oped BTR letters & comments
Lt. Mark W. McKay
Way street naming
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,BTR FEBRUARY 21-27, 2020 13
A return to
good ole days
Rest In
Peace
In memory of Robert J.
Patricka, 1937-1995, 25 years
in Heaven. May you rest in
peace. Our family, the late
Rose Patricka, Jennifer Patricka,
Barbara and Stephen
Collins and his beautiful,
wonderful grandchildren Stephen
Joseph and Stephanie
Rose. We Love you and miss
you forever.
Patricka & Collins Family
ROBERT J. PATRICKA
around town
Birthday
Wishes
Happy Birthday wishes go
out to my family:
February 14 to my grandson,
Paul.
February 17 to my daughter
in-law, Carol.
February 26 to my son,
Paul Sr.
What a great month for
Grandma Pat.
I love you all.
Pat Sysah
BY PASTOR DOLORES
AND CAPT. HARRISON MCKAY
What an honor and a privilege
to see a street sign with
my son’s name on my corner.
Mark loved the Fire Department.
He loved his brothers
and loved serving the people
of the city of New York at Rescue
4 in Queens, L38/E51 and
L27/E46 in the Bronx.
On September 11, 2001 he
was the lieutenant in Ladder
45 in the Bronx and was told
to ‘stay back’ to protect the
neighborhood. Mark worked
vigorously in the 9-11 rescue
and recovery efforts that followed.
He went as often as he
could to Ground Zero, sifting
through the rubble looking
for his buddies. On other
days he attended funerals of
those who were killed. Mark
suffered from Survival Syndrome
as did so many other
brothers. He lost so many
good friends. He went on to
be cited four times for bravery
during his fi refi ghting
career.
Marks demise was due to
9-11 from a rare cancer called
Ewing Sarcoma. He was 48
years old when he passed on
April 4, 2012. He was survived
by his wife Belinda and his
then two teenage children,
Melissa and Mark and his
brother, three sisters, mom
and dad. After he passed at
Calvary Hospital, the family
learned that he donated his
eyes through the Organ Donation
Program.
This street sign that was
installed on February 15, 2020
on the corner of Parsifal Place
and Ellis Avenue in Country
Club, where he grew up, is a
symbol to all to remember not
only Mark but all our losses on
that day. There were 2,977 people
killed including 343 brothers
and more than 320 more
who are still suffering and dying
with 9-11 related cancer.
I would like to thank everyone
who came to the street
sign presentation for our son,
Lt. Mark W McKay Way. Many
thoughtful and dedicated people
attended the celebration.
Thank you to Councilman
Mark Gjonaj and Assemblyman
Michael Benedetto for
their part in making this ceremony
happen. Thank you to
all the city agencies; those who
installed the sign, the fl ags,
those who set up the tents
with chairs and heaters and
swept the street. Thank you
to Fire Department members
and members of the NYPD,
family, friends and neighbors,
who moved their cars and
braved the cold. Thank you
to the Brothers, the Bureau of
Training, Ceremonial Unit 1,
the Color Guard, the Fire Department
Chaplain, the fi reman
who sang the National
Anthem and the Fire Department
Band.
Thank you to my grandson
Matthew George McKay and
Albana, who were a big part
of this happening. And thank
you to the City of New York for
recognizing a fi ne young man
who served for 21 years to protect
the residents of this City,
while bravely fi ghting to rescue
and recover others.
‘Never Forget’
Dear editor,
The sorry condition of
Sanctuary NYC/NYS says
‘What hath liberals/progressives
wrought?’
We need a return to the
‘Good Old Days’ when a threetime
loser went to jail for life,
a convicted murderer was sent
to Sing Sing to sit in the electric
chair, crazy people didn’t
have to give their permission
to be placed in a mental institution,
and police enforced the
law without fear of being sued
by criminals or told to disregard
federal law by city/state
politicians.
