Soldiers in the subways help riders feel safe
Stamford, Conn.: I’m having difficulty understanding the reasoning behind your objection to Gov. Hochul’s subway safety initiative (“On the wrong track,” editorial, March 7). The addition of 750 National Guardsmen and 250 state police, among other measures to improve subway security, should be met with open arms by your editorial staff. Instead, you engage in tortured logic to conclude that these measures are misguided.
With subway safety, perception is reality. When people avoid subways out of fear of crime, that is a reality. Statistics become immaterial. Moreover, violent crime statistics ignore the terror engendered when individuals roam subway cars creating an atmosphere of lawlessness.
Case in point is the incident involving the choking death of Jordan Neely back in May 2023. Without commenting on the merits, an entire carload of straphangers were terrorized by Neely before he was subdued by ex-Marine Daniel Penny and others. Those passengers applauded Penny for protecting them from a rational fear of danger. But that fear isn’t captured in crime statistics. Threatening behavior in the subway system is commonplace. It erodes ridership and undermines a sense of security for law-abiding subway patrons.
Any reasonable measure that creates an additional layer of security should receive your full-throated approval. National Guardsmen have plenty of training and shouldn’t be depicted as political window dressing. They will be performing a much-needed function of improving security and the perception of safety. Other measures you suggest might be helpful too, but that’s no argument to reject this creative solution initiated by our state and city leaders. Peter Janoff
Unarmed supervision
Woodstock, N.Y.: I used to live in NYC and I remember well when the subways were much safer. It was when there were manned/womaned booths where riders purchased tokens/MetroCards and maps, and where you could get information from the nice people working there 24/7. Then one day, some idiot decided to take away people’s jobs and replace them with machines that only dispensed MetroCards, can’t reply to questions, but most importantly, couldn’t provide a pair of eyes to discourage thieves and worse. Workers could call the police if and when they saw something suspicious. They even discouraged turnstile jumpers — what a concept! I recall vividly the scary, lonely atmosphere that befell the stations after the subway clerks were reassigned. But NYC keeps wondering what could possibly have brought this about, and what they can possibly do about it. Suzanne Hayes Kelly
Unattached
Congers, N.Y.: Apparently, Voicer Sarah Alboher does not realize that Sonny and Cher divorced in 1975 amid allegations of abuse. And perhaps she also does not realize that it’s absolutely none of her business what Cher chooses to call herself. But it is nice to know that Alboher’s life is so perfect that this is all she has to worry about. Beth Friscino
No funnies
Flushing: On Sunday, I got the paper but no comics to read. Were they printed and not delivered or what? Very disappointed in The News. Please reprint them. Robert Kitay
Fightin’ words
Bronx: “Pow,” “bam,” “thump” — the old man on his deathbed delivered a speech beatdown to the GOP that has turned the once-proud party into the TMP (Trump MAGA Party). All I can say is good for you, President Biden! There is still hope for our democracy yet. I was beginning to be afraid that come November, America would be America no more. I am not anymore. Thank God! Pauline Graham Binder
Speaking truth to crazy
Forked River, N.J.: It was refreshing to hear a president talk about plans for this nation instead of an ex-president who only whines about being a victim of a witch hunt. Marjorie Taylor Greene broke a 200-year-old rule about no hats in Congress. Maybe she thought she was at a baseball game, yelling at the opposing team every few minutes. Republicans try to blame the president for several issues, so he turned it around by asking them if they would turn down bills that could help fix those issues, like the border and prescription drug prices. The Republican response from Alabama Sen. Katie Britt resembled a scene from “The Handmaid’s Tale.” She looked like a Stepford wife with a bad computer chip in her head, switching from being happy to almost in tears in the same sentence. I’m sure Britt and that fake kitchen background will be comedy fodder for months. Jim Hughes
Surprise guest
Henderson, Nev.: President Biden’s passionate State of the Union address resulted in a number of firsts, from his age as the oldest president ever to give such a speech to the fact that he is running against a former president. But surely, it must have also been a first for an expelled former House member — George Santos, the serial fabulist kicked out of Congress just months earlier — to attend such an event. Santos, who wore a flashy metal studded necklace, now wants his old job back, albeit in another congressional district. Is he nuts? This is the same guy who said, “To hell with this place,” after Congress voted to expel him. Let’s remember these words and honor the wishes of the disgraced ex-congressman. David Tulanian
Restructuring plan
Bronx: If Trump wins the presidential election, within the first six months of his administration he and his cronies plan to revamp how the government operates. This massively funded plan is called Project 2025, and sweeping changes are set to be put in place. The objective is to reshape the federal government to support Trump’s right-wing, autocratic agenda. This is a very big deal, and if implemented, will forever change America as we know it. Apparently, many people don’t know about it because no one is talking about it. Jonathan Solomon
Serial liar
Manhattan: To Voicer Nancy Brenner: You state that Trump said he would be a dictator only on day one of his presidency in order to issue certain executive orders. What makes you think we can believe him? Do you honestly think he’s a man of his word? Chana Schwartz
Living on a prayer
Highland Falls, N.Y.: With a world war looming, the choice the United States has to lead the country comes down to two men who, if they were in my family, I would take their car keys away. It’s enough to make an atheist pray. Joe Cyr
Core extremism
Davis, Calif.: To Voicer Oren Spiegler: Palestinians believe their “nationalism” is irreconcilable with Jewish survival. Ghazi Hamad of Hamas’ political bureau vowed in a televised interview that Hamas will repeat the Oct. 7 massacre multiple times until Israel is annihilated. The Hamas charter is also clear: “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it.” Hamas is and always has been consistent in its public declarations of commitment to eradication of Israel. Jewish refugees who created modern Israel built a society worth living in, but Arab refugees in Gaza, with billions in international aid, built terror tunnels. Will the current U.S. administration hold Hamas accountable for the humanitarian calamity it inflicted and intends to continue to inflict on Israel? Or will the U.S. show it is afraid of Islamist terror and thereby invite another 9/11? Julia Lutch
Fight the fakes
Brooklyn: The children we represent in cases in New York City’s Family Courts are unfortunately no strangers to the situation described in “Report sees too many child welfare probes” (March 8). While many callers to the State Central Registry have good intentions, we can’t ignore the group of caregivers who weaponize the hotline by making intentionally false reports against one another to gain the upper hand in their contentious custody cases. This tactic does not work. Instead, it delays cases and does significant damage to children’s emotional well-being. As a study that our organization conducted in 2020 showed, the unnecessary and intrusive child welfare investigations that result from false hotline calls increase stress and trauma for children and negatively impact their family relationships. Better training for hotline staff and caseworkers, and serious penalties for making malicious false reports, will help address this serious problem. Liberty Aldrich, executive director, and Louise Feld, senior writing and policy attorney, The Children’s Law Center
