Mark-viverito’s ethical lapses
Woodside: I am a retired middle-management employee of a NYC agency. Annually, we were required to fill out a lengthy financial disclosure form. We were instructed to be truthful as to our financial status and whatever assets we held. We were warned that any item that was not disclosed might lead to our dismissal. Indeed, one year my form was a few days late and I had to pay a fine.
Now, the new Council speaker says she made an “unintentional mistake” relating to her ownership of a tenant-occupied building, purchased with the help of a special program of tax abatements for people having difficulty buying a building (“Speakin’ of Money,” Dec. 3).
Melissa Mark-Viverito took advantage of the program, thus keeping someone who should have been able to buy a property from getting a break. This is not a person who should be the speaker. She is not a person of integrity, but rather an unethical person who should be investigated by the IRS. Carol Terrano
Bill’s mess
Scarborough, N.Y.: That Mayor de Blasio is willing to ignore potential criminality by his hand-picked City Council speaker for the sake of political expediency is troubling indeed. He should have referred the matter immediately to the Department of Investigation and stepped aside.
Thomas Comiskey
Call the IRS
Brooklyn: Is this our new mayor’s idea of integrity? Melissa MarkViverito, for whom he has spent weeks lobbying, failed to disclose years of rental income she received and now states it was an “unintentional mistake.” Anyone who makes mistakes like that should not be speaker. In fact, she should not be on the City Council. The only reason she is now going to disclose this income is because she was caught cheating. That doesn’t change her character. You can bet she didn’t report this income to the IRS.
Adelaide Verponi
Too left
Bellerose: Hold on to your wallets, ladies and gentlemen. Wait until the new Council speaker gets rolling. Everything will be for sale — committee chairmanships, slush funds. But hey, don’t worry, it’s not like you have to report the income. Paul Dellacona
The wrong direction
Woodside: The City Council members who unanimously voted for Melissa Mark-Viverito to be speaker voted against the well-being of New York City. This woman wants to destroy businesses that have been in New York for decades. She wants to destroy education programs that have have been successful for our children. She wants to destroy the core principles that have made this city so great in the first place, long before she arrived here with a silver spoon in her mouth. Queens Democratic leader Tom Manton must be turning in his grave watching the direction our so-called leaders are taking his beloved political party.
James McDaid
A four-year mistake?
Staten Island: City Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito has lied about omitted rental income. A year is an error. I can’t swallow four years. The Council should have rejected her for this very important position. Our mayor must open his eyes to this choice. We must stop the cancer before it starts. Thomas M. Bell
Too many problems
Breezy Point: So our new mayor, a “man of the people,” supported Melissa Mark-Viverito to become Council speaker despite the fact she did not report years of rental income (shades of Tim Geithner and Charlie Rangel). According to your story, that could amount to somewhere in the $100,000 range. As Mark-Viverito also refused to pledge allegiance to this great nation, I would hope Big Bill reconsiders his choice.
Joseph Leahy
GWB backup
Laguna Beach, Calif.: A bridge to nowhere? Hardly. The closing of lanes on the George Washington Bridge leads straight to Gov. Chris Christie’s office.
Denny Freidenrich
Sorry he’s gone
Forest Hills: Open letter to Mayor Michael Bloomberg: Thank you for using your position and, at times, your money, to walk the walk regarding your desire to make our lives better. You have made your vision a reality in so many areas, including crime, terrorism, health, housing, education, parks, jobs and tourism. Your 12 years have made New York a better place than it was under previous mayors going back 50 years, when I first came to this city. Joan Lane
Happy he’s gone
Floral Park: When I was a little girl, my grandfather used to sing me a song that started, “Good night, ladies.” I would like to sing that song for our mayor: Good night, Bloomberg. Good night, Bloomberg. Good night, Bloomberg, we hate to see you go. Not! Aimee Kinahan
Spiritual message
Queens Village: There’s something that exists beyond the paranoia of everyday life. Those of us who recognize it, revel in it. It gives meaning to the very core of our being, and allows for the hope of a greater meaning to our existence. To me, it has come slowly with the passage of age. It gives hope for the spiritual future of humanity. Angelo Buonocore
Jews, then and now
Bayside: Since Jesus was born of Jewish parents, why is it that Jewish people everywhere do not celebrate Christmas? This I have wondered all of my life.
Sarah Alboher
Overkill on cancer warnings
Spring Lake, N.J.: The public service ads appearing on TV showing very graphic images of people in the late stages of lung cancer, dying due to smoking, are horrific, visually disturbing, misguided and, I believe, ineffec- tive. Unless they have lived under a rock the past 50 years, people who continue to smoke are very much aware of what lies ahead. The rest of us who do not smoke, or have quit, hardly need to be subjected to and blindsided by these disturbing ads, especially while in the middle of watching our favorite TV programs.
Barbara Barnett
Uncaring vandal
Bronx: To the lowlife who keyed my car in the parking lot of the Tremont Diner on the morning of Dec. 28: Now that you’ve had your thrill, I just want you to know that karma is a bitch and will come back to get you. How dare you destroy other people’s property? Carmela Viggiani
Make it a landmark
Staten Island: Save Mount Manresa. We don’t want 300 townhouses. We want the beautiful scenery to stay, and the statues to be put back where they were. We don’t want more traffic. Keep our trees. Let’s all save Mount Manresa.
Christina Wilber
Ready to serve
Bronx: I’m a New York City fireman currently working in Engine 14. I’ve been with the department for 10 years. Thank you for considering my official interest in becoming the next FDNY commissioner. The guys think I’m crazy for even thinking of being commissioner. I have no shame in trying. There have been a few firefighters who became fire commissioner in FDNY history.
Robenson Aupont
Cheating the system I
Piermont, N.Y.: Can anyone possibly be surprised at the abuses of the disability system in the city (“9/11 scam scum,” Jan. 8)? It has been going on for years, and everyone turned a blind eye. These cops and fireman are a disgrace to their uniforms. They took advantage of the system that’s long been broken.
Harold Ollweiler
Cheating the system II
Astoria: It is all greed. Police and firefighters have 20-and-out retirements with overtime-enhanced pensions, cradle-to-grave health coverage and yearly Christmas gifts of $12,000. It is still not enough for those crooked cops and firefighters. Sad indeed.
Lawrence Frazier
Wisdom from Grant’s tomb
Williston Park, L.I.: When I listened to Bob Grant in the ’70s, ’80s and beyond, I thought most of his ideas were crazy, especially the “Bob Grant Mandatory Sterilization Law.” Now, some 44 years later, I realize he was correct. Any woman of any race, creed or color should be sterilized after she has one child that neither she or the father can support — thus making her child a “public charge” that burdens responsible parents and everyone else in society. Rest in peace, Bob!
Philip Martone