The wheelchair liberation front
Brooklyn: As a woman living with a disability who uses a motorized chair, I can say: Traveling can be a nightmare (“Accessibility is a necessity for physically disabled travelers,” Daily Views, Oct. 25)! If you want a real challenge come to downtown Brooklyn. Atlantic Ave. is shamefully backward. In Brooklyn Heights, one of the city’s most exclusive neighborhoods, many streets lack proper curb cuts to allow the disabled to get from the gutter to the sidewalk safely. I’ve had to ride in the bicycle lane in traffic in order to shop for basic necessities. It’s ridiculous!
It’s disgraceful how many boutiques, restaurants, bars, cafes and other services are not made to be compliant with federal accessibility laws. New businesses in many of Brooklyn’s gentrified areas don’t give any consideration to the needs of disabled. Wheelchair users are treated by many local businesses as interlopers, nuisances — an afterthought if they care at all to have us as consumers. I guess they don’t need our business. I personally boycott businesses that don’t accommodate the disabled.
And it’s not just private businesses. I’ve had to approach firemen who parked their truck to shop for groceries, policemen who stopped their patrol vehicle to get ice cream and other city agency vehicles that block curb cuts. Local politicians don’t use disability ramps and other aids, and many of them falsely see disability and aging as synonymous. Yet they want my vote come election time. I don’t think so! Not enough, if anything, is being done by the mayor, governor and other New York politicians to enforce accessibility laws. Sharona Victoria
All American
Brooklyn: I say to Colin Kaepernick and those who agree with him: I, too, don’t like racist cops, but what does that have to do with our flag? I, and millions of veterans like me, stand proud for that flag. Who am I? I’m an American. I’m a veteran. I’m white. I’m black. I’m a Jew. I’m a gentile. I’m a male. I’m a female. I believe all lives matter — black and white. Who am I? I’m all of these. More than a million have died honoring that flag. Black and white. When on your knees, pray for all those who died for your right to do so.
Jay Sonners
Stand for the lost
Breezy Point: Colin Kaepernick and Megan Rapinoe and all others who won’t stand for “The Star-Spangled Banner” are bad Americans. Did they turn on the TV to see how many people gave their lives for our flag at Ground Zero? And let’s not forget our military. They’re telling them that they lost their arms and legs and eyesight for nothing. And what about the families who had to bury heroes? Danny Kraus
Speedy delivery
Flushing: Driving over 25 mph is so great. Makes you lose your license plate. Camera please, please flash. Save my life and my cash. Gary Rofofsky
Fairy tale marriage
Howell, N.J.: Both Clintons, Bill (Slick Willie) and Hillary (the Liar), should have started their speeches with, “Once upon a time,” given their fairy tale marriage and other BS. Look in the mirror and recheck on their lives. They lie so much, even they think it’s the truth! Give us a break. Gerald F. Steakin Sr.
Gambling man
Lindenhurst, L.I.: Years ago, we went to the Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City. As luck would have it, while gambling we saw Donald Trump on the casino floor near us. That was then, this is now. Trump’s Taj Mahal went out of business and closed. Perhaps Trump’s presidential campaign will run out of luck, too. Don’t bet on him winning.
Susan and Robert Davniero
Frozen out
Fresh Meadows: Your article about Donald Trump’s plans for the first 100 days of his presidency if he gets elected omitted a point that some newspapers included in their coverage: He plans to freeze hiring for federal jobs (“I’ll sue all 12 who say I’m a pig,” Oct. 23). It’s important for your readers to know about Trump’s planned hiring freeze so that when they vote, they know that a Trump presidency would be bad for job seekers. Joan Bratkowsky
The Libertarian option
Bluffton, S.C.: The government is dominated by two political parties. The problems of today will not be diminished by sending more of the same to Washington. Let’s hire a third-party team, libertarians Gary Johnson and Bill Weld, to solve problems using liberty principles. The only way to free ourselves from the stranglehold of the monopoly is to bring in a new perspective. Govs. Johnson and Weld are competent, decent and honest statesmen. Please consider giving them a chance to tackle the problems of the nation. If we don’t like their work, we can always replace them in four years with a Republican or Democrat. Jane Kenny
Election theater
Flushing: It’s all bull. Newspapers have to fill the pages with gossip — Hillary vs. Trump! Let’s see what happens in the end.
Charles J. Lercara
Just ignore him
Yardley, Pa.: Eventually, history will show that one of the most devastating events in this country was the acknowledgment of Donald Trump. Period.
James B. Marinnie II
Pain to innocent
Chino, Calif.: Re “Parent sucker punches 7-year-old boy in school hallway” (Oct. 25): I just can’t believe this person is not arrested! How dare he hit a child? It’s caught on video and he is not in jail. I need to know whom I should contact to voice my concern about this horrible human being out when he should be locked up. Wendy Mendez
A changed mind
Springfield, Ill.: Months ago, I found Hillary Clinton boringly status quo and Donald Trump refreshing. However, upon witnessing Clinton’s compassion and graceful strength under tremendous constant fire and Trump’s lack of compassion and instant emotional reactivity, my understanding of them has dramatically changed. Careless, hasty, one-sided, overthrowing change is dangerous and counterproductive whether by extremists abroad or at home. The result is divisive upheaval that unravels years of hard work and takes many steps backward, hurting everyone. Real, beneficial change is a continuous process involving years of experience based on a compassionate vision, not a magic wand angrily waving a quick, easy fix into existence.
Michelle Sullivan
You not talkin’ to me
Bronx: The entertainment community should stop telling the American people how to vote. They have no influence at all. That goes for you, Robert De Niro. Mary Caggiano
Racism is racism
East Meadow, L.I.: Rep. Lee Zeldin was chastised for declaring that President Obama could be considered a racist because of his policies and rhetoric. One example: Many years ago, New Haven gave a test to promote the city’s firefighters. Only the top 20 candidates would be promoted. The results of the test showed there were no African-Americans on the list of the 20 successful candidates. The city immediately canceled the results. Obviously, white skin color was the reason for discarding the test results. Equally obvious is that this is racism. When the case went before the federal appeals court, the court upheld New Haven. One of the judges to vote against the white applicants was Sonia Sotomayor. Some months later, Obama promoted Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court. Shouldn’t Obama’s action be considered racism? The Supreme Court later voted to uphold the white applicants. Voting promotions with regard to skin color obviously violates the Constitution. Irving Gerber, adjunct professor emeritus, Long Island University
In the flesh
Livingston, La.: Re “Man’s death by flesh-eating in Maryland bacteria ‘like something out of a horror movie’ ” (Oct. 23): I am currently writing my Ph.D. dissertation on Vibrio vulnificus and have studied this organism for seven years. The greatest barrier to academic study and environmental surveillance of this organism is a lack of funding, resulting from strong pushback by seafood industry and tourism executives who do not want the financial fallout from educating the public on the dangers. Agencies that provide grant funding for research claim that, since only about a hundred people a year die from this infection, it isn’t worth spending the time or money to investigate. I care about what happened to Michael Funk. I wish I had better answers for his grieving spouse. I can only advise her to pressure her state lawmakers to fund critical research on vibriosis and to resist industry insiders who only seek to protect their bottom line.
Shana D. Rouyea