Garbage Collection Abuse
Dear Editor:
It is my suspicion that I am not the only one with this experience:
On December 20, Friday afternoon, six minutes before 6 p.m., a garbage policy enforcement officer wrote a summons against me because my garbage had been put out before 6 p.m.
I had done so to avoid handling garbage after Shabbos had started. By the way, most neighbors, Jewish or not, had done the same, almost all before 6 p.m.
Not because the $50 penalty will ruin me, but I feel that this is insensitive and abusive in a heavily Jewish neighborhood.
When the City introduced the new policy forcing everyone to buy new garbage cans from them and threatening us with fines if we don’t (by the way, I ordered but still have not received them), I wrote to the Dept. of Sanitation, requesting an answer to the following question: Not even why we need “rat-proof” cans when I have not seen a single rat here for 40 years, not even why my existing garbage can with its well-closing lid is not good enough, but just why do we need rat-proof garbage cans even for paper recycling as, to my knowledge, rats don’t eat paper. Everyone can see how thinly veiled the real reason is by their explanation.
The message I got was simply stating the rules – no explanation, no answer to the question. So, I have been contributing to the City’s budget about $200 (the three garbage cans and the penalty), thereby fulfilling their real motivation for this unnecessary and abusive new rule.
I hope if others have the same experience, some will collect them and raise the issue with the politicians who approved all this, if not for anything else, at least to show some flexibility not to force frum Jews to handle their garbage on Shabbos. For example, there could be a 90-minute exemption on short Fridays in the neighborhoods surrounding Orthodox synagogues.
Sincerely,
Dr. Joseph Donath
Keep Your Nose in the QJL and Not in My Clinic
Dear Editor:
Susie Garber succinctly summarizes the Navigating the Medical System Lecture Series reviewing medical breakthroughs. In my medical training, we were warned to be cautious of changing behavior based on one or two studies and to consider the adverse effects from prescribed treatments.
Of the innovations reviewed, one in particular caught my attention as a dermatologist and pediatric dermatologist. An uncommon presenting story occurs in my clinic when a patient applies Neosporin to a non-infected abrasion. Unfortunately, the triple-antibiotic ointment has high rates of co-reactivity in developing allergic reactions leading to red itchy rashes at the site of application. In some instances, people continue to apply Neosporin, thinking the skin has become infected, and subsequently get oral or even IV antibiotics to treat the infection which was an allergy all along.
The saga continues until someone recognizes the allergy, stops the ointment, and applies anti-inflammatory topicals instead. With that, I would caution the usage of topical Neosporin to the noses of your readers whenever they encounter someone with the sniffles. A significant percentage may end up with a red itchy rash around the nostrils.
Sincerely,
David (Micha) Milgraum, MD, FAAD
Ozempic vs. Covid Shot
Dear Editor:
This letter is in response to Jason Stark’s letter last week detailing the public’s infatuation with the latest Big Pharma cash cow: Ozempic.
While I agree with Mr. Stark that Big Pharma is often a nefarious force, and is now pushing another new drug with, as of yet, unexplored long-term negative ramifications, I’d like to explore a different angle. Why is it that our religious leaders have not taken a public position on using this drug? When the Covid shot hit the market in 2021 and little was known about it, many religious leaders took very public positions on the issue. For instance, nearly all the of the high-profile rabbinic leadership in the Five Towns coordinated and appeared in a widely distributed video imploring the public to get vaccinated with the Covid shot immediately. And Covid was dangerous only to the elderly and those with co-morbidities. Young, healthy people had a near-zero mortality rate from Covid. Yet, based on Big Pharma’s recommendation, our leadership recommended an experimental drug with no long-term record of safety or efficacy as the best course of action for everyone to take.
Contrast that with Ozempic, Big Pharma’s newest toy. Studies have shown that three out of four Americans are either overweight or obese. Eschewing non-profitable traditional measures such as diet and exercise, Big Pharma is now recommending Ozempic and similar drugs as the solution to the obesity crisis.
My question is: If Covid, which really only affected a small subset of the population, warranted a rabbinic response, why doesn’t an issue that affects 75% of the population warrant a similar public proclamation?
