EDITORIAL
Curfew might be the last, necessary resort
Readers: That guy is something else!
COURIER LIFE, MARCH 20-26, 2020 21
Curtis Sliwa, the founder of
the civilian crime-fi ghting troop
Guardian Angels, announced his
plans to run for mayor as a Republican,
claiming his time on the streets
makes him the perfect person to lead
the fi ve boroughs — not some career
politician!
“I’ve lived in the streets, I’ve lived
in the inner city, and I’ve been baptized
in the subways,” said Sliwa. “I
understand what people go through
more so than Scott Stringer, Eric
Adams, Corey Johnson, or anyone
who has been rumored to be a candidate.”
The Canarsie native founded his
vigilante watchdog group in 1979,
enlisting unarmed volunteers to patrol
the streets and subways wearing
their signature red jackets —
and the organization still boasts
150 local members, Sliwa claimed.
If elected to City Hall, Sliwa says
his time at the helm of the Guardian
Angels would help him lower
crime and reinvigorate the city’s police
force — which Sliwa believes is
caught up in nefarious behavior.
“They’re not wearing their hats,
they’re constantly clustered up, sexting
or texting on their phones,” he
said of today’s policemen.
Readers experssed themselves
online:
If this isn’t Fake News, it should
be…
Jerry Krase
Curtis gets my vote!
Seamus McHenry
I’m old enough to know 99% of
those spectacular subway feats were
fabricated. PERIOD.
Anthony Jones
An utter a------. Go back to sleep, idiot.
Paul Carpenter
Not Ample Hills!
As businesses across the city
struggle to stay afl oat amid the
spread of the novel coronavirus,
Brooklyn-based ice cream purveyor
Ample Hills Creamery has fi led for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
In a statement, the popular ice
cream parlor said the fi ling was not
brought on by the current COVID-19
pandemic, rather it was done so
that the business could “course correct.”
“We are taking the necessary
next steps to preserve and ultimately
bring Ample Hills into its next
phase. In order to do this, we are
fi ling for Chapter 11 bankruptcy,
which allows us to restructure and
refocus,” a spokesperson said. “We
have learned a lot from our growth
and this is a strategic decision that
allows us to course correct and
continue doing what we love most:
creating a delicious product from
scratch, in our beloved Brooklyn
home.”
Readers experssed themselves
online:
I think it was too much expansion
too soon
Nelson Fernandez
They’re ice cream was overpriced
and nothing special.
Tamar Gru
The world really is ending
Meg Elizabeth
Oh my God NO!
Peg Rekoutis-tsaltas
Every street in Brooklyn?
Cycling is more than just a mode
of transportation or a pastime for
one Williamsburg woman, who has
taken it upon herself to bike every
block in the borough by Sept. 1.
“I felt like I was going the same
places all the time when I went biking,
so I decided I would just bike every
block so I would have new places
to go,” said Jacqueline VanDusen,
who has pedaled more than 3,500
miles since 2017.
The cyclist has been chronicling
her progress on her Instagram
page, Brooklynbybike, where some
6,800 people follow along with her
journey.
Wear a helmet, look both ways. Its
dngerous out there, thats why I stopped
cycling.
Vincent Garofalo
She should do it its fun, I did something
like that a long time ago. I Started
at the Brooklyn bridge, went around
the edge of Brooklyn into queens until
I got back to the bridge then into Manhattan
into the Bronx then into Manhattan
again, took the ferry into S.I.
just rode around then back into Manhattan
then back home to Brooklyn.
Dennis Diaz
LET US HEAR FROM YOU
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Colin Mixson, Edi tor, Courier Life,
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LETTERS AND COMMENTS FROM OUR READERS
To curfew, or not to curfew?
That is the question before
city and state government offi
cials as they deliberate the
best way to contain the rapidlyspreading
coronavirus outbreak.
Mayor Bill de Blasio strongly
hinted Tuesday that he would
move toward a shelter-in-place
policy citywide very soon. The
entire city, except for essential
employees of essential businesses
and services, would
be told to stay home for two
weeks.
It would be a similar society
shutdown enacted in Italy,
France and the San Francisco
area in a broad effort to “fl atten
the curve.”
Meanwhile, Governor Andrew
Cuomo doesn’t seem to be
quite on board with that plan.
Soon after de Blasio’s remarks
on Tuesday afternoon, Secretary
to the Governor Melissa
DeRosa noted that “any blanket
quarantine or shelter-in-place
policy would require state action,
and as the governor has
said, there is no consideration
of that for any locality at this
time.”
De Blasio said he’s in contact
with Cuomo about a shelter-inplace
plan. We know they’re
working together to give the
best response to this crisis as
humanly possible. It remains to
be seen whether they’ll agree to
a New York City “lockdown” for
two weeks.
Some might ask, why have a
lockdown? Why should the government
order everyone to stay
home for two weeks?
The answer to that question
is simple.
Last week, the country was
bombarded with news about
coronavirus, and how easy it
is to spread in crowds. States of
emergency were declared, occupancy
rules were dramatically
altered, entire sports leagues
suspended operations, schools
were shut, offi ces told employees
to telecommute.
The message, while voluntary,
was clear: Stay the hell
home.
And yet, people all over the
city, state and country went to
bars, restaurants, movie theaters,
beaches and other places
over the last weekend anyway,
fully aware that they were increasing
their risk of becoming
coronavirus carriers themselves.
The nonchalance exhibited
over coronavirus led Italy and
France to declare lockdowns
amid the pandemic, and that
will be the reason why a lockdown
will be necessary here.
We shouldn’t have to be told
by a government order to protect
each other. The facts show
that social distancing will reduce
the spread of infection,
and the strain on the health
care system.
But if we can’t change our
lifestyles based on the facts,
then what other choice do we
have?
Don’t say we didn’t warn
you.
/schnepsmedia.com
