To fix public transit, privatize it

Bronx: Our political leaders are inept when it comes to running systems and programs such as transportation and housing and really anything else of importance. They have demonstrated that their expertise lies only in the minutiae of politics and, of course, prime amongst this is getting reelected. A past example of this was Gov. Cuomo as HUD secretary, when his policies effectively precipitated the mortgage default crisis that sent this country spiraling into a full-scale financial crisis.

Very simply, the city and state should triple net lease the subway and bus systems to private contractor lessee(s). As security for their integrity and performance in the operation and repair of the respective transportation systems, they would be required to take out large scale performance and surety bonds. The city and state could then at the expense of such lessee(s) hire independent auditors to constantly monitor such lessee(s) and in the event of a dispute between the parties which cannot be resolved, submit it to speedy mediation or arbitration.

Jeffrey Cohen

MTA, look in the mirror

Wantagh, L.I.: People are neglecting to understand the big reasons for the MTA’s cluttered state: the top tier of management. They make ridiculously high salaries, and half these jobs are made up. I started 25 years ago as a NYC bus operator. In the depot we used to have two managers; today there are four. Nepotism is rampant in the Transit Authority. Second problem, the MTA board. Put actual people on the board who have ridden buses and trains. Transit workers or retirees on the board who were train/bus operators, conductors, station agents, etc. We’re the ones in the trenches hearing the complaints, going to management and trying to get them corrected to no avail. Until the MTA looks themselves in the mirror and admits they are the problem, nothing will get fixed

Peter Brasile

It’s not about you, Bill!

Astoria: Mayor de Blasio will only fund projects close to his own heart but thumbs his nose at subway upgrades and maintenance. I suggest he takes $2.5 billion for the proposed Brooklyn-Queens Connector which will serve only a chosen few and put that towards much needed upgrades, expansion and maintenance of the NYC subway, which serves everyone. The needs of the many outweigh the personally driven ambitions of one.

Paul Valentini

What should we call them?

Abilene, Tex.: My heart goes out to those people (“Migrant horror,” July 24) but please don’t call them immigrants. An immigrant comes through a port of entry and has the proper documents to enter the U.S. An “illegal” immigrant is violating federal law and paying a smuggler $5,500 to illegally enter the U.S. My great great grandparents were immigrants, not illegal ones. If you are going to enforce federal law, it must be all laws, you can’ t pick and choose the ones you like.

Russell Garley

Immigration, a prickly subject

Jacksonville: To ill-minded Voicer George De Beir: You sir, your brain and way of thinking should be declared illegal! For your information, a human being cannot be classified as “illegal.” If someone breathes air and has a pumping heart, then he or she is a person born and living on wonderful planet Earth. If they don’t possess required legal documents then they are “undocumented,” not illegal! Maybe you, Mr. De Beir, should leave your cave, go back to school, and study vocabulary, which you obviously failed!

Carl Cruz-Hafner

Schooling needed for NYPD

Jamaica: Officers have been doing this for years (“Queens man says NYPD cops planted drugs in his home in suit,” July 24). As a resident of South Jamaica who is from the area Roosevelt McCoy is from, I see it all the time. However, the cries of foul by area residents fall on deaf ears. The NYPD takes the attitude that everyone in this area are criminals. In the case of McCoy, if it was not for the video tape from the local restaurant, he would have been convicted of a crime he did not commit. My question is why do the city and NYPD take so long to convict a cop of wrongdoing, but will railroad an innocent person in the bat of an eye? Something is seriously wrong with this system! Once an officer is found committing perjury, falsifying documents and planting drugs on suspects, he/she should be terminated and charged as a citizen would be charged. The double standard is horrible and provokes a community-wide hatred for all police officers, good or bad!

Yvette Simmons

The big Apple is getting bigger

New Rochelle, N.Y.: What is missing from the Noam Bramson and Seth Pinsky recent article in the Daily News (“The suburbs will save the city,” July 20)? First of all, they do not cite their sources for New York City’s population growth from 2010 to 2014. Maybe it is only an estimate. Similarly, the population declines for 18 to 34 year olds need also to cite a source. The dispute with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development was settled in favor of Westchester County’s housing plan and development. The most puzzling part of the article is the reference to a joint venture between RXR Realty and Renaissance downtown which had separated before this article was published. Residents of New Rochelle are tired of half-truths, but they know their city government has it own secret agenda.

Peggy Godfrey

Skin color causes grumble

Brooklyn: To Voicer Jonathan Solomon: President Obama served for two terms, the maximum that any President can serve. President Trump wasn’t running against Obama, he ran against Hillary Clinton who is white! Clifford Zeman

Fingers crossed

Wyncote, Pa.: Re “New U.S. Navy aircraft carrier sets sail with no urinals” (July 24): Hopefully President Trump can and will be able to reverse this. Obama continuously attempted to use the military as a tool for social engineering, pretending there is no difference between the sexes. Trump should discontinue this.

David Lachman

Heartless, thick-skinned kids

Bronx: A group of teenagers proceed to film a young man who is drowning in a pond (“Teens caught on video taunting disabled Florida man as he drowned could face charges,” July 22) and instead of calling for help, they laugh, curse at him and watch him struggle helplessly as he loses his life. Then, they blame him for being there in the first place. How can young men be so insensitive to the plight of another human being. I can’t imagine what kind of parents raised these kids.

Edwin Jiménez

New York City, a safe haven?

South Hempstead, L.I.: Another day, another murder, but the media still accepts without questioning de Blasio’s assertion that the city is safer than ever. Why?

Michael Quane

Deceitful family and party

Clifton, N.J.: I find it rather suspicious that Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort and Don Trump Jr. can testify in closed session and not under oath. The people of this country have been subjected to a great deal of chaos in many areas with this administration. Why are these three dictating terms? They need to be pressured to answer questions. This administration is always trying to get away with anything they can. It’s really about time American citizens start to speak louder and in greater numbers about how Trump and his lackeys are treating us. David Feinberg

It’s the Arab hatred, stupid

AP Deerfield Beach, Fla.: This is another iteration of the 100-year old “Al-Aqsa libel.” (“UN urges resolution of Jerusalem shrine crisis,” July 24) Its function was/is to distract the peasants’ attention away from their own corrupt and inept leadership and to focus blame for their miserable lives on the Jews. In Europe, the libel was that Jews used the blood of Christian children for ritual purposes. In Islam, the libel is that Jews are desecrating Al-Aqsa Mosque and planning to destroy it. This round of the libel is being propelled by Qatar, Turkey, Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. In both libels, the goal was/is incitement to kill Jews. After rejecting the UN partition plan in 1948, Arab nations attacked Israel in a war clearly declared as genocide. Israel survived. Egypt and Jordan had no interest in creating a Palestinian Arab state, yet the Arabs attacked again in 1967. Israel wanted peace. It magnanimously gave the Jordanian government control over the Mount where the Dome and the Mosque stood. Jerusalem is holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims. Arab perfidy and terror must be denounced. Len Bennett