Cuomo sells out the yellow cabs

Flushing: Gov. Cuomo now says, “You can’t have it both ways: You can’t say I charged a million dollars for a (yellow cab) medallion and I sold a franchise to work in the city and now I have an unlimited number of Ubers that have the same franchise and paid nothing” (“Andy OK with curb on Ubers,” April 3). Governor, we taxi driver/medallion owners said exactly those words in vain at every rally and demonstration for about four years. What drove you to finally say it? Are you trying to calm us down, or is it just because you’re up for reelection this year?

And governor, with all due respect, why are treating us as cash cows? Don’t we contribute enough to the state and city coffers already? Don’t you remember that we are already collecting from New Yorkers a 50-cent surcharge per trip to help the MTA?

Governor, if you were really serious, you would take a different approach. Instead of standing by while 130,000 Uber and other vehicles flooded our streets to run a parallel and largely unregulated free franchise taxi service in the city, creating traffic congestion, chaos and lost revenues, you would have urged the city to sell another 5,000 taxi medallions over the next 10 years. That would have added billions in revenues for the city — without giving up the benefits of the new e-hail technology.

Now, it’s too late and the damage is done. Remember, picking up street hails is supposed to be an exclusive right of taxi medallions, protected by local and state laws. Let’s come to our senses!

Dan Nitescu

Change the damn laws

Manhattan: Chris Matthews quoted part of a speech given by Robert Kennedy 50 years ago which referenced the need for gun control and why those with criminal records, the mentally unstable and children should never be given the opportunity to procure a firearm (“After King’s killing, a Kennedy mettle,” Op-Ed, April 4). Here it is, a half century later and, sadly, we are still at a stalemate. The country has advanced very little to effect much-needed changes in gun laws, and my optimism is dwindling that we are ever going to see the laws change so that guns are kept out of the wrong hands and our families, students and neighbors are kept safe from harm. Our politicians’ thoughts and prayers are meaningless and of little consolation. It’s time they take a real stand and can start by growing a pair, emptying their pockets of the lobbyists and pass the legislation necessary to protect us from this senseless violence. How many more children have to die?

Patricia N. Ravel

Look at the facts

Fall River, Mass.: I was stunned by the disingenuous manner in which Leonard Greene tried to exploit the fatal police shooting of a black man in Crown Heights in order to score points with the Black Lives Matters crowd (“We still must shout out that black lives matter,” column, April 5). It wasn’t just police who thought Saheed Vassell was waving a weapon, which turned out to be a piece of pipe twisted to resemble a gun that he aimed straight at cops. There were three 911 calls. Greene also says it “boggles” his mind police in South Carolina were able in 2015 to safely apprehend white mass murderer Dylann Roof, who slaughtered nine black people in a church. The fact is Roof did not confront police and surrendered without a fight the next day.

Charles Winokoor

Now this is racism

Mineola, L.I.: The Daily News loves to fan the flames of racism for financial gain (“NYPD cops fatally shoot bipolar black man holding metal pipe police mistake for gun on Brooklyn street,” April 5). There is only one reason to include the man’s race in the headline — to imply that was the reason he was shot. Now, when some maniac ambushes and kills police officers as “revenge,” The News will call those cops heroes and cry crocodile tears for their families, just like they did a few years ago when Detectives Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos were executed at the height of an anti-cop climate the paper helped create. Gary Malone

Menace on the streets

Manhattan: Let me get this straight, because I’ve never seen a cop not change their story. Because there was a fear this potential shooter in Brooklyn might shoot off bullets in a very crowded city and hurt or kill someone — even though three 911 calls said he was not shooting any bullets, so that’s settled — the NYPD instead said “since that’s such a serious risk, we should shoot off a hail of bullets in a very crowded city!” In other words, let’s risk many lives before he does. This reminds me of how police always told us that drugs would ruin our lives, so the policeman kindly ruins our lives instead, by sending drug users to prison! Clever circular logic, officer! Kalan Silver

A necessary response

Middle Village: When you knowingly fashion an object to look just like a gun, then point and aim it to terrorize people, and those alarmed people call the authorities and they respond to do their dangerous jobs, they will do just that — protect and save lives. Saheed Vassell knew exactly what he was doing, so instead of claiming injustice, why not find a way to fix what’s really broken and not play the blame game?

Michelle Cascone

Bravo, Tony

Brooklyn: Great editorial by the Daily News pointing out the wasteful and corrupting bonus payments to senators serving in leadership roles (“Winners and lulu-sers,” April 5). You should also mention that state Sen. Tony Avella from Queens refuses to accept them. Keep being honest, Tony. We New Yorkers really need that. Joe Baxter

Don’t let the door hit ya

Garwood, N.J.: To Voicer Kyle Meade and to a lesser extent Mary Bresio. I am tired of you people who object to liking the Daily News because they state the truth. Stop threatening us and leave the paper if you don’t like it. There are many others that do like it. Just go away, there are many of us who love the paper. Trump did say that word you did not like. By the way, you people are supposed to be the Moral Majority. Did that all fly out the window when Trump won the election (which remains dubious)? Sounds like a bunch of hypocrites, sounding off and wasting newspaper print.

Joan Tully

Wear the X proudly, Malcolm

Fishkill, N.Y.: A name is just a name, but it’s the young namesake of the civil rights hero who makes it special in the case of Malcolm X. He has all the rights in the world to put his name on the back of his sweater if for no other reason than that’s his given name at birth. It is his birthright and no one person, group or establishment should be allowed to dictate to anyone what you can or can’t put on a sweater. I am sure that no other student would have this problem. If his name were Christopher Colombo, would they say that name is attached to the Cosa Nostra? Let’s get real: Young Malcolm has the rights to the name just as much as he has the right to breathe. If he were my son, I would be the one putting the name on the sweater.

Benny Rosario

Stamp of disapproval

Oyster Bay, L.I.: Voicer Kenneth Kucinkas couldn’t be more wrong. The USPS is not subsidized by the federal government. Fiscally, it operates independently. And it is not first-class mail that the Postal Service makes its revenue on, but bulk mail. The ANTHONY DELMUNDO/DAILY NEWS biggest problem monetarily is the asinine provision enacted by Congress that insists the post office prefund all health care for the next 75 years for employees, many who have not even been born yet. The reason? Congress wants to privatize mail delivery for lobbyists. We know whom our representatives really work for and how that works out for the American people. Clay Carroll

Hail to the chief

Freeport, L.I.: If President Harry Truman were around today, he might say, regarding Sen. Chuck Schumer, “The schmuck stops here.” Those people who criticize President Trump should kiss his butt instead of kicking it.

Richie Ornstein

Spell it out

Effort, Pa.: Hey Voicer Thurston Onei, you also can’t spell “strumpet” without Trump, if you want to play spelling games.

Kathleen Slattery

Odell it like it is

Lawrence, L.I.: I have little doubt that the Giants and Odell Beckham will eventually reach a contractual agreement that is beneficial to all parties. When that happens, Pat Leonard will need some other nonstory to write about. Why is he so obsessed with this? The Giants are not about to trade their best player for anything less than a boatload of high draft picks. Other teams will be wary of a player coming off a serious injury. It’s not going to happen.

Mark Slater