21 teens who died too young
Manhattan: Thank you for capturing the humanity of young men of color in your Jan. 3 article, “Pattern of tragedy.” So often black and Latino men either are just seen as perpetrators of crime, or are even blamed for their own deaths. Society fails to understand the impact of violence on boys and young men of color. Their pain and hurt is often overlooked, devalued and unaddressed.
This dangerous narrative can prevent young men of color from reaching out for help, or even being offered the support they need. Safe Horizon, the largest victim services agency in the country, where I am chief program officer, offers experts who support survivors of violence. We know that immediate, skilled intervention can greatly reduce the long-term effects of traumatic events. The reality is that, although more likely than other groups to experience violence, boys and young men of color rarely receive this kind of support.
It’s time to change the narrative. Boys and young men of color can be harmed by violence and they deserve support. Lisa A. O’Connor
Keep it up
Orlando: I am so happy to see that you are putting relevant, well-written stories like “Pattern of tragedy” in your newspaper. I hope this will become a trend and newspapers will go back to educating people and not trying to force political candidates down people’s throats. I’m not a millennial, so when I went to school in New York 30 years ago, papers were used in classrooms to educate on current events. I still want this from a paper. I don’t care to read political gossip, just facts. Leave the gossip pages for the celebrities. I thank you for this great story, which has made me hope you are going back to being a real newspaper. Leave the politics to the New York Times and the Washington Post. Alicia Funes Valley Stream, L.I.: Re “Supreme test for labor” (Dec. 31): Many public sector union leaders should be fearful about the upcoming Janus ruling. For many years, many but not all union leaders have bargained away their members’ rights and made many backroom deals that have forsaken the dues-paying members that they are obliged to represent. The leaders had many years to change their bad habit of looking out for themselves first but could not seem to do so as they patted their own backs for failed contracts. It’s extremely sad that it has come to this. The obligations of current union leaders to put their members first should have been paramount and this all could have been avoided.
George Contoveros
A total crapshoot
Brooklyn: I want to thank Errol Louis for his column about casinos (“New York’s bad bet on casinos,” Jan. 2). He touched on so many problems that apply to so many people who believe that a casino is a way to spend money they don’t have. Casinos should just be there for a person’s leisure time. So many people have lost their lives completely, and it seems like the government just benefits off the whole thing. I appreciate Louis for raising awareness about what these casinos can do to us. Keisha Nash
Trusted carrier I
Bayside: Thank you to our Daily News deliverer, Raul Sosa, who has not missed a day of delivering our paper since he took over the route in early August, even Thursday, during the big blizzard.
Julia Maley
Trusted carrier II
Manhattan: Joey Santiago, the postman in lower Manhattan, was out there during the blizzard Thursday sacrificing so we could still get our mail! Joey is an example of an amazing human being. This man makes me proud every day. What a dedicated hard-worker he is. His beautiful wife Deborah posted a picture of him during the blizzard, recognizing all postal workers who are out there braving all kinds of weather to bring us a service. I will also mention firefighters, police officers, EMT workers, doctors, nurses, hospital workers, MTA, etc. Thank you for your service! Stay warm and safe! We appreciate you all! Clarissa Robinson
The storm after the storm
South Ozone Park: Shame on me. When I heard the term for our blizzard Bombogenisis, I couldn’t help thinking it was Obamagenisis, the destruction Obama did to our country during his eight years of corruption and incompetence.
Kenneth Kucinskas
Knows which way wind blows
Merrick, L.I.: Kudos to Mayor de Blasio who took the initiative and closed city schools on the eve of the impending storm. This was in sharp contrast to his predecessor who waited until 6 a.m. of that morning leaving parents scrambling to make plans. Curtis E. Izen
Pushing it
Lynbrook, L.I.: For the safety of the children and school bus drivers, the city’s school system should have taken another day off Friday. The roads were dangerous and with ice forming overnight, everyone should have been kept safe. Michael Glennan
School days
Manalapan, N.J.: As a child of immigrants, PS 67 in the Bronx was my very first school, starting with kindergarten. I cannot tell you enough about the wonderful memories I have of that school back in the 1950s. The teachers were very dedicated, the rooms and halls were immaculate and my entire window to the world was opened. So you can imagine how disheartening it has been to hear about the student death and planned closure of the school. It was a piece of my early life that I will never forget. Maybe we need to rewind to those times and start over. Mr. de Blasio, please fix this.
Herb Paserman
Where’s the farm team?
Glendale: Our last two mayors, Mike Bloomberg and Bill de Blasio, have been from Boston. Former New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton is also from Boston. I just read that newly elected Council Speaker Corey Johnson is from Massachusetts. Outgoing Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito is from Puerto Rico. I was just wondering why can’t we produce great leaders within our city? This is not talking a shot at current Police Commissioner Jimmy O’Neill or other leaders, it’s just an observation!
Thomas Murawski
Driven to change
Yonkers: I read with interest some of Howard Glaser’s innovative and bold suggestions on controlling traffic congestion in Manhattan and would like to offer up another idea (“Think big, beyond congestion pricing, to get the roads flowing,” Op-Ed, Jan. 4). What would Manhattan south of 96th St. be like without trucks in the daytime? Why not restrict most truck deliveries to the hours of 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.? Expand the No Loading areas to make it convenient for trucks to deliver during that period. Most construction sites, supermarkets, etc. can easily accept deliveries by having someone on site. Oil trucks would find it easier to make deliveries at night and so would Sanitation trucks find navigating NYC easier at night. And I bet workers who would be loading trucks for export from the area would prefer to work those hours, compared to in the typical daytime hours.
Thomas Mullen
Breaking into the news
Valley Stream, L.I.: After a great night out with relatives and friends, my wife and I sat down to watch the 11 o’clock news on one of the channels. What we actually sat through was at least 25 car commercials, mostly the same ones repeated over and over sometimes in the same segment, along with a few drug and movie ads. This was all included in the 35 minutes of news and sports. We couldn’t figure out what aggravated us most, the ads or the faces on the newscasters saying “We’ll be right back after this” almost every two minutes. Well, we won’t be right back anytime soon. From now on we’ll get our news from our phones.
John Esposito
Sick burn
Brooklyn: Re “Fire is doused at Clinton compound” (Jan. 4): OMG. They have finally found the missing server that holds all those private emails.
Daniel DeWitt
Par for the course
Clearwater, Fla.: It seems every day we get a typical response, or should we call it a knee-jerk reaction, from President Trump. but anyone who disagrees with Trump has supposedly “lost their mind.” Then again, how many of us are left wondering about Trump’s state of mind?
JoAnn Lee Frank
Pucker up
Carmel, N.Y.: The best team in New York right now is the broadcast team for the Rangers, Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti. Exciting, informative, and with the eyes of hawks call a great game. Go Rangers! Rob Callen