Cutting us off from our friends and customers
Manhattan: I own a small family tour company here called Real New York Tours. I thought I would share the impact that President Trump’s reckless behavior is having on the tourism industry here in NYC.
We have been in business for 18 years and have just begun to make serious strides forward after COVID. I’d say 25% of our business comes from Canada. I got a call recently that one of our clients who I have worked with for several years is cancelling 20 bus trips they had booked with us this year. This is thousands of dollars I just lost with one phone call. I was told that many of their customers will not support the U.S. economy at this point and that others are afraid to come to the U.S. They are concerned that they will be entering into a hostile environment or could be detained at the border. This is insane. We love our friends up north and their business is key to our survival as a small business.
Europeans are also a huge part of our business, and as of now, comparing February and March of 2024 to 2025, we are down 38%. We have not yet booked a single tour from Europe for June, July or August. This is unheard of.
Trump is killing tourism in NYC, and it’s a shame because so much could have been avoided with respectful dialogue instead of arrogant diatribes. People need to know that Trump’s behavior and recklessness is bad for the middle class and small business. Luke Miller
Sworn enemy
Manhattan: How can we forget Trump to NYC: “Drop dead”!? He hates us and will do everything to destroy us (after he protects all of his stuff). Let’s give him a taste of his own ugliness. Joan Gregory
Push policy locally
Bay Shore, L.I.: Trump’s puppet at the Environmental Protection Agency, Lee Zeldin, has announced that the goal of the EPA is no longer to protect Americans from the dangers of pollution. Its new role is to slash regulations so that polluting industries can make more money while making our air and water dirtier. Zeldin even wants to get rid of the scientific finding that greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels threaten human health so that oil and gas companies can drill and frack without regard for safety concerns. The increasing floods and wildfires driven by global warming are killing people. Record heat is a killer by itself. We need less gas and oil and more bountiful American wind and solar, a livable climate and sane leaders, not demagogues beholden to billionaires. Gov. Hochul, stand up for New Yorkers and for clean, affordable energy! David Bissoon
Frequent flyer
Manhattan: Last week, my daughter flew to Iceland on her way to Paris. On the flight was the president of Iceland, flying on a regular commercial jet just like a regular person — maybe she had a security person or two? Maybe she was in first class? If Trump flew on a regular plane every time he went down to play golf in Florida, imagine how much money he would be saving the country and taxpayers. But we all know he would never do that. Joie Anderson
Left in space
Jackson Heights: Too bad Elon Musk didn’t have stranded hero astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore land in a sanctuary city. They would have received more benefits than they got from NASA. Glenn B. Jacobi
Technical difficulties
Mohegan Lake, N.Y.: To Voicer Nicholas Maffei: Enough of blaming everything on former President Joe Biden and making the delay of the return of the astronauts political. NASA officials emphasized that the primary concern was ensuring their return and the delay was due to technical and safety considerations rather than political factors. Nancy Reinhardt
Not a fan
Bronx: Please tell me when AOC’s 15 minutes of fame is going to end. She has done nothing in the district in which she was elected. Mary Caggiano
Bike takeover
Manhattan: You might think e-bikes and cyclists would be required to use their lanes when available or to be prepared to stop at intersections. Nope. How about lights or reflectors for two-wheelers at night? No again. No license, no rules, no tolls, no problem. McGuinness Blvd. is a shortcut for trucks traveling between the BQE and the industrial area in Long Island City. The Department of Transportation now forces vehicles to jam into one lane to accommodate the new bicycle lanes even though cyclists could travel the little-used parallel side streets a short block away. The DOT continues to build bicycle lanes as it ignores repairs to ankle-busting ruts and potholes in many of our crosswalks. As the weather warms, there will be many more dangerous bikes speeding on our streets and sidewalks with no respect for pedestrians or vehicles. Vincent Novak
Punishing passengers
Woodside: The MTA has just raised its bar — for customer disservice. It has replaced benches with new leaning bars at a bustling Lower Manhattan subway station. The rationale? The MTA said the change at the station, not the first transit hub to receive leaning equipment, is part of a pilot program that could discourage the homeless from setting up camp. Imagine seniors, people with disabilities and passengers needing to rest for a moment with no respite, and the risk of falls. Instead, the MTA could reconfigure the seats with dividers that prevent sleeping on it. What’s next, seatless subway trains to literally keep straphangers on their toes? Rampant misuse of station benches and subway trains for sleeping or encampment by homeless people has to be addressed without punishing commuters. Atul Karnik
Non-negotiable
Manhattan: To Voicer T.S. Fallani: You are the one who is out of touch. Do you even live in Manhattan? Parks are a precious commodity, and green spaces should never be destroyed for any reason. I suppose if it was up to you, you would bulldoze Central Park! I noted that there is an alternate site at 388 Hudson St. with five times the space proposed by Community Board 2. It is owned by the city and is an empty gravel lot. This is a no-brainer! FYI, in case you are living in a bubble, there are hundreds of vacant ghost buildings in NYC. I am all for housing, but not at the expense of parks, especially one of the only ones in Lower Manhattan. Perhaps you are rooting for the real estate developer! Carrie Tassa
Unnecessary obstructions
Manhattan: As a former New York City public advocate, I spent years helping New Yorkers navigate government bureaucracy to access the benefits they are entitled to. Now the Social Security Administration is about to make that even more difficult. Starting March 31, new identity-proofing rules will eliminate phone-based verification, forcing millions of older adults and people with disabilities to either struggle with a complicated online system — something many, like me, are not equipped to do — or go in person to SSA offices that are already crippled due to staffing cuts. For those with mobility challenges or limited digital access, this is an impossible situation. Currently, beneficiaries can call to provide their bank account information. Now the agency will stop allowing them to update their information over the phone, restricting them to online or in-person changes. The SSA should be making access easier, not more difficult. Betsy Gotbaum
Safe for speech
Port Jefferson Station, L.I.: I laugh at these whining, crybaby lefties who support the guest in our country, Mahmoud Khalil, and protest against his arrest and federal detention. His support for a listed terrorist entity seems not to bother these individuals. His aggressive and negative attacks against Israel and Jewish students are fine with them. I ask these people who complain about Khalil being sent to a “gulag” to consider what would happen to them if they openly supported Israel in an aggressive and loud manner in Syria or Saudi Arabia. What we did to this person is nothing compared to what would happen to you in those two countries. Please support the country that allows you to protest in a proper, legal manner and remember that you are blessed to be in such a great nation. Bob Cavaliere
