Thanks from the heart of Texas

San Angelo, Tex.: Thank you, FDNY, NYPD and others from fabulous New York City for sending the Incident Management Team and the Urban Search and Rescue Rapid Response Team to Texas. Hurricane Harvey appears to be a storm similar to Katrina, and Texas and Texans are woefully unprepared for such a disaster, primarily because of decades of GOP “leadership” in our state capital.

That fellow Americans from a city more than 1,800 miles away would come to our rescue says more about your giant hearts and compassion than anything else I can think of.

I’m a lucky Texan in that I’m more than 360 miles from Houston, the epicenter of the disaster.

But I have many relatives and friends whose lives are being upended, perhaps for many years, by the flooding and tornadoes, and I thank you for helping them. I love New York! Cynthia M. Perry

Censure Cruz

Chester, N.J.: When superstorm Sandy struck the Northeast, a group of senators, including Ted Cruz, blocked relief funds for upward of 90 days, claiming pork and demanding offsetting cuts in other government spending. In essence, they held the funds hostage for political gain. I can’t blame the victims of Hurricane Harvey, and don’t want them to be treated in kind, but perhaps our senators and congressmen can try to write a censure into the relief funding bill to remind the public and public servants that using tragedy for political gain is distasteful. I don’t kid myself that the censure will remain in the bill, and it may delay the funding by a day as it is discussed, but having it hit the news cycle and demonstrating the hypocrisy of Sen. Cruz are sufficient. David J. Melvin

New York values

Whitestone: New York will send all the aid Texas needs in spite of Ted Cruz’s refusal to send aid to New York City after Hurricane Sandy. Audrey Wolfe

Remember Galveston

Manhattan: We should keep historical perspective, even during a disaster. The Daily News quotes Brock Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, calling Hurricane Harvey “probably the worst disaster the state’s seen” (“‘500-yr.’ calamity,” Aug. 28). In money terms, yes, but money is meaningless, especially over decades. The 1900 Galveston hurricane killed over 8,000, the worst disaster ever, not only for Texas, but for the United States.

Richard Helfer

Cast away

Renton, Wash.: Why didn’t relatives of people at nursing homes get their parents out safe or check on the status of flooding in the area and make arrangements to get them out? Unfortunately, most people in nursing facilities are just left and forgotten and never visited. Suggestion: Do followup stories about such neglect. Diana Leonard

Train construction workers

Princeton, N.J.: I am a construction professional with a lifetime of experience in NYC and have seen too many injuries, accidents and near-misses (“A better safety blueprint,” editorial, Aug. 28). As the workforce has grown and changed, I have seen a drastic drop in the general qualifications of most workers in all trades. The existing OSHA-standard, 10-hour training given many workers is a bare-bones minimum that does not really prepare a new worker for the dangers of high-rise construction. We desperately need to have all workers receive more training. Training and awareness save lives, prevent injuries and protect the public, which is walking under and around these buildings. Lack of it only benefits questionable contractors and developers or those who would take advantage of untrained workers. No worker should be expected to trade his health, limb or life for a chance to earn a living.

Elliot V. Jones

Careful out there

Cambria Heights: I don’t wonder why injuries occur at construction sites. I often see workers using jackhammers without goggles and without shielding around the area to protect passersby from possible flying debris. Where are the city safety inspectors? Calvin Hill

Natural language

Wallington, N.J.: Yes, Voicer Ann Rychlenski, you are absolutely right: Immigrants in the past came to this country to work and earn a better life for their families. In school those children who did not speak English were given no special language classes; they simply absorbed their new tongue very quickly, as children do. There was no public assistance program in place. Immigrants attended English classes and found employment to support their families without food stamps, free housing, utility assistance, etc. And they weren’t given free medical insurance, either. I grew up in this atmosphere, and now I can count on one hand the number of people on my block who actually work. What a shame.

Ronnie Partyka Deckert

Field daze

Brooklyn: New York City schools will soon be open, but two of Brooklyn’s largest high schools still cannot use their shared athletics field, because renovation is taking so long to complete. For nearly a year, Midwood Field has been in a state of disarray, so that Midwood High School teams cannot play there and Murrow High School phys ed classes cannot exercise there. Why is this taking so long? The students are losing out! Ellen Levitt

Free pass

Richmond, Va.: With all the letters to the editor about slavery and how black people were treated in those days and even now, it was wrong, even though black people became American citizens. But we never hear how — even as American citizens of Japanese descent were treated as enemies because of the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Empire of Japan — nothing was done about the American citizens of German descent who openly and in uniform with swastika armbands and flags supported Hitler. Weren’t these people part of what was known as “the fifth column”? I wonder why.

Martin M. Goodman

Stone-cold truth

Bronx: Taking down statues does not stop racism and prejudice. Only people can stop this disgraceful behavior. Marsha Kolin

To her ears

Jamaica: I agree with Voicer Euclid Carras. I miss the old music, too, especially Frank Sinatra, which they used to play on the radio. The music today is mostly horrible. I can’t understand the words; it has no rhythm. They should have a doo-wop station on Music Choice on cable TV. Bring back the old standards and slow dance again. Jenny Kelly

Party pooped

Little Falls, N.J.: Since Donald Trump was sworn in as President, Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi have become the Burns and Allen of the Democratic Party. They should both step down or the party should replace them as its spokespeople. I can’t listen to them for another 31/2 years. A few years ago, when Congress was voting on Obamacare, Pelosi said that they had to vote for the bill to find out what’s in it. There were no public discussions then, and Schumer was OK with it. Now, he is singing a different turn. What a phony he is. The Republicans are in a great position to solve problems in our country. They must unite and do things without the Democrats. The people voted Republican AP PHOTO/DAVID J. PHILLIP because we had faith in you. Don’t let us down. Barbara Berger Brooklyn: When President Trump had a “Made in the U.S.A.” week, I was curious to see where the clothes I was wearing came from. Socks: Mexico. Underwear: Vietnam. T-shirt: Bangladesh. Jeans: China. Sports shirt: Egypt. Shoes: Indonesia. These were items made by names like Fruit of the Loom, Hanes, New Balance, Champion and Old Navy. Checking my grandson’s clothes it was the same, except he had a T-shirt made in Guatemala. Not one bit of our clothing was made in the U.S.A. It’s depressing and sad. Robert Martin

Uniform appearance

West Babylon, L.I.: Please let this be the first and last year of those ugly Players Weekend uniforms in the MLB! Let the players wear their own cleats and the “Thank You” patches but leave the uniforms alone. It felt like I was watching a minor league game.

Bob McKibbin

Open letter to Girardi

Los Angeles: Why why why do you keep putting in Chapman in crucial games? Hasn’t he blown enough games already? We thought we were finally safe when you took him out of the closer role, but no, you put him in — in the 11th inning — in a decisive game, just to have him blow it again. Joe, I don’t care what he cost, he’s costing us the playoffs. Please stop! Diane Herscovitch