Time to get out of town, Carmelo
Dumont, N.J.: In a me-first world, Carmelo Anthony stands out as a selfish and overpaid athlete. His decision to opt out of his contract is addition by subtraction. Robert Sherman
Staten Island: I totally agree with Voicer Helen E. Fitzsimmons about the great late ’60s and early ’70s Knicks — but disagree when she puts today’s Lakers on the same low level as Carmelo Anthony, who has never even made it to an NBA championship. I don’t think Kobe and Magic, with their five rings each, would agree with her, either. Yes, both players are idolized out here, as are Jerry West and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, but Anthony would not fit it with Bryant demanding he go hard on every play.
Anthony Liverano
Williston Park, L.I.: If George Steinbrenner were alive today, the last thing we would be talking about in late June is Carmelo Anthony.
Bill Viggiano
Wrong side of the gate
Staten Island: As a retired captain who served the Department of Correction for 21 years, I am appalled that any officer would bring drugs and weapons into a jail setting (“Rikers out of control,” June 24). They are endangering the lives of other officers as well as the inmates. These guards — I use that term because they don’t deserve to be called officers — are a disgrace. They have given a black eye to the men and women who serve with pride and dignity and put their lives on the line every day when stepping into these prisons where they are exposed to diseases, violence and the mentally unstable and deal with that segment of society that the public would never even think about going near or talking to. The guards who broke the law will find themselves on the other side of the gate and rightfully so.
Carol C. Sarlo
Rockaways betrayed
Rockaway Park: Where is the government accountability? Where does the extra money go from not staffing 111 beaches in the Rockaways? Why do we still not have our full staff of lifeguards? This past Friday, 29 beaches in Rockaway were open to swimming. 111 were closed for some pathetic and dishonest excuse. Please Mr. Mayor, investigate and audit the Parks Department. Why will anyone come to our restaurants or shops if our beaches are closed to swimming? Are we being set up to fail? More than a month after Memorial Day weekend without a full staff of lifeguards is unacceptable. Our beach is our protection, recreation and a major source of revenue. Please help us.
Philip McManus
No masterpiece
Manhattan: “The Death of Klinghoffer” spits in the eye of the Jewish people. As Leon Klinghof- fer’s daughters stated, “The juxtaposition of the fight of the Palestinian people with the murder of an innocent, disabled American Jew is both historically naive and appalling.” To truly understand the terrorists who murdered him is to recognize their anti-Semitism and their nihilism. Very few critics agree with the Met’s contention that the opera is “a musical masterpiece,” and the offense it causes far outweighs its artistic merit. There are other operas more worthy of staging at the Met.
Barbara Marcus
Homecoming of sorts
Staten Island: I’m just wondering why this young man Bowe Bergdahl who has been through so much has not yet communicated with his parents even as he has returned to the U.S. after five years in captivity and is now in an outpatient facility. Does anyone besides me find this part of the story odd? I understand the “reintegration” aspect of his release and return to civilian life, but we’re talking about him speaking with his parents. I don’t get it.
Gwenn Long
Canadian kindness and cruelty
Victoria, British Columbia: It’s a sad day when a good Samaritan faces life in prison because a kind deed resulted in an awful, unforeseen, and unintended accident. Emma Czornobaj, the Canadian woman who stopped to rescue ducklings who were crossing a dangerous highway, clearly was motivated by compassion and the urgency of the situation. Would she be punished just as harshly if she had stopped to help a child instead of ducklings? Canada’s justice system is failing if it treats well-meaning citizens like hardened criminals.
Emily Lavender
We’ll drink to this
Bayside: Since we have the Tea Party, I was going to start the Beer Party, where we would sit around and do nothing . But then I was told that we already have two parties that already do that.
Bill Caramico
Get rich to this
Brooklyn: I am so tired hearing about income equality from politicians. Since when is it cool to be broke? These phonies probably don’t even know what it’s like to struggle for very long or at all. I know what it is to struggle and it sure ain’t cool to be broke. I didn’t like it, so I worked hard to change it and I did. I don’t look up to anyone who doesn’t help themselves. So you politicians who think you will get votes because you’re just like most people, you won’t get my vote. I don’t want someone leading me who is like everyone else. I want someone better.
Shanequa Johnson
The Eva challenge
Brooklyn: Voicer Joseph Verilla nails it. If Evil, err, Eva Moskowitz is the great educator she claims to be (and pays herself as, at $475,000, which is more than the President takes in), Mayor de Blasio should challenge her in front of the whole world. Give her two of the lowest-performing public schools and one year to turn them around. If not, she should be jailed for fraud.
Trivial pursuit
Jack Dickenson
Bronx: Here is a trivia question: Who is the longest-serving Con- gressman of Puerto Rican descent? Answer: Charlie Rangel. For reasons that only Rangel knows, that fact has never been mentioned in all his years in Congress. It was strange to see him in the Bronx during his primary contest. Who was he looking for? But what do I know; I’m not a politician.
Virgilio Carballo
The Wi-Fi lie won’t fly
Staten Island: Talk about bait and switch! Gov. Cuomo has approved a plan for New York airport travelers to get free WiFi. . . for 30 minutes. After that, they will be charged $7.95 a day or $9.95 a month. Now, make sure you’re at the airport two hours in advance for security — meaning that those of us who are waiting around for over an hour and would never dream of paying for Wi-Fi might be tricked into paying for it if we don’t watch the clock! Just make it no-strings free like the JetBlue terminal at JFK does. Thanks for nothing!
Joseph Daly
Queens blacktop war zone
Woodhaven: About three weeks ago, the city removed the black top from the streets here — which are now worse than ever. The cars and trucks riding on these stripped streets have caused very deep pot holes, and the manhole covers are all above the road. So drivers must watch the road itself for deep holes at the same time they watch other cars, people crossing the streets, traffic lights and stop signs. I now know how our soldiers must feel driving in war-torn countries. I don’t understand why the city would wait so long to finish the repairs on the roads they already stripped of the blacktop before stripping more roads.
Thomas P. Schineller
Overdue
Ozone Park: As a school cleaner, I have been working more than 7 years without a contract. The cost of living has gone up but our salary has not. After a brutal winter getting the schools clean, warm and safe for students and staff I think we are long overdue for a raise. Mayor de Blasio, please get together with SEIU 32BJ and work on a new deal for us. We have waited patiently long enough.
Russell Como
Service charges
Moorseville, N.C.: Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld should be serving time for the way they “served” this nation.
Herb Stark
300-million-part harmony
Manhattan: I am working on getting our entire country to sing America the Beautiful all at the same time on the Fourth of July. We pick a top singer — say, Celine Dion — and we set a time and simulcast that performance across the entire country. What a beautiful thing it would be — the first time in history that our entire country did something together. Let the rest of the world hear us. Imagine everyone in the entire country singing at the same time. Let’s do this.
Kelly Larson