Take off the rose-colored glasses for Bloomberg
East Meadow, L.I.: To Voicer Paul L. Newman: Your 2026 wish for New Yorkers is for Mayor Mamdani to metamorphose into another Mike Bloomberg. I hope and pray that he does not in any way, shape or form.
As mayor, Bloomberg vastly increased racial profiling through his expanded stop-and-frisk program, overwhelmingly targeting Black and Latino communities. His housing policies catered to the wealthy and real estate elites, failed to adequately invest in public housing and lower-income neighborhoods and greatly increased the city’s affordable housing crisis. At the same time, he increased the income gap in the city. He suspended democracy by getting the City Council to change the city’s term limits law, allowing him to run for a third term. His anti-union stance caused city employees to work without new contracts or raises for several years.
His takeover of the school system was an abomination, as there was an over-reliance on standardized tests, dubious curriculums that failed in other places they were tried, an over-expansion of charter schools, which caused segregation, the intentional setting up of targeted public schools for failure so they could be turned over to Eva Moskowitz, schools chancellors with no educational experience, a Leadership Academy training new principals — many with no teaching experience — to be abusive towards teachers, and a policy of shutting out parents, attacking teachers and being intent on destroying the UFT.
Anyone who thinks Bloomberg was a good mayor is completely delusional. Richard Skibins
Take notes
Sunnyside: Hey New Yorkers, I hope you are paying attention to what is happening in socialist Venezuela (if the media allows you to see it, that is). That is where you are headed. Good luck with that! Patrick E. Rudden
They let him slide
Hamden, Conn.: As we pass the fifth anniversary of Jan. 6 with President Nicolás Maduro in handcuffs, it’s worth noting that our Justice Department could have handcuffed President Trump on the day Joe Biden took office in 2021. Even if he hadn’t been convicted for incitement to riot or insurrection, Trump wouldn’t be president now. Petra Peter Gardella
Baited for a coup?
Woodstock, N.Y.: In my humble opinion, I think Trump got played yet again. It’s quite possible that Delcy Rodríguez, Jorge Rodríguez and others wanted to get rid of Maduro and Trump did the messy job for them. Maduro’s downfall may very well have been orchestrated by the Rodríguez siblings and others in that administration, and they realized that our impulsive president would rush in without fully understanding the complexities of the situation. What’s really tragic is that the Trump administration’s impulsiveness has just opened the door for China to take Taiwan and justifies Putin in Ukraine and other former USSR countries. Michael Patrick Kelly
For the spoils
Delray Beach, Fla.: There’s no way Trump would have invaded Venezuela if that country didn’t have vast deposits of oil. Contrary to his lies, he had no interest in freeing the Venezuelan people from Maduro’s authoritarian rule. His sole objective was control of the country’s oil. Barry Rudd
Exporting democracy
Valhalla, N.Y.: The U.S. takes out the dictator Maduro, who was running Venezuela while also running a tremendous drug capital! He’s in the U.S. to face trial, and there are Venezuelans protesting his taking. These Venezuelans live in the U.S.? Why did they leave Venezuela in the first place? If we handle it correctly, help put the country back on its feet and help it become a democracy, we’d be doing the right thing. Help them resurrect their oil industry, take what it will cost us to be compensated and become a partner in their future. Hey Zohran! Who are you to talk against what Trump did in Venezuela? You just took over NYC! Fix some stuff in your home city first before you think anybody actually wants to hear what you have to say. You’ve already backed off some of the promises you made while running. Michael Grisanti
Retrograde resource
Manhattan: This so-called “capture and extradition” of Maduro is nothing more than an oil grab on Trump’s part. I’m surprised that he didn’t give Maduro a free membership at Mar-a-Lago, since he wants to be a tinpot dictator and I’m sure Maduro could give him a few tips. But here are some questions: Why is Trump so intent on keeping polluting sources of energy? Why does he disdain renewable energy like wind power and solar power? Is it because he isn’t making any money off of them? And as president, isn’t he not supposed to make money and put his assets in a blind trust? I’ve never known such a crook. Joie Anderson
All paid up
Bronx: If anyone doesn’t know it already, Trump lies about everything. The most recent case in point: He said Venezuela stole “our” oil when in fact, Venezuela paid compensation for the foreign oil assets nationalized in 1976, primarily through government bonds, with $1 billion agreed upon by U.S. companies. Randall Borra
Robbing here and abroad
Flushing: Trump’s bombing Venezuela and kidnapping its president for the country’s oil will be top news for days. Heckuva way to divert attention from Pam Bondi’s having stuck the Epstein files to herself with Krazy Glue. Meanwhile, us ordinary people with ACA coverage just got whammed with double and triple rates, and Social Security is hanging on by a thread. The chaotic service and huge cuts are bad enough. Next up, the government is going to give up managing Social Security funds safely and turn them over to private investors keen to profit from zany schemes like crypto and the AI bubble. Venezuela for the oil companies, Social Security for the finance titans. What could go wrong? We haven’t paid Trump millions for oil access, but we have paid our dues to Social Security, and we want those benefits to be secure. Frances Madnick
That’s ours
Manhattan: As a citizen who receives Social Security benefits and cares about others who do, I’m disturbed that Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer, along with Rep. Adriano Espaillat, have ignored the Trump administration’s gutting of the Social Security Administration. Closing local offices and cutting SSA staff makes it difficult for the neediest recipients to access their benefits. Many lack access to computers or the ability to use them, and are unable to travel long distances to the smaller number of SSA offices that remain. This is a literal matter of life or death for many. It’s important to remember that Social Security is not a handout. It’s our own money that we have worked all our adult lives to earn. The Trump administration is stealing Americans’ money. Meanwhile, it wastes our money and endangers American lives by launching a criminal invasion of Venezuela. Francesca Fortunato
Key word
Bellerose Village: My prediction for 2026’s word of the year: hemisphere. Peter O’Connor
Face of hate
Cambria Heights: The Daily News page 10 picture of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (“Hegseth’s swipe at defiant Sen. Kelly,” Jan. 6) — the ultimate face of hate for all that is not white, male and super-wealthy, here in the United States of America! Terri Gilbert
Perceived threat
Charlotte, N.C.: Hegseth’s persecution/prosecution of Sen. Mark Kelly has less to do with the video, which should be protected First Amendment speech, and more to do with Kelly’s strength as a presidential candidate in 2028. Why on Earth would anyone object to military personnel being told they don’t need to obey illegal orders (remember My Lai)? This is just another preemptive Trump retribution move. Barbara Haynes
Easy target
Henderson, Nev.: Well, well, well. Gov. Tim Walz, the failed 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee, can add yet another title to his quiver: Dropout in the 2026 Minnesota governor’s race. What will Walz say when reporters ask why he chose to quit? “It was all Donald Trump’s fault.” I say this because of his habit of blaming almost every bad thing in Minnesota on Trump. Not a good look. David Tulanian
