Get imaginative in reusing Rikers

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Bayside: Our mayor or City Council should consider using Rikers Island as a temporary place for our homeless in lieu of selling it to the highest real estate bidder. The prison buildings have all of the required facilities, such as rooms, canteens, toilets and showers, etc., that would be necessary for the homeless. The bars could be removed (sold for scrap) and walls and doors installed economically for privacy. The beds, linens, housekeeping supplies and laundries are there now, if they’re not being moved to the new local jails. Knowing our government, that will not be the case.

The cost would be offset by the space and hotel rooms the city is now paying to commercial companies to house the homeless. Transportation could be accomplished by extending local bus service if it is not going there already. I would imagine there would be enough space for classrooms for families’ children, so as not to overcrowd the local schools. On the flip side, it should not be made so comfortable that the homeless would never want to leave. Income restrictions could be part of the answer. In any event, using Rikers for anything but public service would be another pathetic city boondoggle.

Phil Berkowitz

A dose of justice

Flushing: When a mentally ill person is on medication, someone must be responsible to see that the medication is taken. If there is no one, the person must be institutionalized before he or she harms himself or someone else. If a crime is committed, the person who neglected their duty must be arrested and tried as a criminal. The innocent must be protected. Excuses for the “bad” must stop.

Evelyn Zorovich

What’s in a name?

Brooklyn: My name is also Tom. Without changing my name, how can I dissociate it with New York hater and Voicer Tom Masselli?

Tom Rizzo

Pinstripe history

Huntington, L.I.: Although the circumstances were a little different a quarter of a century ago, I vividly remember the Yankees and George Steinbrenner hiring hometown boy Joe Torre to manage the team in 1996. Under Buck Showalter, the team was on the precipice of greatness, but losing to Seattle in the playoffs was unacceptable to Steinbrenner. Also unacceptable, given the public uproar was the hiring of Torre (never having won as a manager in Atlanta, St. Louis or with the Mets in spite of a stellar

playing career). The Daily News headline famously said: “CLUELESS JOE.” We all know how that turned out. So, it was an interesting correlation years later, when all the “experts” and fans of the Giants were expecting highly touted college coach of Baylor, Matt Ruhle, to get the job, only to suddenly learn that another “Joe” (Joe Judge) was in fact getting the job. Given his pedigree of working under Nick Saban at Alabama, Bill Belichick at New England, and given he was an educator on top of his impressive skill sets displayed at his introductory press conference, it seems very unlikely that he will be a “Clueless Joe.” Rather, The News headline hit a home run describing his hiring as a “KNOCKOUT.” Job well done, all around. Chris N. Karalekas

NYCHA, are you listening?

Bronx: About three and a half months ago, I visited friends who live in the Sonia Sotomayor Houses. I noticed then that the compactor doors were nailed shut. My friend said it had been like that for a while, and that she hoped they would be open soon. Well, I went again the day after Christmas and guess what? The doors are still nailed shut. NYCHA has no idea when they will be open and my friend doesn’t really know what’s wrong with it.

So NYCHA, please get your act together and fix the compactor so people don’t have to pile their raw garbage in the street in front of the building. The tenants will be happier!

Debbie Darmiento

New Year’s resolutions

Oakland Gardens: We wish all New Yorkers a very happy, healthy New Year! And we hope we will all finally approach every issue with an open mind, focused on what is in the best interest of all! Make name calling a thing of the past, respect one another and seek the truth, instead of stoking our egos and claiming victory. Be gracious and kind to one another, which will not only make you feel good but make you cognizant of the fact that we are all in this thing called “government” together, when one citizen is in dire straits due to economic conditions or any kind of racial bias, we are all affected. We should all be heard from in unison with a strong response. This is our fervent hope and prayer this year. God give us the strength of character to achieve it!

Thomas and Constance Dowd

Rainbow coalition

Manhattan: It was an amazing show of solidarity on the Brooklyn Bridge last Sunday, for the march against anti-Semitism. It would have been a lot more amazing if more of our reverends showed up for the march, and also some TV celebrities, including Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar. And can you imagine what it would have looked like if Al Sharpton and Louis Farrakhan marched side by side in solidarity?

James Carroll

Acts of terror

East Meadow, L.I.: Regarding the recent acts of violence against the Jewish faction, in no way do I condone any such acts, but I think it’s highly hypocritical to render such incidents as acts of terror; we have had so many attacks on women and children in churches and schools, even the general public, and none were labeled as acts of terror, which they are. Still nothing has been done to fully heal the hurt of my people. The machete attacker is clearly dealing with some mental issues.

AP Seek the source and it will be clear; slavery is the number one contributor to black struggles, even today; from the shooters in New Jersey to the boys that tried to rob and ended up killing poor Tess.

Adrian Campbell

A ray of sunshine

Brooklyn: One of the highlights of 2019 is Time magazine naming Greta Thunberg Person of the Year, beating Donald Trump.

Nancy D. Bennett

Fact check

Lansdowne, Pa.: To Voicer Stephanie Revander: “Beulah” was first a pre-TV radio program starring Hattie McDaniel. She was the first black actress to win an Oscar, Best Supporting Actress, for “Gone with the Wind.” Regarding Voicer Susan Cassano, after George W. Bush won against Al Gore, Hillary Clinton was promoting the end of the Electoral College, though not for long. Someone likely convinced her the Electoral College could be her route to the presidency. Bill won twice with a plurality of votes. He never got a majority of votes.

Georgia Makiver