Readers sound off on trash pickup rules, striking workers and selective high schools
Voice of the People, New York Daily News
7 min read
The city’s rat solution is a problem for supers
Manhattan: I’m the creator of a group of NYC building superintendents and porters planning to strike on Oct. 7 (a month before City Council elections). We have a rally being planned in front of City Hall on Oct. 9 at noon to force the Council to return the hour we are supposed to toss our building’s trash out from 8 p.m. back to 4 p.m.
Superintendents and porters get out of work at 5 p.m. just like everyone else should! We have been missing dinners with our families because of this regulation, and missing out on nights out with our friends, seeing an evening movie or even going to a bar at night, or taking night classes to help improve our lives — three nights a week, 12 nights a month and 144 nights out of the year because we are being forced to go back to work — unpaid — three hours after we get off, exhausted after already working a 10-hour shift.
We have reached out to our councilmembers, who have been blaming the Department of Sanitation for this regulation. Yet Sanitation has nothing to do with this, nor is the department allowed to pass any ordinances, regulations or laws without the City Council’s approval. But our councilmembers have done nothing to reverse this nonsensical regulation that has been destroying our lives!
If you could please cover this for us we would very much appreciate it. This has uprooted our lives to the point where we are now working 14-hour days. Dominick Romeo
Legislate it
Brooklyn: Once again, New York has been thrown into chaos from extreme weather that is supercharged by our continued reliance on fossil fuels. With subways down and homes flooded throughout the city, it’s never been clearer that we need bold action from Gov. Hochul to move off fossil fuels. It’s time to get serious about transitioning to cleaner energy. For her part, Hochul should start by putting the NY-HEAT Act in her budget and committing to get it done this session. NY-HEAT will lower our utility bills and slash pollution from the state’s number one source of emissions: our buildings. Let’s get this done! Alex Beauchamp
Fighting the good fight
Manhattan: A state of emergency, life-threatening rain in New York City and we know fossil fuel emissions are making things worse, warming the atmosphere so it holds more water to flood the city, with all the economic damage that brings. It’s time to throw some bouquets to two unsung climate action heroes: Public Service Commissioner Rory Christian is fighting the good fight against business interests that want to derail the state’s climate law, and for a transition from climate-killing gas plants. Doreen Harris, president and CEO of the New York Energy Research and Development Authority, weathers more than her share of unwarranted criticism as she does her job of making sure New York meets its climate mandate through leading investment in clean energy that New Yorkers can afford. Matthew Schneck
Drive change
Manhattan: Success for the “Zero-emission mission” (Sept. 28)! The City Council just voted to get zero-emissions vehicles for New York City, transitioning our gigantic municipal fleet from dirty to clean — from police cars to sanitation trucks — by 2038. Thank you, Councilmember Keith Powers, for leading this game-changing legislation. It’s a win for all New Yorkers: reduced asthma rates, improved air quality, less climate-disrupting pollution and a huge savings in taxpayer dollars. Mayor Adams, please sign this bill and get us on the road to all the benefits it will bring. Christopher DeStefano
Political winds
New Haven, Conn.: I remember the bad times in New York City in the 1970s-’80s, when it finally got so bad that liberals voted for a Republican by the name of Rudy Giuliani. In a few short years, he transformed the city and made it the safest big city in the country. Then what happens? The liberals go back to a Democrat like Bill de Blasio and now Mayor Adams, and what’s happening? The city is heading back to the dark days. Mike Savage wrote a book titled “Liberalism Is a Mental Disorder” after seeing what’s happening. He’s right. Robert Mele
Solidarity in action
Corona: Transport Workers Union retirees, the organization they represent and the people who make their mission possible prove how successful we can be when we put people above profits. They are showing us the true meaning of unionism. They are striving to work towards a more perfect union in their own areas. They have had to decipher between who is a friend or foe. We need people who push corruption to the side in Congress, New York state, NYC and in the MTA, and good people in the union internationals and in the Municipal Labor Committee. The UAW had to wait for judges and prosecutors with ethics to end corruption. It waited 75 years for this to happen. They’re fighting a good fight, and it’s commendable. They put “We the People” back in effect, at least temporarily. Celso Garcia
Wage lag
Lackawaxen, Pa.: Voicer Josh Greenberger believes the United Auto Workers strike is due to “Biden’s inflationary policies.” Without questioning the Voicer’s premise that the president’s policies are inflationary, an historical explanation for the union’s dissatisfaction might be considered: A cousin and her husband moved from Pennsylvania to Flint, Mich., in the early 1960s, after he got an assembly line job there. About 50 years ago, he was earning about $200 per week. He is long-retired to Florida, but his position, under average inflation, likely would have paid about $70,000 a year today. It seems probable that the fact that auto workers’ wages fall short of that figure explains why the current economy “no longer allows some of them to make ends meet.” John A. MacKinnon
Get it together
Brooklyn: We have high inflation, more illegal migrants coming into the country than any time in the past 10 years, crime out of control in the major cities in the U.S., and the only thing Congress can address quickly and agree on almost unanimously is whether Sen. John Fetterman should wear big-boy pants on the Senate floor! We are doomed! Lori Rudolph
Free of consequences
West Islip, L.I.: It is unbelievable that congressional members would continue to be paid during a government shutdown. I’m sure you will receive many comments about this. Mary Viola
Must retire
Breezy Point: I have two words that would help fix the mess that we call the government, both federal and local: term limits! Pat Campbell
Let the woman speak
Rural Retreat, Va.: As the men in the Republican race threaten to kill opponents, Nikki Haley is standing out as the adult in the room. We all need to prepare for the event that Donald Trump and Joe Biden may not make it to the ballot. No Dems are standing up to debate each other and it’s late to show Kamala Harris’ strengths. I’m leaning toward Haley to be a voice of common sense. Her stance on reproductive freedoms belonging to the states is common sense. Let’s give her a town hall so we can get to know her. Kathleen Cobbs
RIP
Jamaica: Sen. Dianne Feinstein will surely be missed. She will be remembered for the 1994 assault weapons ban. May she rest in peace. Deepest sympathy to all her relatives and friends. God bless her! Charlene Black
Lowered standards
Brooklyn: No more admission tests for the elite high schools? Deserving students who worked hard and achieved academic success shall now be denied entrance. These schools will now turn into ordinary ones, with students roaming the halls as discipline collapses. Watch veteran teachers from these schools retire en masse, as they are not used to severe discipline problems. We shall now see a further decline in our public schools. There is absolutely no reason to lower standards to placate students who don’t belong there to begin with. Ed Greenspan
‘Poop’ Wilson
Staten Island: It finally dawned on me why the New York Jets gave their quarterback, Zach Wilson, a jersey with the # 2 on it: That’s exactly how he plays. The Jets need to get real and trade Wilson or his net worth will be less than what Rudy Giuliani has in his bank account. Dennis Pascale
