The Gateway delay was a costly poke in the eye
Manhattan: It’s great that work can now resume on the Gateway Tunnel project after Manhattan Federal Judge Jeannette Vargas put an end to the funding stoppage imposed by the Trump administration last October (“Tunnel handed $30M,” Feb. 14). Work on the project had ceased on Feb. 6, as money was running out, and about 1,000 workers were laid off.
Lawsuits were filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James and New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport. They contended that a new train tunnel is needed under the Hudson River since the existing 116-year-old tunnel is in dire need of repair.
About 200,000 passengers pass through the tunnel each day. This situation probably influenced the judge’s decision on Feb. 6. By Thursday, Feb. 12, the clock had run out on the Trump administration’s request for an appeal.
President Trump’s reason for halting the funding was based on his opposition to DEI — diversity, equity and inclusion. This position was stated by White House Budget Director Russell Vought last October. Trump and his team contend that diversifying the workforce adversely affects the integrity of a project. This anti-DEI sentiment, which was intended to cancel the Democrat-led project, was very petty, as was Trump’s attempt to put his name on Penn Station in exchange for funding. Darryl P. Miller
Anti-gay
Saugerties, N.Y.: So President Trump, the orange man from Queens, again ordered the Pride flag taken down. There are many, many other queens who see it otherwise. Terry Lanigan
Friendly takeover
Bronx: The state of New York or New York City should purchase the Stonewall National Monument. Problem solved. Kevin Harrington
Policy is proof
Cincinnati: The Big Apple electorate reflects what’s happening elsewhere: polarization. Hizzoner should help salve the wounds, some of them caused by his own reckless statements and lack of compassion for some specific constituents. Many of his voters are young and, like Japanese botanists who intentionally stunt growing trees, are devoid of the knowledge required to comprehend a pulsing metropolis. They respond to simple socialist nostrums as if never having scanned a primer on 20th-century political ideology. In this way at least, the mayor follows in the path of Socrates by corrupting the young. Winning by rallying the naïve and clueless is one thing, but administering a throbbing behemoth is a greater challenge. He’s clever enough to do so, but electoral hemlock awaits should he fail. Paul Bloustein
Union-busted
White Plains, N.Y.: Re “The best way to build New York” (“Affordable housing, not luxury units,” “Streamline the environmental rules,” op-ed, Feb. 15): Employing the point/counterpoint format to confront how to build NYC ignores the skeleton in the closet of NYC construction, namely union costs. Streamlining regulations and having a mix of luxury and affordable housing are both fair and feasible requirements, but not recognizing unions and the resulting costs is unrealistic. NYC will never solve this dilemma as long as unions control the industry. A path unobstructed by unions is the only way to speedy, less expensive and innovative construction projects that abide by regulations and yield both luxury and affordable housing. However, politicians fear union voting power, and renters, landlords and sympathizers are often union folks and align with unions. Chris Lee
True character
Davis, Calif.: Unaware that his microphone was on during a news program break, Jesse Jackson used a crude slang reference to express wanting to cut off Barack Obama’s testicles. When Jackson learned that “The O’Reilly Factor” would air his comments, he quickly apologized. Compare with Ben Carson, who at 33 was appointed director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University, becoming the youngest physician in the nation to occupy such a position. Born into poverty, he was reared by a single mother who provided constant encouragement. There is no record of his ever making a prejudiced or crude remark about anyone. Be careful who you accept as a role model. Julia Lutch
Less lethal
Bronx: Families often call for help with a mentally disturbed family member and the call ends up with the police shooting or killing that family member. The police are not to blame, because an individual charging with a weapon presents a deadly, imminent danger. Mentally disturbed people are often not capable of following the directions of police to drop the weapon. A possible solution is equipping police with heavy, metal mesh nets that can be thrown over the person charging with a weapon other than a gun. This alternative may be crude, but wouldn’t it be better than killing the person? The disturbed person is not an animal, but shouldn’t every possibility be used to avoid taking a precious life? Health workers may be helpful at the scene, but they are not trained to handle such dangerous situations. Gilbert M. Lane
The point stands
Bronx: Voicer Michael Abbey’s letter demonstrates how statistics can be manipulated. He’s right about illegal migrants making up approximately 4% of the state’s population. But according to AI overview, only 10% (legal and illegal combined) make up its prison population. It still doesn’t change the fact that the overwhelming majority of those who rape and/or murder were born here, and the overwhelming majority of illegal migrants work hard for poverty wages while committing no crimes. Richard Warren
Safe online
Watervliet, N.Y.: I recently read the article “Gov moves to ‘keep our kids safe’ from the danger of social media” (Jan. 6). I support Hochul’s plan to create more protections for kids online. As a preteen who enjoys games online, I want to feel safe from people who might harm children online. As a Scout, we do our best to follow the Scout Oath. Part of the oath is to keep ourselves physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight. This oath, to me, means taking care of myself and always being prepared. It’s hard to be prepared to stay safe online as a kid because adults who should know right from wrong use online games like Roblox to trick kids and make gaming online feel scary sometimes. Hochul’s plans for online safety agree with the Scout Oath because the rules will expand my and other kids’ safety online. Nolan Sprague
Slanted standards
Springfield Gardens: Since 2015, the UN General Assembly has condemned Israel 187 times, about three times more than the combined total for all other nations. After recently slaughtering thousands of peaceful protesters, including shooting protesters in their hospital beds, Iran has been elected by the UN to serve as vice chair of the UN Commission for Social Development. China, which jails human rights activists in Hong Kong, persecutes Uyghurs, has killed hundreds of thousands of Tibetans and has committed genocide against the Falun Gong, is on the UN Human Rights Council. The U.S should discontinue funding this immoral cesspool. Ebere Osu
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