Dear Editor:
My husband and I just came back from a walk down Main Street. When we passed the Graze and Grill Point, we were in shock. In front of Grill Point, two women who did not look Jewish (but it’s possible that they were) were eating food from Grill Point, but had their 7-11 Slurpees on the table and were drinking from them. In front of the Graze, a restaurant that serves meat, sat a man at a table eating a slice of pizza!
I’m all for businesses and restaurants reopening. If outdoor seating helps restaurants make money, I’m all for that – but someone should be out by the tables supervising. At the very least, a sign should hang stating that only food from that establishment can be eaten at the tables provided by the restaurants.
Owners, managers, and wait staff of Main Street restaurants, please pay attention to what is going on at your tables. If you notice someone sitting when a few moments ago they weren’t, check it out!
S. Schwartz
Dear Editor:
I read Sergey Kadinsky’s Letter to the Editor about the primary results with great interest. Since I myself ran for office in 2012 for the 25th Assembly district as a Republican and lost to Nily Rozic, I had a stake in what Sergey had to say.
He cites the loss of District Leader Morty Povman in the 27th Assembly district as some phenomenon that we can learn from. What he derives from this is that, despite our community backing Povman as the standard-bearer of our community, that he is as a moderate Democrat and lover of Israel, he lost to a young progressive candidate.
Kadinsky says that we should be more active as a community to vote and that we should be realistic about the fact that aged politicians may need to exit the stage at a certain point and let young blood come in. So how come his wife Sandra won resoundingly? Kadinsky brings up this question and posits that maybe it has something to do with the position of the candidates on the ballot. With all due respect and despite his great knowledge of politics, he missed the boat on this one.
The progressives, as we know, are waging a war on old white men, and being rich is even worse. Morty fits all of those demographics. Sandra, even though she’s two out of three, is not male, which spared her from the guillotine of the angry young progressive left.
Another mistake that Kadinsky makes is that he says that we should run young candidates of our own; he cites examples of young staffers to politicians in office already. I have nothing against the ones named, but there’s something missing in those young candidates: They are Orthodox, pro-Israel, capitalists, and traditional Democrats – and that will not satisfy the young radical progressives. Young progressive leftists tend to identify with fringe political ideals such as those espoused by the “Squad,” which promote socialism, America- and Israel-bashing, criminal justice reform without accountability, educational systems with no incentives for students to excel in, no discipline for those who disrupt others, and a general society where excellence is not rewarded and criminality is not punished. Young progressives are taught that America is essentially evil and that America was born out of violence, and therefore violence as a way to punish America is justified.
Unfortunately, however, young Jewish Orthodox folks are not as energized as their secular progressive counterparts, and running young Orthodox and moderate Democrat candidates will not excite our young people any more than running either middle-aged or senior candidates would. What we can learn from this election result, though, is that if we don’t start talking to our young people about what matters in civic and political circles, the progressives will carry the day and transform our country into a place we do not want our young people to inherit. It’s not good enough that we teach young people to excel in school; we must also teach them to care about the community and to love the country in which they live, as well as the country of our ancestors, Israel. Without this, we will lose to the false ideologies of the progressives.
Finally, we must also instill that voting is absolutely essential; America is not a Goldilocks society that we can take for granted, where justice, law and order, and peace for Jews and all peoples are there without even working for it. With that, I agree with Kadinsky.
Abe Fuchs
Dear Editor:
Where are our leaders? A storm has been brewing for quite some time in our city. The news reported daily is proof that Mayor Bill de Blasio has lost control of the city he was elected to lead. He has lost control of the Police Department and instead wants the community to defend itself. The situation everyday folk find themselves in is dangerous and unacceptable. In Manhattan, the DA refuses to show his face at the barrage of shootings in his borough. We are left to ponder if a recent tweet of support for New York from the President of the United States should become reality. Donald Trump wrote, “Shootings up significantly in NYC where people are demanding that Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio act now. Federal Government ready, willing and able to help, if asked!”
The road to the President’s election was fraught with years of aggression that divided a nation. The discord has continued ever since, firing up the Democratic Party to once again attempt a rise. In recent days, Council Member Rory Lancman has voiced his utter disregard for the mayor, calling out a recent action. In a press conference, the mayor noted that there are six police reforms, but Lancman retorted on social media that the criminal justice reform bills never received the mayor’s signature. New York’s Police Commissioner, Dermot Shea, blamed the violent shootings on his officers being crippled. The Commissioner went further to place blame on bail reform being an obstacle, allowing the rampant shootings. True or not, Shea seems unable to manage his own department. These statements prompted Lancman to formally demand that the Mayor fire the Commissioner and hire “senior police leadership committed to, and capable of, obeying authority and enforcing the law.”
Council Member Donovan Richards placed the recent bloodshed on “taking away our youth jobs, basketball hoops and programs.” Regarding Shea, Richards commented, “We will stand on the right side of history and not fall for this propaganda. Fix the systemic issues and you will resolve crime. We absolutely condemn those ripping up our streets; they must be held accountable, as well
We remain in a public health crisis, and our leadership should not go about pointing fingers; rather, they should be finding real solutions and unearthing the core issues. It has been said that we cannot experience peace without first dealing with great suffering. To some, the effects of COVID-19 are this woe and to others over 400 years of African American hostility might be to blame. Something must give, because the system of government will always survive. The sorrow has certainly been great, and we must arrive at an even greater sense of serenity. Our city must not live in fear of destruction, but rather revel in overcoming the plight and be washed of the carnage on the streets.
To build trust, we must settle on a leader we respect, who can deal with the various shades of grey in our city, even if the facts are often blurry. A leader should value every moment when he or she is given the chance to shine. A leader understands the value of every life, where care is given to one life the same way it is shown to the masses. Right now, there is no such man.
Shabsie
