When inconvenienced, the social contract frays
Flushing: I moved to Queens in 1994, and I’ve been privileged to live here. However, given the conduct of some of my neighbors of late, I’m disappointed with many of the people who reside in my part of the borough.
The snowstorms have revealed a selfishness that has floored me. Queens has always pulled together when times get tough — I was so proud of so many of us here during the COVID pandemic and 9/11. However, that sense of community seems to have waned. People have parked willy-nilly on our narrow side streets, blocking turning lanes and entrances. They’ve gotten into literal physical altercations during snow shoveling. People are honking their horns at each other like I’ve never heard before. Nobody is cleaning up after their pets, and there are loads of dog droppings on every block.
Recently, a Voicer complained that many people board MTA buses without paying (while managing to blame Mayor Mamdani for it somehow). Yet, she was correct about the rampant fair evasion in Queens, especially on local routes. This costs the MTA millions in revenue every year.
We need to show more appreciation and a wider sense of community lest our way of life begins to erode. Queens people are wonderful. I’ve seen them do amazing things for decades. We just need to calm down and work together for the common good, just like we always have. Robert Smith
Disrespect for authority
Brooklyn: To Voicers Therese D. Shirreffs and Richard A. D’Cruz: You hit the nail on the head. And suppose these officers threw back snowballs? Then what? I would have feared my father first if I ever assaulted a police officer, and he would have cracked me 14 ways to Sunday. Josie Oliveri
Suck it up
Bronx: To Voicer Bill Barrett: Two groups were, in fact, throwing snowballs at each other. So by your definition, it was a fight. NYPD officers stepped into the middle of it. The question is how do you respond to getting hit with a snowball (or an insult from the peanut gallery 1,000 miles away)? I say shrug it off and move on. Glenn O’Sullivan
System failure
Brooklyn: Con Edison says it’s not responsible for reimbursing customers for food that spoiled when the electricity went out for days. By Con Ed’s rationale, rock salt was to blame, not its antiquated and poorly maintained infrastructure. Shouldn’t Con Ed, the city’s monopolized source for electricity, be required to safeguard its power-providing equipment from corrosion caused by rock salt? After all, it’s used to melt snow and ice in a city where snow has been known to fall since before electricity. Con Ed and companies like it will continue to screw customers over so long as the system allows it. America, keep believing that giving more power to big business and billionaires works best for customers. Bill Lambiase
Don’t buy it
Rochester, N.Y.: On behalf of NY Renews, I take issue with your editorial supporting Gov. Hochul’s assault on the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (“N.Y.’s energy law must be amended,” March 2). Her argument, and yours, buys into Big Fossil Fuel propaganda that clean energy costs more than fossil fuels. If true, then everyone outside of New York has it wrong. Everywhere on Earth, including in the U.S., more than 90% of new energy coming online is solar. It’s by far the cheapest source of electricity right now. At today’s prices, the way to get the least expensive, most reliable energy mix in New York is to install solar as fast as we can. We should use natural gas mainly at night and in the winter, and gradually phase it out as more battery storage and wind comes online. Stop believing fossil fuel lies. Clean energy is cheap. Allen Blair
Biased judgment
Commack, L.I.: Reading the op-ed that retired judge Barbara Jaffe wrote (“Trump’s DOJ can’t even indict a ham sandwich,” March 4), I think she should stay retired. Judges should not have an opinion based on their political affiliation. I guess if I was a Republican standing in front of her, I would be doing hard time. John Flanagan
Typical take
Manhattan: So Voicer Nancy Maglari thinks President Trump’s SOTU proves that Democrats are “fueled by hatred, greed and corruption” and thus “don’t care about America.” Maglari is a perfect example of the idiocy of most of the red hat brigade, and someone who is too ignorant to see that it’s her hero Trump who’s filled with hate and greed, not to mention being the most corrupt person ever elected to any office. Good luck living in your little bubble of ignorance, Nancy. Michael Udolf
For all to see
Glasgow, Scotland: I spent Tuesday evening enjoying the fireworks shows from the Middle East courtesy of your president. Unfortunately, when Trump was blasting those poor fishermen into the hereafter off the coast of Venezuela not so long ago, videos of the action were not available on the news. The devastation and human tragedy we are now witnessing nightly should provide Trump with a slight edge to ensure that he’ll finally receive his long-coveted Nobel Peace Prize in 2026. William Ina Kay
Phase 2
Staten Island: The United States and Israel had to get it done. The ayatollah threatened and killed his citizens. His hatred for Israel and our country was always a threat. Not only is Iran a better place without him, but so is the rest of the world. The next problem is who will lead Iran to democracy? Thomas Bell
Blatant deception
Matawan, N.J.: It now appears that Vladimir Trump’s weekend-update “secretary of war” is putting forth the lie that the country they and Israel attacked is the one that started the war, just like Donald Putin (and Trump) claim that Ukraine started that four-year war. Is yours going to go on that long, Orange Crush? We will suffer unnecessary American soldiers’ deaths that you’ll shed crocodile tears for as their numbers rise. Anything to cover your Epstein sins. Slava Ukraini! Shut down Washington, D.C. and Mar-a-Lago on the next No Kings Day. Robert Wyshynski
Condemnable stance
Fall River, Mass.: Mayor Mamdani has every right to take umbrage with WABC radio host Sid Rosenberg for his having described the mayor as a “Jew-hating, radical Islam cockroach” (“Zoh: You’re a bigot, Sid,” March 4). But it’s also worth noting that the mayor has never emphatically and forcefully held Hamas to account for its Oct. 7, 2023 atrocities, while at the same time promising to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the next time he visits New York. You can’t have it both ways. Or better yet, as President Harry Truman famously quipped: “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.” Charles Winokoor
