A community’s changes don’t mean it’s forgotten
Bellerose: Recently, my wife and I spent time with our friends Dave and Marian. Dave and I have known each other for more than 50 years since we were 13 years old and lived in Queens Village in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s. Our conversation centered on our memories of it. I lived on 213th St. and 102nd Ave. in a house bought by my grandfather in 1924.
I remembered my father taking me to 99th Ave. There were two junk yards where I could take used newspapers and get paid for them. A few blocks over on 212th St., there was a deli known as Yugo’s that I thought made the best sandwiches in Queens Village. I also remember a diner on 212th St. and Jamaica Ave. that my father would take me to when I was good. They made the best pancakes. The diner later became a carwash, what a shame.
We had three bowling alleys and two movie theaters, the Queens Theater and the Community Theater. The cost was 35 cents and you saw two movies and a cartoon. We had a clothing store named Willson’s where we would get our Boy Scouts uniforms. I attended Grace Lutheran Church on 100th Ave. and Grace Lutheran Elementary School. I also belonged to the YMCA and played softball at Alley Pond Park. We had a hardware store named Megan’s where you could buy nails and screws piece by piece, not by the box, as you do today.
Dave said, “You can never go home.” I said, “You still keep your memories alive.” Frederick R. Bedell Jr.
Not fit for the city
Brooklyn: I would like to thank fellow Voicers Rocco Conti, Joe Many and Marlene Torino for their spot-on letters regarding the new composting rules. Composting just doesn’t belong in densely populated cities like this one. It works in the suburbs and rural areas, where food scraps can be disposed of almost immediately in backyards, gardens and farms. You don’t need a degree in environmental science from MIT to understand this. Jay Savino
Ditched rides
Briarwood: Dumped scooters are literally littering our residential streets in Queens and nothing is being done. One in particular, a “Bird,” has been on my lawn for nine days. I called the 866 number, got a live person and gave the scooter number. That was seven days ago. Two days later, I followed up with an email. No response to either. On Tuesday, I called 311 and the NYC Department of Transportation was notified, and I received an email with a complaint number. A little while later, I looked outside and another scooter, a “Lime,” was left on the sidewalk. More than a quality-of-life issue, scooters left on sidewalks — as well as ridden on sidewalks — create hazardous conditions for pedestrians. Patricia Nuzzi
Financial liability
Manhattan: Those of us concerned about friends, family, public education, safety and political integrity — things outside of ourselves — make societies and cities work. We are not narcissists like Mayor Adams, whose salary is $258,750 and who owes his celebrity defense lawyers more than 10 times that, or $3 million. He said that is not the public’s concern. Wrong! Debt-burdened politicians are always a public concern because they are open to serving whoever they owe and no one else. Frankie Turchiano
In their custody
Brooklyn: My brother, Franklyn Dominguez, died behind bars in February during the illegal prison strike that swept across New York. People who were supposed to keep him safe walked off the job and the system collapsed. No one from the state has taken responsibility or told my family how my brother died. When correctional officers left their posts, they left human beings without care, safety and in some cases any chance of survival. What kind of system lets that happen? What kind of government refuses to answer for it? New York’s Department of Corrections and Community Supervision has remained silent. There’s been no investigation, accountability or transparency, just a quiet cover-up, hoping families like mine will move on. We won’t. People in prisons are still people. My brother’s life mattered. We will not rest until the state tells the truth and owns the damage it caused. We want answers. We want justice. Nori Pérez
Vital investment
Brookville, L.I.: Access to early education should be available for all children regardless of socio-economic status, disability, race or geographical location. Funding must be adequate to ensure that the school can operate with integrity and provide appropriate resources and skilled professionals to care for and provide instruction. Continuing with the current funding levels for 3-K programs brings about significant concerns regarding initiatives like Head Start and specialized education for children with disabilities. Providing quality, fair and adequately funded programs for vulnerable children promotes positive development. Otherwise, it would leave vulnerable children who need the most support and protective measures without the opportunities they need to thrive. Established cycles of disadvantages can be alleviated with fair and intentional funding in early education. Taylor Pearce
Propagandized problem
Morristown, N.J.: I don’t know anyone who believes people should enter the U.S. without proper documentation. But fear-mongering by painting with a broad brush and telling Americans that illegals are murderers and rapists and eating cats and dogs is just disingenuous, misleading and racist — especially when one can genuinely make comparisons to the hundred-fold more homegrown rapists and murderers. We should all want our borders protected as well as protection of innocents. As the pastor said (“Trump demands apology from critical cleric,” Jan. 23), the majority of undocumented immigrants are honest and hard-working. The illegality must be addressed, but I guess fear-mongering and gaslighting is a primary tool that works for many. Genuine Americans can work out this border crisis without fear or favor. Not so much the bloviators. Peter Ess
Deportable arch-criminal
Woodside: So now the Trump regime is “looking into the legality” of deporting alleged criminals who are U.S. citizens (Trump’s term: “homegrowns”) to nations such as El Salvador for imprisonment. Trump is a homegrown criminal with 34 felony convictions. Every day that he’s a free man, America is in danger. When will Trump self-deport? Sheila M. Richardson
Fascistic muscle
Flushing: The ICE Gestapo is busy evicting anyone Trump doesn’t like without due process. The rule of law has been dumped in the wastebasket. People arrested and held for deportation are entitled to a judicial hearing. Instead, they are being shown the El Salva-door. Enough is enough. Lester Simon
Power games
Bronx: Trump is threatening to invade Canada and Greenland, but when the president of El Salvador says he won’t release a wrongfully imprisoned man, Trump backs off in defiance of a Supreme Court order. Richie Nagan
Tyrannical
Astoria: In 500 B.C., Aesop wrote, “We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.” So much for learning from history! Afterthought: Defying the Constitution and dismissing rulings by the Supreme Court are not acts of patriotism. They are the acts of a self-serving dictator! Karen N. Pearlman
No coverage?
Bronx: I was very disappointed in The News on Thursday. I am no fan of the current president or the kissing up by right-wing media like the New York Post, but where was the article about Letitia James and her legal problems? I expect that from the Post and other News Corp. outlets, but I thought The News would be better. Martin Sandok
It aids us, too
Chatham, N.J.: To Voicer Chris Lyons: Thank you for pointing out my bleeding-heart liberalism, but there’s another side to me. Yes, governments should take responsibility for their own citizens’ welfare, but some don’t and never will. Some governments, like Sudan’s, are busy fighting interminable civil wars. Some, like Myanmar’s military junta, fight civil wars while dealing with huge natural disasters. So why have most former U.S. administrations funded charity in such situations? They recognized that our assistance earns international approval and preempts countries like China from gaining footholds in Third World countries. Regardless of whether our motives are charitable, self-serving or a combination, lives are saved. Sometimes, even wars are prevented. Paul Denk