Shlomo Dovid Benhaim
Dear Editor:
I am writing to express my strong opposition to the implementation of the congestion pricing plan for New York City. While the idea of reducing traffic and improving air quality may seem appealing at first, the reality is that congestion pricing will disproportionately burden working-class families and small businesses. This tax imposes an additional financial burden on people who rely on their cars to commute, especially those in parts of our city with limited public transportation options.
Many cars are a necessity in life, not a luxury, as many younger people without a spouse, children, or elderly parents preach. Charging drivers to enter certain areas of the city will only make it harder for those already struggling to make ends meet. Moreover, congestion pricing fails to address the underlying infrastructure issues that contribute to traffic.
Instead of focusing on solutions like expanding mass transit, improving road conditions, or developing more efficient ways to move people and goods, this plan merely raises revenue by penalizing drivers. Finally, congestion pricing overlooks the needs of small businesses who depend on deliveries and customers who drive to their place of business. These businesses will be hit hard by additional costs, which could lead to higher prices for consumers and even going out of business.
The congestion that they claim to be alleviating has been caused by the narrowing of the roads for motorists. With the bike lanes, bus lanes, and outdoor eating, the MTA and DOT seem like they have no interest in the needs of motorists. They are responsible for the growing congestion and added pollution. We need to elect representatives who understand the needs of everyone and stop this money grab. Motorists, other forms of transportation, and pedestrians, must be treated equally. If one group has to pay this tax, everyone has to pay this tax. Let’s find solutions that address congestion in a way that is fair and sustainable for everyone.
Alan Sherman
Dear Editor:
I hadn’t planned to weigh in on congestion pricing – until a video surfaced shortly after the program went into effect. It showed an MTA leader, chosen by our elected officials, unveiling signage for the program along the roadway. The unveiling was staged outside, and though the elected officials themselves were to my knowledge absent, the cheering and celebratory atmosphere were appalling.
This program should have been rolled out quietly, without any fanfare. Instead, we were subjected to an orchestrated spectacle that was not only unnecessary but an outright embarrassment to our city and state. To celebrate a steep, regressive tax on everyday New Yorkers – already struggling to make ends meet – shows a complete lack of understanding and respect for the people these leaders are supposed to serve.
This was not a victory to be celebrated, but rather a grim necessity born of a difficult and hard-fought battle. Yet, the tone of the unveiling made it feel like a slap in the face to every hardworking resident of this city. Watching officials chosen by our elected representatives revel in this program’s launch was despicable – a twisting knife for those already burdened by the rising cost of living in New York.
We will not forget this insult, just as we did not forget when former Mayor Bloomberg held us hostage during the city bus driver strike in the blistering summer heat. That same disregard for the well-being of ordinary New Yorkers is on display yet again, and it’s unacceptable.
Governor Hochul, respectfully, must be held accountable for allowing this shameful display. She should be voted out for her part in this fiasco. As for Andrew Cuomo, the disgraced originator of this policy, he can abandon any hope of political redemption. And I firmly believe that a new federal administration will step in to dismantle this misguided program.
Real, everyday New Yorkers will not forget.
Sincerely,
Shabsie Saphirstein
MTA Fare Hike Is a Joke
Dear Editor:
A few weeks ago, fellow letter writer and self-described “Transportation Advocate” Larry Penner supported the MTA’s upcoming four-percent fare increase, saying we all need to share the burden of the increasing costs of running the transit system. Yet he readily acknowledges that the MTA has done nothing to stop the $700 million in fare evasion and has doled out $1.3 billion in overtime pay that no doubt has been abused by MTA employees. One question for Larry: Why should law-abiding citizens absorb the cost of ANY increase when the deficits the MTA is running can be directly attributed to their own malfeasance? Get your own house in order before you come shnoring from an already cash-strapped public.
Jonathan Goldgrab
Aging
Dear Editor:
How does one know when he/she is aging? Obvious answers are bags under the eyes, a wrinkled neck, brown spots and a slower gait. However, aging signs can appear in various other ways. Here are a few that you might have missed.
You continually insert your senior citizen Metro card into the slot on the bus incorrectly, and you hold up an entire line of enraged passengers. Then you finally proceed to the subway stairs, which you carefully count one at a time lest you trip. Meanwhile, both the E and the F trains have left the station. That is followed by incorrectly swiping your card at the subway station, which follows ten attempts at filling your card at the machine.
