Show-shocked Obsolete ideology Clogged arteries
Farmingdale, L.I.: There were only two things missing at this year’s Grammys: class and dignity! Richard Banks
Serious charge
Brooklyn: Just when you thought you have heard it all about the MTA, now you have managers robbing taxpayers blind and those who are supposed to go after them turning a blind eye (“Charge-card slap aimed at MTA honcho,” March 18)! Inspector General Carolyn Pokorny needs to resign immediately. And Sarah Feinberg should follow her out the door! Angelo Cucuzza Jr.
Valhalla, N.Y.: Aside from being a rather outdated and awkward metaphor, the “Democratic smithies” idea expressed by Voicer Paul Bloustein omits an important point. Big money from organized labor like teachers unions fund the Democratic coffers because Democrats advocate for the working man and his plight. On the other hand, Republicans, especially of recent vintage, support the agenda of the richest Americans. They are still married to the idea that the altruism of these One Percenters will let the riches trickle down to the workers whose efforts they depend on. This paradigm doesn’t work in contemporary economics. Nothing trickles down! Though corporations show record profits, much of that gets swallowed up by option buybacks and stockholder payouts. That leaves precious little for the stiff who works his or her butt off every day to make that possible.
Frank J. Cifali
Middle Village: The re-engineering and re-imagining of the street plan has been a disaster. I live in Queens but had to drive into Manhattan to pick someone up at NYU Langone Hospital to take home to the Upper East Side. After I dropped my friend off at 82nd St., I wanted to drive home to Queens via the Queensboro Bridge. Second Ave. is un-driveable because it is basically down to two lanes because of the bike lane, cars parked off the curb and double-parked cars and trucks. I detoured to Lexington thinking it would be better, but that was even worse because of the permanent bus lane and double-parked cars and trucks.
Lexington is now basically down to one lane of downtown traffic.
Paul Camilleri