A great hotel reduced to rubble
Cheltenham, England: I just visited New York and stayed in room 1519 at the Waldorf Astoria. As is well known, it has been sold to the Chinese group Anbang. It is also well known that it is an old and decaying property. However, I brought my family for the holidays in the fond belief that Hilton would see to it that guests are properly cared for, even in the last months of the iconic hotel’s many decades of service. I first stayed there in 1958.
Guests are being conned by a management squeezing the last profits from a dying old grand dame. There is no air conditioning. The vents pump out only warm air.
It seems to me that it is essential for purveyors of hotel rooms to advise potential guests that there is no air conditioning or any other facility one reasonably expects from a good hotel.
Had I known of the lack of air conditioning, I would not have booked our family of grandparents, parents and grandchildren into the Waldorf. One assumes that decent hotels provide air conditioning and surely, in the event the hotel is unable to provide it, then the onus is on the hotel to disclose this to potential guests.
This failure amounts to misleading marketing, a crime in most developed economies.
I have complained without result. One rude young lady brusquely informed me that as the hotel was built in 1931, this sort of shortcoming was to be expected. I replied that I was born in 1936, but I still brush my teeth. Stephen Mulholland
Second opinion, please
Metuchen, N.J.: Considering that President Obama thought that Hillary Clinton was the most qualified person ever to run for President, I’d take it with a very large grain of salt that Joe Biden was the finest vice president we have ever seen. Ron Perri Oakland, N.J.: To all the dopes who voted for Donald Trump in part because of the rising costs of Obamacare: Guess what the alternative is? No insurance. And guess who’s going to pick up the tab when these people lose their insurance and show up at the emergency room? Us. Just like it was before Obamacare.
Bob Shwalb
Hil of beans
Manhattan: Hillary Clinton for mayor? She is old news. She has no leadership qualities and has a bad history as an administrator in all of her government jobs. She is only out for herself and her pocketbook. She needs to retire from public life, as she is steeped in old solutions to new problems.
Nancy Barell
The honest pravda
Manhattan: Not only should Donald Trump be disqualified as President of the United States, he should also be arrested and tried for treason. It’s obvious from his comments regarding the Clinton emails and his close friendship with Vladimir Putin that he knew about Russia’s meddling in our elections. His adviser Kellyanne Conway should also be investigated and tried for treason. We cannot stand by and allow this country to be run by Vladimir Putin’s puppet. Elizabeth Salazar
One shining light
Manhattan: For the past eight years, I have constantly been delighted and amazed by First Lady Michelle Obama. I predict that her charisma, grace, hard work and bright persona will not fade but continue to be a source of hope and inspiration for many Americans. Susan Daglian
Brace yourselves
Schenectady, N.Y.: Oh my God, we are going to have a 10-year-old brat in the White House on Friday. Ron Goodman
People are people
Urbana, Ill.: When talking about people with disabilities, there is a term called “Person First Language” which emphasizes the person, not the disability. For example, saying a “mentally challenged man” is defining him as his disability. Instead, it would be more respectful to say “a man who is mentally challenged.” However, it would be even more respectful and appropriate to say “a man with an intellectual disability,” as that is the recognized diagnosis. Emily Sheridan
A cultural education
Venice: Re “A oui bit rude” (Jan. 1): I suspect writer Jeanette Settembre hasn’t spent much time in Europe. She didn’t prepare, couldn’t adjust and wound up eating tacos and spaghetti. There is no tipping in Europe in restaurants. Absolutely none. The way waiters in the U.S. treat diners is considered very rude by European standards. In Europe they are not there to introduce themselves by name, tell you what their favorite dishes are on the menu and check to see if everything is OK before you take your first bite. The apparent inattentiveness is sometimes taken as rudeness or poor service by an American, but a meal in Paris or Rome is supposed to take up the evening, so there is no rush. In Paris or Rome, a meal might take three hours. It’s your table for the night. And there is no restaurant worth eating at where you don’t need a reservation. If you can get in without a reservation, it’s just a tourist trap. Larry Gentilello
Try harder
Denton, Tex.: I was utterly offended by Jeanette Settembre’s article, as it feeds the stereotypical American sentiment that Parisians (and all French people) are rude and uninviting to all Americans. She forgets that when visiting a foreign country, you are a guest and should act accordingly. If we can manage to say “Bonjour” and “Merci,” how hard is it to learn “Je voudrais” or “Je prends” to order food and drink? In my experience, the French are quite accommodating if you at least try to speak the language, even if your “Je prends” is followed by pointing a finger at the menu item. Not quite sure what you ordered? Try it anyway — go on a gastro adventure! And classifying her boredom at the Louvre as typically American is essentially saying that Americans don’t have an appreciation of art. Thank goodness Settembre got her selfie with the Mona Lisa, though; she can share it while others oooh and ahhh at her cultural sophistication.
Carol Strimple
Consequences, consequences
Staten Island: For every action, there is a reaction when you are gentrifying Brooklyn (“Thank goodness for the new Brooklyn,” Op-Ed, Jan. 8). Young urbanites who can’t pay Manhattan prices move in, forcing others to relocate. The shifting of the community’s population effect changes to other areas. What I do object to is that most of our tax dollars are spent in these new prime locations and the remainder of the borough gets nada! Al Posecznick
What’s good for the goose . . .
Flushing: “Society has an inextricably linked obligation to deliver its punishment as objectively as possible, similarly imprisoning those guilty of similar crimes,” wrote the Daily News Editorial Board (“Judith Clark’s clemency,” Jan. 8). You continued: “The fact that Judy Clark is white, female, able to explain her conversation in elevated language, and aided by a bevy of influential friends should not work against her. But neither should it be a ticket to special mercy.” The editors’ points are well taken. Should not these same principles apply to Hillary Clinton when it comes to violating federal law by mishandling classified information, which imperiled U.S. operatives around the world?
Fred Levine
. . . is good for the gander
Bronx: Since Gov. Cuomo is letting a convicted cop killer, Judith Clark, get out of prison, why not let David Berkowitz, aka the Son of Sam, out at the same time? He has actually done more time than Clark and did not kill cops. Dan Walker
Clean your own house, gov
Delmar, N.Y.: As an advocate for children and people with disabilities, I applaud Gov. Cuomo’s decision to step forward to assist child sex abuse victims. It is critical that he also take decisive actions to stop and prevent the rampant sexual abuse of the disabled within his mental health agencies. Statistical data obtained through state Freedom of Information Law reveals staggering numbers of reported sexual assaults of people with developmental disabilities throughout New York State. Cuomo must take actions to assist and ensure justice for our most vulnerable disabled. Michael Carey
Anti-white bias
AP Keyport, N.J.: Voicer Uchena Shorey confirms what the majority of people already know: Bigotry is not dead. Her anti-white comments would be immediately and vehemently challenged by the African-American community if they had been directed toward black actors. Larry Pristavec