EEDDIITTORRIIAALL Caught in the crossfire
CHANGING DECK HANDS ON THE
MTA FINANCIAL SS TITANIC
The departure of MTA Chairman Pat Foye is
nothing new (“Op-ed: A farewell from the outgoing
MTA Chair and CEO,” July 29).
They come and go every few years, but the status
quo will remain under the new Acting Chairman
Janno Lieber. It is the equivalent of changing captains
on the Titanic. Both City Hall and Albany will
continue to decrease hard cash contributions to the
MTA by billions under MTA Five-Year Capital Plans.
This included past Governors Mario Cuomo (Democrat),
George Pataki (Republican), Elliot Spitzer (D),
David Patterson (D) and current Governor Andrew
Cuomo. Both Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio
have to date provided little of their respective $3.5
billion dollar promised contribution toward funding
the MTA’s $51 billion 2020-2024 Five-Year Capital
Plan.
Billions more are still needed from the state to
make up for past cuts over previous decades. Everyone
insisted that the MTA continue financing more
and more of the Capital Program by borrowing.
As a result, going forward by 2024, 23 percent of
the annual MTA budget will go for covering the costs
of debt service payments.
This has grown over six capital programs or 30
years. By 2030, it could continue to grow even higher.
This means less money is available for operations
to provide more frequent, safe, reliable service to riders.
It also means there is never enough money to
reach a state of good repair. All MTA chairmen have
no real independence to make real change as they are
beholden to the governor, their benefactor.
Larry Penner, transportation advocate, Great
Neck
THE GOVERNOR SHOULD RESIGN
— NOW
Attorney General Letitia James gave her final report
on Gov. Andrew Cuomo, which I was watching
on television. The attorney general’s report stated
that Gov. Cuomo engaged in widespread sexual harassment
of women in his office. The report detailed
allegations included running his hands down the
body of a state trooper.
There were many women that were interviewed
who accused Gov. Cuomo of inappropriate behavior.
I find this most appalling and sad.
Women deserve respect and especially in the
workplace.
If this report is held as fact, the governor should
resign — and that means now.
Frederick R. Bedell Jr., Bellerose
HOW TO REACH US
TIMESLEDGER | Q 12 NS.COM | AUG. 6-12, 2021
A beautiful summer night in Queens on Saturday
turned bloody when two gunmen went
on the attack, opening fire on people outside
a barber shop, a restaurant and a laundromat.
When the smoke cleared, 10 people lay wounded.
Fortunately, they’re all recovering from their
injuries, and the NYPD is on the case looking for
the culprits.
Early in the investigation, it became clear to
investigators just what they were dealing with.
Chief of Detectives James Essig described the
shooting as “a brazen, coordinated attack” — the
apparent work of street gang members.
Indeed, police learned that three of the 10
shooting victims were members of the Trinitarios
street gang, and the apparent intended targets of
the rampage.
But while the shooters targeted three specific
individuals, they injured seven “innocent
bystanders” in the process. The shooting was a
wanton, reckless act that further struck fear into
a city already in angst over the year-long rise in
gun violence.
Indeed, as Essig pointed out, this is part of an
all-too-familiar pattern of gang shootings in the
city. Gang members blast away at their rivals on a
street, usually at night and from a vehicle of some
kind, firing at their subjects indiscriminately.
And too often, in the process, other individuals
with nothing to do with whatever beef led to the
shooting are caught in the crossfire and wounded.
This must stop.
We know the NYPD’s stepping up its efforts to
get guns off the streets and lock armed individuals
up. We know that the de Blasio Administration
has promoted alternative enforcement programs
such as violence interrupter groups and youth
programs to give people a reason to steer clear of
gangs.
But the public must come forward with information
and cooperate with police to lock up the
bastards responsible for this mass shooting, and
other episodes of gang violence in New York City.
Too often, the NYPD gets little cooperation
when it comes to finding the shooters and bringing
them to justice. We get the instinctive fear of
cooperation, but as long as the shooters remain on
the streets, they will continue to put whole communities
at risk of injury and death.
As long as gang violence continues to grip
parts of New York, we are all at risk.
Call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS. All calls
are kept confidential.
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