Aging occurs when you have more doctors’ appointments than days in the week. Speaking of which, other signs of aging are not remembering what “yom” it is at the end of davening and what chodesh it is when benching Rosh Chodesh. How about not being able to recall the parshah of the week?
Then, there’s your wedding anniversary. If you were married during Gerald Ford’s or Jimmy Carter’s administrations, that’s a long time. If you need a calculator to figure out how many years you’ve been married, that’s an aging sign. How about your birth date? Truman, Eisenhower, or Kennedy administrations?
Of course, there are other signs like your favorite TV station being HGTV, or your fridge filled with half-pint milks that you picked up from the shul’s activities. (By the way, thanks.) But the bottom line is, thank G-d, you’ve reached all these milestones, and you should continue “ad mei’ah v’esrim shanah!”
Debbie Horowitz
Hochul the Yokel
Dear Editor:
How many more people have to be pushed onto the NYC subway tracks before Governor Hochul does anything? Last month, an inmate in an upstate prison died after he was horrifically beaten by correction officers.
Gov. Hochul spent millions on new cameras, demanded staffing changes, and hired outside consultants to review the prison system. A few days ago, another poor soul was pushed onto the NYC subway tracks in front of an oncoming train. To date, no remedies have been taken by Hochul.
See, it’s not just illegal immigrants that are treated better than law-abiding citizens; our own homegrown criminals are also treated better. Just another feature of living in this one-party state.
Doniel Behar
Bait and Switch by Whom?
Dear Editor:
Warren Hecht complained in his column last week over what he calls a “bait and switch” job by President Trump. He claims that Trump attacked all immigrants during his campaign, yet now appears to be in favor of allowing 65,000 H1B visas for foreign employees to work in the US. This is next-level nit-picking, even for Mr. Hecht. For context into how small these nits are, understand just how many illegals Biden allowed into this country by opening the border. The lowest estimate appears to be 12 million, though Border Control truly has no idea because they never tabulate the “got-aways.” And 65,000 H1B workers represent .0005% of the 12 million number.
So Mr. Hecht, who has nothing to say about the 12 million illegals including violent criminals, drug cartel members, and terrorists, is suddenly obsessed with the status of 65,000 H1B workers?! I understand that Mr. Hecht is a criminal defense attorney, but the distracting game of “Hey, look over here at this shiny object” that often works on unsophisticated New York City juries ain’t gonna cut it here. It appears that Mr. Hecht is the one guilty of the bait and switch here.
Jason Stark
Joe Bi-Done
Dear Editor:
In a 1998 60 Minutes interview, George Soros said he had no regrets about helping the Nazis round up Jews and confiscate their property. In 2024, 40% of homicides in the US took place in districts with a Soros-funded prosecutor. Last week, “President” Joe Biden awarded Soros with our highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom.
Lots of people were wondering what Biden was thinking during all of his disastrous decision-making on foreign and domestic issues during his presidency. As his term mercifully comes to an end, the answer is obvious: Nothing.
Avi Goldberg
Dear Editor:
There are so many comparisons between Jimmy Carter and Joe Biden. Both created stifling inflation domestically. Both had terrible foreign policies, although Carter deserves credit for the peace made between Egypt and Israel. Both are/were anti-Semites. Both will forever be known among the worst presidents America has ever had.
This week, however, Joe Biden has surpassed Carter and taken the number one position as worst president ever. Not only has he pardoned and/or commuted the sentences of hardened criminals, he has given the highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom, to the world’s most evil man alive, George Soros. Soros’ heinous actions have put him among Yerav’am ben Nevat, Ach’av, and Menashe HaMelech, in the category of those with no portion in the World to Come. To be given such accolades is outrageous.
For those unfamiliar with George Soros, as a teenager in Hungary, he ratted out Jews to the Nazis to save himself. He has used his enormous wealth to bring instability to countries around the globe. He purchased several hundred radio stations in the US, and the FCC under Biden went around normal procedures to approve the purchases. He has donated several millions of dollars to local DA races in our biggest cities so when the progressive candidate wins, they will let criminals roam free (see Alvin Bragg). He is the reason our largest cities have crime spiraling out of control.
Unfortunately, it is not shocking. The Biden administration has put progressive ideology before anything else. Who better than the champion of this ideology to receive an award? It’s disgraceful and every Jew should be sickened. With a more than tarnished legacy, Joe Biden will just not go away quietly.
Shalom Markowitz
