More bikes bring more danger

Brooklyn: Once again Paul Steely White (with Ken Podziba) mansplains the transportation needs of New York City (“The two-wheeled transit fix,” July 10). White, a lobbyist, whose Transportation Alternatives is financially backed by groups with an agenda to eliminate private ownership of cars in the city, once again muses about the perfection of the bicycle as a mode of transport. These musings portray White as a childish zealot with no experience in transportation, city infrastructure, emergency response or management. White refuses to acknowledge even the most basic questions of large-city transport. What happens to the elderly, the infirm and those with special needs, not to mention the small business owner who needs a car for his or her livelihood? How are their transportation needs met?

Protected bike lanes change the geometry of the street. They pull parked cars further into the street, thereby putting responding Fire Department apparatus further into the street, further away from hydrants and further away from buildings. When the Fire Department raises ladders, they can no longer raise them as high as was once possible, leaving people at their windows. Why has this not been publicly addressed? How can people make informed decisions about street restructuring with little or no information? The narrowing of traffic lanes serves to bottleneck traffic, slowing emergency response to a crawl. That is referred to by New Yorkers as gridlock. It is damaging to emergency response and transportation flow, and unacceptable to any city, but especially a city with the population the size of New York’s.

Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg’s response to this is to hire deputies from a pool of millennials with little life experience and even less work experience. When these individuals are asked pointed, relevant questions, they assume the posture of a 6-year-old whose hand was caught in the cookie jar. Trottenberg is fond of the statement “culture eats policy for breakfast.” What does culture do with all of the bodies and chaos it leaves in its wake? Marie McCormick

Immigration straight talk

Secaucus: We as Americans are tired of the B.S. that is being spewed about immigration. My great uncle came from Italy in 1890; he came here legally. He became a citizen in 1900. He fulfilled the American Dream. My grandparents came here legally. They assimilated and realized the American Dream. They were proud to wave the American flag and pledge allegiance to this great country of ours. Now to the point. Trump is not against immigration. He’s against illegal immigration. They come here and expect everything for free. Illegal means illegal. Get it? They are criminals and should be deported immediately. They haven’t any rights that we as citizens of this great country have. Jimmy Carter initiated a ban in 1979; Bill Clinton also did it . As did Barack Obama. It has to be done to protect us. So get over it. I’m a Democrat, but I respect the office of the President of the United States. God bless the U.S.A. Thomas Negri

AWOL de Blasio

Elmhurst: It is bad enough that Mayor de Blasio is a Red Sox fan. It is made worse by the fact that he doesn’t get why New Yorkers ring in the New Year outdoors at Times Square. But for him to make the idiotic statement quoted in “Blaz is sad police turned their backs” (July 13) — “We were all supposed to be there to respect the family in their hour of pain,” while he abandoned the family to tend to the pressing engagement of exercising his acumen in political rhetoric in Germany — makes him the most insensitive, unsupportive, hypocritical and inept mayor we have ever had. It shows him to be utterly unfit for office. He better find a job in Germany; he won’t have one for long here. I wonder if the Germans know that Warren Wilhelm Jr. changed his name so as to not be associated with Germans? His giving a speech to them about progressive protest has the same value as a speech by Benedict Arnold about fidelity.

James League

Aw, rats!

Bronx: Those new garbage cans that the city will be using to deter the rat infestation are a waste of time and money. Rats have been around since time immemorial and are a very resilient bunch. They’ll find their way in and continue their curbside buffet.

John A. Hunter

Assessing addiction

Bronx: It is very hard for a doctor to judge a patient’s pain level (“Panel calls on FDA to review safety of opioid painkillers,” July 13). But an addiction to opioids begins with the first prescription written for the patient and finally ends when the doctor decides the patient no longer needs the pain medication. All doctors need to be better informed and educated on this issue. There has to be a better system for judging how long a patient needs these drugs. Of course, there are always exceptions to the rules. I will conclude by stating it begins and ends with the doctor’s judgment!

Jane DelGado

Feel-good story

Hartsville, S.C.: Thank you so much for taking the time to recognize Aaron Tucker (“Ex-prisoner en route to job interview takes shirt off back to save man’s life,” (Op-Ed, July 14). I have no idea why he was imprisoned in the first place, but stories like this show us all that one event does not “make a man” or define someone’s life. I like to believe that people are inherently good. In today’s climate, it’s sometimes hard to remember that. Stories like this help to renew my faith. Thank you again for sharing, and if there is some way I can thank Tucker — or be kept in the loop on his progress — I’d love to do so. Becky Hill

Noses for news

Manhattan: “How cadaver dogs help investigators sniff out human remains” (July 13) was a brilliantly researched and written piece of explanatory journalism, coming to readers at the right moment. What I would also have liked to know was: What is the specific element that defines the scent of human decomposition, and are the breeds chosen and trained to detect cadavers special in some way, such as the uniquely reticulated noses or the ideal anatomy of their olfactory apparatus?

Robin Peress

Under the influence

Bronx: Re “What Candice Jackson got right: Drinking and rape are closely related on campus” (July 14): A great documentary to see is “The Hunting Ground.” Many victims have been provided a date-rape drug — under the color of alcoholic drink.

Hon. Doris M. Gonzalez

Truthful Trump?

Ridgefield, Conn.: I’m just looking back at the “Daily News” headline from June 10 — “Swear Me In.” President Trump called Comey a liar and said he’d testify, “100%!” I might have missed something since this headline. Did Trump ever come, hat in hand, to testify under oath to the Senate Intelligence Committee?

Michael Pickering

Music to her ears

Brooklyn: To Voicer Janet Piazza: There’s a radio station that only plays songs from the late 1950s, ’60s and ’70s. It’s WMTR, 1250-AM. Be prepared to be very happy and enjoy the music!

Sandy Babyak

Still more music

Whitestone: To Voicer Janet Piazza: Your music is alive and well on WFDU-FM! It’s commercial-free, with live DJs, and they even take requests. You can find SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES them at 89.1 FM from 1 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day and 24/7 at www.fdu.fm. It’s a great station, playing all the songs that are so hard to find on the air. Yes, there are other websites that play this music, and there’s satellite radio (kind of pricey), but I don’t know of any other place with the unique combination of being local, having no commercials, and giving their DJs and their listeners a voice in the play lists. Enjoy!

Dorrie Berkowitz

Judging Aaron

Shaftsbury, Vt.: The idea that Yankee right fielder Aaron Judge is the “face of baseball” is wrong. I agree he does show promise and as a rookie has had a great first half to the season, but let’s look closer. His at-bats demonstrate that he is a “mistake hitter.” He is looking for a pitch over the plate in his wheelhouse to hit. For pitchers, that is a “mistake.” When he doesn’t get his pitch, he gets frustrated and swings at bad pitches and strikes out. Case in point, the All-Star game, where he looked bad on a strike three when he reached for an outside breaking ball from Max Scherzer. He was 0-3 in the game. There have been many games where he hit a home run, but struck out three times. His wide-open batting stance makes it easy for pitchers as he gives them a huge strike zone. He’s a good rookie and that’s what he is. Comparing him to Mike Trout is way off base. After Judge is around for a while and wins a couple All-Star Game MVP like Trout, we’ll see. Tom King