Better Location
To the Editor:
In response to “Neighbors Won’t See the Light of New Cancer Center” (Jan. 26), I must speak up for my building (440 E. 62nd St.) and the community of the Upper East Side. Your account of the meeting was different than what I witnessed and missed or dismissed the most important points. Those points are: Read more
Rent Misdirection
To the Editor:
After reading about the Harmon family’s “plight” regarding rent-regulated tenants (“Landlord Supreme Power on Rent,” Dec. 15) and Harmon’s legal efforts to challenge rent regulations, I feel that I have to respond.
I am the president of the block association where the Harmons reside and know them as I knew Harmon’s parents when they lived here decades ago. Read more
Garbage Equality
To the Editor:
Right now, about three-quarters of all of the waste that New Yorkers create goes to the South Bronx, Williamsburg-Greenpoint, and Jamaica, Queens. Even if they are less densely populated, these communities have kids, elders and other vulnerable populations and they get stuck with a far greater amount of the city’s waste (not to mention other burdens) than the East 91st Street MTS would handle. It is fundamentally unfair to put the burden on these communities because they happen to be less densely populated. There is no way to eliminate human exposure to the environmental impacts of managing waste; wherever we send it in the city it will affect people—people on truck routes and people near the facilities.
That said, the MTS system will significantly reduce those impacts over the near future. It would be great if folks could focus their energy on long-term solutions that would reduce the impact for everyone, like reducing the waste stream and improving upon the city’s woeful 15 percent recycling rate.
It is worth mentioning that the trucks going to this MTS are collection trucks picking up garbage generated in and around the UES. Eliminating the MTS will not eliminate the need for these trucks.
Gavin Kearney
Manhattan
Letters have been edited for clarity, style and brevity.
Subway Noise Too Much
To the Editor:
I had to give up my apartment on 96th Street and 2nd Avenue due to the constant noise. (“Pounding Away: Is Second Avenue the Noisiest Street on the Upper East Side?,” Dec.15) After three years of constant invasion by sound, vibration and exhaust, we gave up the neighborhood we loved and moved elsewhere. It was truly a sad day. The Second Avenue Subway is a much-needed addition to the city, but the people responsible have no desire to plan their work around residents. They will bend to the orders of the DOT, making certain transient cars are impacted only as much as necessary, but little concern goes into minimizing the long-term impact on those who call the area home.
Mark Lyon
Manhattan
Sorry for the “Inconvenience”
To the Editor:
Regarding an “Open Letter to OWS” (Nov. 24), I guess Mrs. Merkl has forgotten that real change is not easy, that it’s messy and that sometimes people are unintentionally hurt, yes, and even inconvenienced along the way.
Read more
Voice for the Voiceless
To the Editor:
Thanksgiving is almost here and it’s time to give thanks to community people and writers for sharing their talents. Bette Dewing is one of those people whose column I’ve read for years because, as one friend put it, “She writes about issues that concern me and my neighborhood.”
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Celebrity Sham
To the Editor:
“Protesters Hit Wall Street Where It Lives” (Oct. 12) made me wonder if anyone noticed the irony that many of the celebrity visitors to the Occupy Wall Street protest, such as Kanye West and Russell Simmons, are multimillionaires. Democratic Congressional minority leader Nancy Pelosi (personal net worth: $35 million), who supports the protest, has raised millions of dollars in campaign contributions over recent years from the same crowd. They are all part of the 1 percent of America who Wall Street protesters claim are not paying their fair share of taxes that the other 99 percent of America contribute.
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Chopper Danger
To the Editor:
The Helicopter Noise Coalition of NYC has called for a ban on nonemergency helicopters from city land and waterways since 1996 (“Chopper Madness,” Oct. 13), due to concerns about safety, noise, health, air pollution and national security. In 2000, New York City had the most nonmilitary helicopter traffic of any place on earth. These flights imperil civilized life and must end.
This recent crash illustrates the dangers we face. It is not only a matter of death, injury and property damage from known crashes. The countless near misses and undocumented emergency landings compound the threat exponentially. Pilot error, mechanical difficulty, the inability to steer a damaged helicopter, our small heliports surrounded by hazards—all of these reflect the magnitude of the problem. It is only a matter of time until a helicopter crashes into a building, highway or ferry. We cannot afford to wait.
Read more
Broken System
To the Editor:
I’m extremely disappointed in the City Council, particularly Christine Quinn and (my UES representative) Jessica Lappin (“Who Will Save Them?” Sept. 22) for fast-tracking the bill that will excuse the city of its obligation to build desperately needed animal shelters in both the Bronx and Queens. As Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal said, “This might increase the number of staff people, but there will be no room. This is sentencing thousands of animals to death by not following up with building new shelters.”
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No Police
To the Editor:
On Friday evening, Sept. 16, I was walking home from dinner on Amsterdam Avenue with a friend. It was about 9:45 p.m. As I passed the church on West 96th Street between Amsterdam and Broadway, I saw an abandoned black wheeled suitcase set against the railings. There was nothing else and no one nearby.
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