Harold Melnichuk
Bureaucratic
dilemma
Dear editor,
I would like to see trash
cans put on the corners of Tenbroeck
Avenue and Morris
Park Avenue. One corner has a
deli and the other has a liquor
store. Since people have no
place to dispose of their junk,
it ends up on my property. I
am 75 years old and can’t constantly
sweep the sidewalk
and gutter to avoid getting a
ticket for littering.
When I complain to city
agencies, their response is
that my block is not in a business
area and isn’t entitled to
get trash cans.
Where are the consumers
of these two stores supposed to
put their garbage?
Alice Schwartz
Money can’t
buy character
Dear editor,
The things money can
buy can be said to be boundless,
but they are fi nite and
shall too pass away. There are
things however that money
can’t buy, and that are lasting
even beyond this life.
At a gathering in 2019, Mike
Bloomberg, presidential candidate,
stated he would never
compromise his principles,
nor would he go on an apology
tour as some then candidates
had, yet he has in fact did just
that. His past is littered with
former employees accusing
him of egregious and irresponsible
behavior, especially
toward females, and of being
inattentive to their needs. He
is a liberal elitist, and insults
farmers and factory workers,
describing their life’s work in
simplistic terms.
Bloomberg’s vast wealth
and past achievements cannot
buy what it is he lacks; those
things that last and prove
the true measure of the man:
honor, integrity, character,
and principle. He seeks the
highest offi ce in the land, and
such power even reaches beyond
our borders, yet he has
shown himself to be a panderer,
and a self-serving dishonorable
hypocrite, and not
worthy of the offi ce.
Bob Pascarella
A clueless
rich guy
Dear editor,
Those citizens who look
with favor upon the recent decision
of Micheal Bloomberg
to run for president should
remember his legacy as New
York City mayor. Ever the opportunist,
this lifelong Democrat
switched to the Republican
party in order to enhance
his prospects in his initial
mayoral contest, later leaving
the GOP when it no longer
suited his needs and ambitions
to become an independent,
now he is transforming himself
back into a Democrat as
he seeks the highest offi ce of
the land. A performance that
a chameleon would envy!
This gentleman touts his
supposedly unequaled managerial
skills and consummate
decision making ability as his
qualifi cations for president.
Let’s look at the record. When
Bloomberg left offi ce each and
every municipal union did not
have a contract with the city.
This great manager refused
to negotiate, leaving this unprecedented
mess for his successor
to clean up. Bloomberg
decided that experience was
unnecessary when he selected
Cathie Black as the chancellor
of the largest school system
in America, a disaster that,
thankfully, lasted only three
months and four days. Implementation
of Bloomberg’s policies
resulted in an explosion of
homelessness, the unconstitutional
implementation of ‘stop
and frisk’ and spying on people
based on their religious beliefs
through the infamous Demographics
Unit of the NYPD.
Viewing himself as indispensable.
Bloomberg subverted
the law that limited
mayors to two terms in offi
ce, bullying the City Council
into rescinding that law,
thus ignoring the will of
the voters, who on two occasions,
in 1993 and 1996 voted
to limit city offi ceholders to
two terms.
Despite the enormous
sums Bloomberg is spending
in his effort to buy the presidency,
this voter is not buying
the advertising spin and
hype of this billionaire, who
portrays himself as the savior
of those who want to defeat
Trump. We don’t need
another clueless rich guy running
the country.
Pasqual Pelosi
Still waiting
for apology
Dear editor,
President Donald Trump
should never have attacked
former NYC mayor (and possible
2020 opponent) Michael
Bloomberg, by calling him out
for Stop & Frisk and branding
him a racist. At least
Bloomberg apologized after
he realized his error and the
damage and pain the unfair,
unconstitutional practice he
once endorsed has caused.
But Trump, who also favored
and endorsed the same
unfair and unconstitutional
practice, has never apologized
for his racist attacks towards
blacks, Latinos, Mexicans and
Muslims.
Michael S. Wilbekin
LET US HEAR FROM YOU