion 2020-2024 Five-Year Capital Plan. She promises the same for making up the $33 billion shortfall in the proposed Plan. This leaves the MTA a record $48 billion shortfall in funding!
It will be dead upon arrival when it reaches the desks of Governor Hochul and the State Legislature.
Allocation of funding for advancing closer to reaching a state of good repair for all capital asset categories should be a higher priority than any system expansion projects.
Funding for $7.7 billion Second Avenue Subway Phase 2 and $5.5 billion Brooklyn/Queens Interboro Express Light Rail Connector would be better spent on state of good repair projects. The same holds true for placing Metro North Rail Road’s $3.1 billion Bronx East Penn Station Access project on hold. Forget about any consideration for the $7.5 billion Second Avenue Subway Phase 3 125th Street Crosstown Extension as well.
Don’t be surprised in 2025 when both the Governor and State Legislature reduce the proposed $68 billion plan by billions. I predict it will end up some number in the $50’s billion range. The MTA will have to revise its proposed $68 billion 2025-2029 Five-Year Capital Plan to deal with a more realistic level of future funding availability.
Sincerely,
Larry Penner
Great Neck, New York
Dear Editor:
Why is Kamala Harris in hiding? What is she afraid of? She doesn’t have the cognitive issues that Biden was clearly hiding in 2020. Why won’t she stand in front of TV cameras and news reporters? Don’t tell me she’s ready to run the country. She is not ready for prime time.
There are now more abortions, aka baby killings, that ever before in the US. Kamala Harris is exploiting the death of a Georgia woman who died because doctors were too late in treating her after she took abortion pills. There is no emergency room in this union that is allowed to withhold medical care from anyone for any reason. Look at your hospital bill if you’ve gone recently. Those who are insured pay for all those who aren’t insured. Fantastic system, right? This was a tragedy but it’s not because it was illegal for this woman to get help. It is Kamala’s grotesque and radical position on abortion that made her decide to skip the Al Smith dinner.
Her FCC just bypassed the normal approval process and gave the world’s most evil man, George Soros, the go-ahead with his purchase of 200 radio stations in the US right before the election! Anyone guess why?
We now have Iran, Iran, Iran. The opposite of Russia, Russia, Russia from 2016. Iran is interfering in the election in favor of Kamala Harris. Putin and Xi Jinping want Harris to win, as well. That’s three enemies of our country rooting for Kamala Harris.
After Israel’s amazing beeper and walkie-talkie strike against Hezbollah members, what is to stop China from planting those explosives in our electronics? We are reliant on China for almost all our electronics. China is the beginning of the supply chain, so they are completely in control of the assembly process of the products, whether cell phones, computers, or other electronic devices.
President Trump has now survived two assassination attempts. Democrats tried to get rid of him with two impeachments. When those failed, they tried to bankrupt him in civil court. When that failed, they came up with bogus criminal charges and tried to put him in prison for the rest of his life. That failed, too, so now one has to seriously question whether someone in DHS or the Secret Service is behind these two failed attempts. Let’s not forget that the Secret Service is now under DHS, which is part of the Executive Branch, led by Joseph R. Biden.
The roof in Butler, Pennsylvania, was too close to not be manned. It is hard to chalk that up to incompetence, especially when you see on video so many people walking around the AGR complex. Now you have a known vulnerability spot at the golf course where time and again, press people take photos of the former president while he is playing. However, this time, it was a last-minute decision to play golf at that specific time and only a few Secret Service agents knew about this. How did Ryan Routh know to be at that very spot at that very moment? How did the Secret Service not have someone posted outside the course at that very spot to protect the President. Only by luck, the agent combing the next hole in front of the President saw the barrel of the rifle and opened fire, scaring away the perpetrator. Meanwhile, Biden sits on a beach for 14 days and everything seems just fine. One would think securing a beach is more difficult than a golf course. I don’t know if the upper echelon of either agency is incompetent or complicit. What I do know is that if Kamala Harris wins, nothing is going to change. President Trump’s life will continue to be in danger. Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur are almost upon us. May we keep the former president in our prayers.
Shalom Markowitz
