I do not know if Con Edison is “On It,” especially in light of the blackouts that have already occurred in Manhattan, the Bronx and several parts of southeastern Queens.
Summer has just started and whether Con Edison is “On It” or not, I will be on it.
I will make sure I have enough flashlights, batteries, candles and ice on hand, not to mention food that needs no refrigeration.
I will check on my elderly neighbors and make sure they are okay too. I call on all New Yorkers to be prepared, for it could be a long hot summer.
Eva P. Bedell
Bellerose
Think Electoral College
Let’s get real. All this talk about Mayor Michael Bloomberg running for president as an independent is sheer and utter lunacy and really makes me chuckle.
I’ll say it right now, if he does decide to run, I say that he doesn’t get one vote in the Electoral College.
Mark my words, not one electoral vote.
David M. Quintana
Ozone Park
Return of the squeegee man
When Mayor Rudy Giuliani improved the quality of life in New York City, the squeegee man disappeared from the landscape.
Who would think that we would see the return of the squeegee man so soon? Unfortunately, this time the squeegee man is Mayor Michael Bloomberg himself with his congestion pricing plan in hand.
I really doubt that Bloomberg’s congestion pricing plan will be effective in combating congestion or pollution. Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the mayor was recently pushing for a 100,000-seat stadium, smack in the middle of his congestion zone.
I can say for sure that this congestion pricing plan will pick the pockets of hard-working New Yorkers to the tune of thousands of dollars per year.
His plan is too complex with its rules about the fees, credits, exceptions, parking permits, and potential privacy issues. Furthermore, the management expenses are estimated to be 50 percent of the revenues. The plan as described is slanted against residents based on the current toll collection system. At best, this plan will move congestion to other areas of the city and then burden overcrowded trains and buses that go to Manhattan.
I would prefer to see the return of the real squeegee man so my contributions will at least help somebody. Since so much of the excessive non-deductible taxes associated with this plan are going into its operating expenses, it is nothing but a waste of the taxpayer’s money.
Frank Eliano
Bellerose
Check on curb cut
To answer Herb O’Driscoll’s DOB complaint in the June 28 issue about an illegal parking lot, contacting DOB is just one facet. To find out about the curb cut and if there is a permit on file that allows the cut, he needs to contact the DOT (Dept of Transportation) and obtain information under the FOIL provisions.
The same applies to placement of signs. He needs to contact the Police Department - Traffic Enforcement (the same people that give out tickets for parking meters) concerning the yellow stripe on the curb and the no parking signs.
Is this bureaucratic? Of course it is; you are dealing with city agencies!
On a positive note, with a curb cut, legal or illegal, at least a disabled person such as O’Driscoll can use it effectively.
John Ngai
Rego Park
Worldly worries
I am 86-years-old and I am one of a gradually-fading minority - the World War II veteran. As I watch the self-destruction of the world around me, I feel a compulsion to express my pent-up feelings combining my resentment, dismay and frustration.
I find it sad that patriotism has been replaced by criticism in our great country. We should never be above criticism but it has to be generated from proper motivation, not from those who exult in finding flaws in our armor. We have enough enemies without dealing with those from within.
I realize how presumptuous it is for me to assume that I recognize imminent doom while others have their eyes closed. My observations come because of the lack of any reaction from my fellow citizens in our post 9/11 era.
Our enemies are on the move and we seem to think that our government can do their job without the help of a completely responsive citizenry. Wrong! We should be alert to every potentially suspicious move or even mildly suspicious move around us.
We must stop dominating our media with fears of offending individuals or a group that we suspect of destructive motives aimed at us. The threat to our country is apparent but we must not shrink from verbalizing it.
At this moment, I am convinced that the most militant threat to this country comes from zealous Muslims. They are a small group in numbers until you realize that their influence stretches out to Europe and many other parts of the world. Their threat spreads not because of a belief in militancy but by the use of intimidation against a cowed society.
Albert B. Rose
Bayside
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