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Thinks DeBlasio is a Joke

Dear Editor:

NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio for President belongs in the comics section. “De Blasio for Prez–No Way!” (Editorial —May 22). Democrats Governor Andrew Cuomo and NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio have a lot in common with the late Republicans Governor Nelson Rockefeller (1959–1974) and NYC Mayor John Lindsay (1966–1973) along with Governor George Pataki (1995 -2006) and NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani (1994–2001). The same is true for the late Democrat Governor Mario Cuomo (1983–1992) and NYC Mayor Ed Koch (1978-1988). Nelson Rockefeller, George Pataki, Mario Cuomo and son Andrew Cuomo deal with Mayors who want equal billing on the political marque.

Lindsay’s urban, Koch’s Big Apple, Giuliani’s safety/quality of life and de Blasio’s progressive agenda is dependent upon both increased state and federal assistance. de Blasio envisions himself as the national spokesperson for progressive Mayors from all cities. This conflicts with Governors who have to worry about all 62 counties making up New York State. It also creates problems for both Cuomo and de Blasio who harbor Presidential ambitions in 2020. Cuomo like his father Mario, Rockefeller and Pataki, de Blasio like Lindsay and Giuliani will never come close to winning any primaries let alone occupy the White House. Better to spend your time packing for moving back to your old Park Slope Brooklyn home when your term ends in December 2021.

Sincerely,

Larry Penner


Remembering Brooklyn in the 1950s!

Dear Editor:

I was born September 12, 1941 on a street in Brownsville called Hopkinson Avenue. One of my older brothers was also born on September 12th exactly 10 years older then me. For the last 77 years we have celebrated our birthdays together. The hospital I was born was called Beth- El and later in years it was changed to Brookdale Hospital. It is still there and is located on Linden Boulevard and Rockaway Parkway in Brooklyn.

When I was a few months old my parents moved to 260 Amboy Street. I was told that the rent being 28 dollars was cheaper than the other apartment. It definitely wasn’t an upgrade because it was a small two bedroom apartment that had a bathroom with no wash stand. We had to wash our hands in the kitchen sink. The bathroom was so small that two people could not fit in at one time. Sometimes I would have to wait on line to use the shower but after awhile we had a schedule.

You can see by the attached picture of our building, it had three floors and we lived on the first floor front overlooking the garbage cans.

My telephone number Dickens 5-2364. It was a party line which means we shared the phone line with other families. Sometimes if you wanted to dial out you had to wait for the other parties to get off the phone.

There were two families on each floor. The tenant on the first floor behind us was The Schwieds, the second floor were the Beckmans and the Cramers, and on the top floor were the Sass family and in the back was old landlord the Krasners.

One true story I recall was about our back neighbor. Francis Schwied was in our apartment talking to my mom. All of a sudden nature called and she had no choice but to use our bathroom. She weighed over 300 pounds and running into the bathroom she got stuck between the tub and wall. My mom had to call the fire department to free her. She never made it to the toilet.

My father was a mailman and had to get up early to get to Manhattan Beach Post Office to deliver the mail. My mom had a bad heart and was in an out of the hospital. She had problems sleeping because it was hard for her to breathe. So when we moved to Amboy Street my father took one of the bedrooms for himself.

That left 5 boys and my mom with one bedroom. The living room sofa opened up into a bed. This is where my mom sleep along with myself and two of my brothers. My two older brothers slept in the other bedroom. Sometimes when I woke up in the morning the first thing I saw was my brothers feet in my face. The Jewish word for sleeping foot to face was called ” tzifissin” This got me right out of bed to be first on line in the bathroom. This may be the reason why we considered a close family.

Sincerely

Martin


Irked by Cuomo’s Attitude & Ignorance

Dear Editor,

I was a little irked by the governor’s comments and attitude from your article “Cuomo Slams MTA for Ineptness at Association for a Better New York Luncheon.”

“Vendors are installing technology they designed in the ’80s. I believe there is better technology out there,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. “If you can figure out how a car can fly and you can get in a car that drives you by itself to Southampton, you have to be able to have technology where one train can tell you where the other train is on a closed system.”

He’s talking like a true politician. His words mean nothing, and he may not know what he’s talking about. It’s really convenient to be in a position where you can just wish for things that are untenable or don’t exist yet, especially coming from the guy who says he is not in control of the MTA, until he declares an emergency and then does as he pleases while skirting any and all responsibility for the everyday problems of New Yorkers.

The newer technology is on PATH trains now. The railroad was required to meet the PTC mandate. The subway system actually has CBTC on the L train Canarsie line and is working out the kinks on the newly installed CBTC technology on the 7 train Flushing line. The technology, paired with experienced subway operators and dispatchers, could allow lines to operate over 30 trains an hour, which would mean waiting less than two minutes for a train and still having a safer ride. With more train frequency, there is also less dangerous crowding on platforms and fewer delays from dwell time.

Even though this technology is promising, the agency has dragged its feet. The technology would really help the system, as would continuously expanding it. I don’t know what the governor is talking about when he says better technology exists. He ought to let the agency do its work without impugning the character and integrity of so many MTA employees.

Sincerely,

Lisa Friedman

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