We’re all safer if plumbing is left to the pros
Bronx: “Veto Council bill: A plumbers’ gift” (op-ed, Oct. 11) is fraught with mistruths and could pose a direct threat to the safety of New Yorkers by encouraging unqualified people to undertake plumbing work. Besides gas leaks, improperly installed and maintained plumbing systems could expose residents to diseases, such as Legionella, passed through water and drain piping.
No one pays much attention to these serious issues because the public only hears about these things when people die. How many people think they must just have a cold or a headache when in fact it may be their plumbing?
For more than 80 years, the law has required that all plumbing work must be performed by a licensed plumber. Intro 429-A did not add any new requirements. Consumers remain free to purchase appliances from any source they wish. What changed is that this legislation removes the requirement — and cost — of a building permit and inspection. This was achievable because licensed plumbers are legally qualified, adequately insured and held fully accountable for their actions. The same does not hold true for a janitor or truck driver attempting to do this work.
This legislation represented a joint effort between the plumbing industry and City Council that reduces the cost of code compliance. This helps conscientious owners keep residents safe. NYC consists of dense construction that can greatly amplify any accident. Using a licensed plumber is the best way to protect everyone. There are thousands of qualified professionals available to immediately perform all plumbing tasks — call one today. George Bassolino, NYC licensed master plumber #1044
Elderly abusers
Fresh Meadows: I am becoming increasingly dismayed by recent reports of nursing home residents abusing and even killing each other. What is the solution? Should each resident be required to pass a criminal background check before being allowed to live in these facilities? Or are there enough qualified psychiatrists in such places who can clear these individuals before they move in and destroy other lives? Lesley Paulos
We deserve options
Manhattan: Re “Sliwa must quit the mayoral race” (editorial, Oct. 21): So it’s “common sense” that the opposition party candidate should drop out? Since when is democracy sensible? It is a fragile, beautiful thing that only exists when practiced. And what the heck is an “unfiltered choice?” Another term for single-party rule? Diane Moriarty
Pie in the sky
Manhattan: Because Zohran Mamdani lacks an understanding of basic economics, he proposes a utopian fantasy that will increase unaffordability for even more New Yorkers. His proposed $30 per hour minimum wage is an example. It will increase prices as well as unemployment, a double whammy as restaurants, bodegas and other small businesses unable to meet the wage will be forced to close. It will also damage the city’s ability to negotiate new contracts with its unions, who will point to the minimum wage as a reason for even greater increases than they would otherwise demand, which will push wages ever higher, on up through the salary ladder. Mamdani will create an economic death spiral that will be hard, if not impossible, to reverse. Ironic that he’s on the Working Families Party line and will destroy opportunities to work. Paul Weissman
Red fare scare
Cincinnati: He may not be a Talmudic Marxist, but the spirit of dialectical materialism lives strongly within Mamdani. It isn’t just the chimera of free buses, but other free stuff as well. As Nobel economist Milton Friedman said, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Here’s political haiku for Zoh: His banner is red / History repeats as farce / As Marx himself said. Paul Bloustein
Electoral purposelessness
Manhattan: I didn’t join the “No Kings” demonstration because we don’t have kings. We have very regular elections. And the sitting president won by a landslide, unfortunately. This isn’t about loving or hating America, it’s about recognizing that our system isn’t truly democratic or representative, from the City Council all the way up. One day, it may collapse under its own weight, though probably not in my lifetime. Until then, we’ll keep making the same mistakes, voting for mayors who aren’t much different from presidents — debating foreign policy, no less, as if a mayor has any say in it. At least we learned something useful from the debate: his favorite restaurant, his grocery bill and other trivia from what felt more like a black hole — where no light, and certainly no intelligence, escaped — than a serious discussion about improving life in NYC. Suzy Sandor
Resistance is building
Manhattan: The peaceful No Kings events flew in the face of GOP messaging and upset Trump enough that he posted an infantile AI video of himself as a bomber pilot dumping excrement on marchers, who in real life were carrying American flags. That tells you what he thinks of American patriots. Stephen Miller, JD Vance and Russell Vought are still taking America apart with their cruel Project 2025, swiping benefits from ordinary people, weakening regulations that keep us safe and paying billionaires with huge tax cuts. But I’m optimistic that we’re reaching a tipping point — 7 million people in the streets, universities rejecting Trump’s demands to teach according to his rules, and the Nobel Peace Prize given to a fighter for democracy, not to his highness. Trump’s regime is weakening, making this the right time for Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries to stick to their guns on unauthorized presidential spending and withholding of funds. Laurie Aron
Dumping on democracy
Manhattan: What kind of president of America posts a video of himself wearing a crown and dropping feces on American people exercising their right to disagree with him and his policies? Only one who has severe personality disorders that make him incredibly unfit to serve. And has the traditional media gotten so numb from 10 years of Trump’s true pathology, or so controlled by corporations in bed with Trump, that they are unable to call out these manifestations of a very sick psyche for what they are? Where is our Paul Revere in the media? Ralph Simon
Fantasy funding
Nutley, N.J.: Trump and his allies claim that George Soros financed the No Kings rallies across the U.S.A. on Oct. 18 (estimated at 7 million attendees). Are these attendees being paid by the hour or is it a flat rate? How does one cash in on this deal? Ridiculous! Ha! Elaine Bucino
Putin’s wishes
Manhattan: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, your request to Trump for Tomahawk missiles has not been approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Sorry. Natasha Fatale
Wrong word
New Rochelle, N.Y.: To those who fell for Hamas’ social media campaign that claims Israel is committing genocide, look closer. Nearly 20% of Israel’s citizens are Arab Muslims who vote and serve as judges, doctors and lawmakers. That’s not genocide, that’s coexistence. What’s been happening in Gaza was a brutal war against Hamas, not an attempt to wipe out a people. When Hamas uses human shields, civilian casualties are tragically unavoidable. Israel also donated literally millions of metric tons of food to Gaza’s citizens. There’s no genocide, and calling it that cheapens the word, insults real victims of it, and exposes how easily propaganda can twist tragedy into fiction. Maybe stop getting your news from TikTok. Tripp Hoffmann
Led to defeat
Brooklyn: As a lifelong N.Y. Giants fan, I’ve been through highs and lows over the years rooting for them, but Sunday’s loss to the Denver Broncos was inexcusable. The Giants squandered a 19-point lead and absolutely imploded due to poor coaching, plain and simple. Brian Daboll and Shane Bowen should be fired immediately before they ruin the young, exciting players like Jaxson Dart and Cameron Skattebo who deserved to win Sunday and were denied the victory by inept play-calling, poor clock management and misguided trust in a placekicker who can’t even kick extra points. Jimmy Orr
Direction check
Little Neck: To Voicer Eric Gross: Baseballs hit onto Bedford Ave. from Ebbets Field in Brooklyn were traveling east, so any hit by Shohei Ohtani would have landed in Queens and not have wound up on Staten Island. John P. Quinn
