Bill’s affordable housing surge

Manhattan: This administration is fighting on every single front to keep this city affordable (“Mayor, think bigger on building housing,” Op-Ed, Sept. 20). We’re building affordable homes at a faster clip than any administration in history, ramping up programs for the lowest-income New Yorkers that are hardest hit by this crisis. We’re putting every piece of public land available — not without controversy — towards the goal of building new affordable housing.

We’re protecting the affordable apartments at walk-ups in Harlem and Central Brooklyn, and giant portfolios like Penn South and the Bix Six in Queens.

We’re going to provide free legal services to every tenant facing harassment or eviction. We’ve teamed up with the state attorney general to go after bad landlords who try to push tenants out.

But this crisis built over decades and runs deep. So at every turn, we look for how to do more. Based on our progress to date, the mayor committed an additional $1.9 billion in capital funds to achieve even deeper affordability through the housing plan.

But we also need to serve people all along a continuum of need. So while we strategically use our subsidy to house the lowest-income residents, our seniors and the homeless, we are also harnessing the market to create permanently affordable housing. We are taking advantage of critical federal tax incentive programs designed to leverage private financing to serve low-income households, who are also finding it harder to find or keep an affordable home in New York City.

We are doing all of this work in the face of very real threats on the horizon, as proposed federal budget cuts and tax reform threaten to eviscerate the housing programs we rely on to serve our most vulnerable residents. Maria Torres-Springer

Commissioner NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development

Uncalled for

Yorktown Heights, N.Y.: I found Wednesday’s front page picture of a woman in Mexico, most likely deceased, trapped in the latest earthquake rubble, beneath the words “CRUSHED” highly inappropriate and distasteful. To me, it’s akin to putting a picture of a 9/11 “jumper” on the front page shortly after the terrorist attacks.

Jeremy Warneke

Rip the strip

Rockaway Beach: Forget being classified as “high class.” “Between the Lines” should be called “Under the Radar” — because nobody gets it — or “Beneath Contempt,” for the recent spate of defecation jokes. It certainly can’t be called humorous. Dump it.

Maureen McNelis

God help us

White Plains, N.Y.: Your editorial “UNsteady on the stage” (Sept. 20) was an insightful analysis of the President’s embarrassing and belligerent speech to the UN General Assembly Tuesday. But it should not have come as a complete surprise that it was written by Stephen Miller (a mini-Joseph Goebbels), who told the nation’s media that “the powers of the President . . . will not be questioned!” David C. Berliner

Wag the dog

Brooklyn: Just how far is Donald Trump prepared to go to make sure he remains President? Starting a war or two would make it very difficult for us to impeach him or accuse him of a crime. After all, who but The Donald can run this country in times of war? Or is this just the greatest distraction from the FBI investigation he could come up with? How many bodies will have to drop before he is removed from office? How much of this government will have to be decimated before he’s gone? Too many Americans are unaware of the fact that this is the most vulnerable the United States has been since the start of World War II. Shelley Mitchell

Simple as that

Ridgefield, Conn.: So the Daily News, CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC, MSNBC and all the lesser drones hated President Trump’s speech at the UN on Tuesday. Guess what that means? I loved it.

David W. Ondrick

On second thought

North Hollywood, Calif.: In hindsight, “deplorables” was too kind. James Montalbano

No comparison

Howard Beach: Voicer Geri Sabia implied that Kathy Griffin suffered no repercussions when she posed with the bloody head of Trump when in fact people overwhelmingly came out against her. She lost many bookings and her career is almost non-existent. But, when President Trump does something despicable, as with tweeting that golfing video, his supporters have no problem with it. This is the President of the United States. He is truly an embarrassment to most Americans. But, of course, not to those supporters who thought it was funny and who proudly refer to themselves as “the deplorables.”

Barbara Berg

Keep it up

Rockaway Beach: Carron Phillips is a fabulous writer who has prompted me to really look at the sports section every day. Please use his work more often!

Karen Sloan-Payne

You go, girls

Dumont, N.J.: To Voicer Rebecca MacDonald: Anyone who doubts the athletic ability of women needs to go to their local high school and take in a girls sporting event. Pick one! I officiate high school sports, and I can tell you first-hand of the ability of the wonderful young ladies. They may be someone’s beautiful daughter with a wonderful personality and smile, but put a uniform on them and that all goes out the window. The young ladies become very competitive regardless of their ability. And most have a tremendous amount of ability. They are not afraid to throw their bodies around to make a play to win the game. When I first started this some 20-plus years ago, I was like everyone else. I asked, how good can women’s sports be? Well, it did not take me long to realize just how good they are.

Rich Russo

Put the X in Xmas

Bronx: I just saw a list of city public school holidays for my great-grandson. Can someone explain why the list says “Rosh Hashana” for Jewish holidays, but “Winter recess” for the Christmas holiday? This political correctness is getting to be ridiculous. Juanita Johnson

Nurtural disasters

Sparta, N.J.: On the other side of Voicer Sherri Rosen’s “most parents teach their children how to be kind and respectful” coin is the realization that bigotry, racism, misogyny et al are born at the kitchen table.

Ronald K. Samuel

The real deal

Manhattan: Watching Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest interview David Muir, a few things came to mind that I actually take for granted. I never miss his broadcast, just like when Peter Jennings was doing it. His style is absolutely perfect, crisp and tight. When 6:30 p.m. comes around, I am automatically in front of his broadcast, listening attentively. ABC really hit the nail on the head by hiring him. Diane Sawyer was a nice safe replacement, but David is the perfect young Jennings. Michael DeSouza

What Vietnam taught

Manhattan: The excellent Richard Cohen endorses the view that it was the betrayals of the Vietnam War that brought us to today’s widespread public disenchantment with the powerful (“Vietnam, a war between truth and lies,” column, Sept. 19). It’s more than that. Over the years since our country left Southeast Asia in humiliation, we learned about the lethality, and, worse, the lies, about tobacco; the rolling revelations of murderous drugs, and about toxic chemicals in our water and air; betrayals by priests and ministers, coaches and teachers; rampant exploitive lending by banks; corporations treating workers as throwaways; and private equity buying firms, stripping their assets, devastating communities. And corporations still think they have a shred of credibility? Helen Hill Updike

The beautiful fans

Hamilton, Ont.: My two daughters and I attended a soccer game between Toronto FC and New York FC. Near where we were sitting was a group of NYCFC fans — about 50 or more. I am writing to say the fans represented the City of New York fabulously. My girls and I will be attending a New York FC game next year to revel in that atmosphere. Ed Melo

Net gain

DAILY NEWS/JAMES KEIVOM Brooklyn: Don’t let Wednesday’s accident at Yankee Stadium be another incident that we pay attention to for a day or two and then go back to business as usual. Netting at major league ballparks is a must. They have them in Japan — so why not here?

John DeAngelo