Readers sound off on MTA workers, kill shelters and the ‘conspiracy against rights’ statute

Corona: A piece in the New York Post complained about the MTA agreeing to 10% raises over three years for transit workers without getting any work-rule concessions. Why do they pretend as if the money is just handed to workers? We run 24/7 — holidays, weekends, rain, snow or shine. We have to endure all kinds of abuse and hazardous conditions.

Our health is always at risk of all types of cancers and the air in the subway system has been proven to be of low quality, according to a New York University comprehensive study. Our mechanics endure sicknesses, and exposure to diesel fuels proved to cause upper respiratory issues and lung cancer. The state just updated its laws to cover diesel exposure as a covered illness. Transit workers suffer from conditions similar to black lung from the steel tracks and exposure to all types of toxins, just like in a coal mine that is deep in the earth. Sitting or standing for prolonged periods of time has also been proved to be hazardous to our health.

I can go on for days about all the issues we face on a daily basis. To suggest we deserve less money is a robbery in itself. Transit workers are the ones being robbed of our dignity and respect, and of our health and time with our families. Assaults are at an all-time high and injuries on the job have skyrocketed across the board. Many workers quit because it’s not an easy job and not everyone can endure how grueling it is. Celso Garcia

Manhattan: Re “To Jerry Hauer, who made emergencies manageable” (op-ed, Aug. 15): I too mourn the passing of Jerry Hauer. I fondly remember Jerry when he interviewed for the position to head the newly created Emergency Management Office, a gentleman from that day and forever. He had the difficult task of trying to convince the NYPD and FDNY commissioners to give up some of their powers during the many emergencies that brought both agencies to the scene. In spite of the strong personalities of the commissioners and the hostility between agency staff, Jerry persevered, established himself as capable of organizing an effective response and never looked back. It’s only fitting that Joe Lhota write such an eloquent eulogy. Joe showed these same qualities during his positions at the Department of Finance, Office of Management and Budget and as deputy mayor for operations. Too bad he wasn’t elected mayor. Larry Schatt

Scarsdale, N.Y.: I was disheartened to learn that many asylum seekers were left with no other option but to sleep in the street outside of the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan. It was ironic that there were 200 vacant beds for the homeless available during that time. However, they were not allowed to let asylum seekers use them. Unless I am mistaken, aren’t these asylum seekers homeless, too? I would think that some arrangement could have been made to accommodate these needy people! Harold I. Sussman

Queens Village: I concur with Voicer Elizabeth Forel’s synopsis of NYC Animal Care Centers. I worked at the shelter in 1994, and it puzzles me that they are still in this predicament. But let’s not blame it all on the shelter. What about the city’s Health Department, which shortchanges the amount of money allocated to it? Manhattan has six no-kill shelters. Queens still has none. It’s not the shelter system’s fault. Their only job is to kill, but what about the people who dump their animals there? Shelters get animals continuously, but where do they come from? Joan Silaco

Woodside: I agree with Voicer Elizabeth Forel. If the city wanted to fix this problem, it should have been serious about building low-cost spay-neuter facilities with a public information campaign to educate people about this important issue. Instead, they put funding into killing innocent animals. Since the city took over in 1994, this issue went on the back burner. All mayors since then are equally to blame. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Marie Richardson

Manhattan: Kudos to Voicer Carmine E. Esposito for his remembrance of the great composer, singer, musician and bandleader Louis Jordan, a forerunner of several musical genres including modern rhythm and blues and rap. There was a terrific musical that ran in London and then on Broadway years ago called “Five Guys Named Moe,” which celebrated the music of Jordan and other composers of the early-to-mid-20th century. According to Wikipedia, there was a revival at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2010 and other local theatre productions since then, but it would be fitting if it was brought back to New York City to give a new generation exposure to this fantastic music. Sam Katz

Akron, Ohio: One of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s indictments of Donald Trump and his associates for attempting to overturn the 2020 election is Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 241, called “conspiracy against rights,” which makes it a crime to deny one’s vote to be counted. Five times in our history, the Electoral College’s vote choice has been opposite the popular vote choice (1824, 1876, 1888, 2000 and 2016). The person with the most popular votes did not win the presidency. In each case, everyone in the majority group was denied one’s vote to be counted, which appears to be illegal. The ideal is for the popular vote choice to be the winner. Making radical changes to the Electoral College voting process would be difficult, but not necessary. Enforcing the conspiracy against rights law could make the Electoral College always reflect the popular vote. The Electoral College would become a ceremonial procedure. Jack and Rebecca Bayonnet

Manhattan: It is hard to understand why the lackadaisical Democrats are not speaking out in response to all the Trump indictments and sorting out all the lies being spread by the Republicans, especially Trump himself. President Biden may not be the right conduit to underscore the lies being spread, as he is a candidate, however, his press secretary, chief of staff, etc. have pulpits from which they can. Some media outlet was counting all the Trump lies and I wonder if the total is still being tallied. Maybe this number would wake up his supporters to the fact that he is a perpetual liar and criminal. What a conceit indeed that he can not testify in his trials because of his propensity to lie when he speaks. That character flaw says it all. Jack Weiss

Dayton, Ohio: The editorial “Rudy, we hardly knew ye” (Aug. 18) describes someone whose behavior has changed due to a toxic drug addiction. The toxic drug is, of course, Donald Trump. Unfortunately, many Republican voters and most Republican politicians have the same addiction. Vic Presutti

Smithtown, L.I.: It seems anyone who thinks that the Trump impeachments and indictments are partisan in nature are called things such as Trump cult members, ignorant, brainwashed, gullible, etc. But to me and many others, anyone who doesn’t at least question the validity of these endless attempts to derail his running for a second term after a successful first term are the brainwashed cult members buying into the endless media bias, partisanship and unfairness in coverage. Andrew Ross

Manhattan: Your editorial “Final nail in the coffin” (Aug. 12) misses several points. Undoubtedly, my colleagues will respond to your allegations that the vast majority of retirees would be satisfied with the proposed Aetna Medicare Advantage plan, which would allegedly improve our current plan, benefit current workers and save the city $600 million annually. They will insist that it overlooks the Municipal Labor Committee’s misuse of funds. The opposition of some current MLC members is evident in the number of “no” votes, abstentions and no-shows. It ignores the role of retirees in building NYC into its premier international position. It pits retirees against current workers. My gripe is that it rejects the promise of premium free heath care in return for stellar service, acceptance of lower wages and rejects a commitment to keep that promise for life! Evelyn Jones Rich