The city still needs to keep its promise
Manhattan: Last week, Councilman Christopher Marte introduced Intro 1008, proposed legislation that protects the healthcare coverage for Medicare-eligible retirees and their Medicare-eligible dependents. I hope the Council gives as much consideration to these great contributors to the quality of life of our city as it has given to teachers’ aides and other active employees
For the past five years, 250,000 retired city employees, including aging and former police, fire, EMTs, teachers and other essential workers have been struggling to keep their basic retirement healthcare that the city promised them, then tried to diminish in many ways. The Bill de Blasio and Eric Adams administrations imposed heavy co-pays that far exceed what is typical in the marketplace, and tried to force retirees off traditional Medicare and onto an inferior private Medicare Advantage program with a limited network of providers and preauthorization hurdles. And for five years, the retirees have been fighting these wrongs with little or no support from the vast majority of the City Council who have never even met with the retirees’ representatives.
As a retiree of the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget, it is my fervent hope that the City Council will recognize the moral imperative of keeping the healthcare promise to the elderly who have kept the city going no matter what!
Exactly right
Middle Village: Your editorial “Julie Menin’s paras bill is just plain illegal” (Aug. 21) hits the nail on the head. Benefits including salary and health insurance for actively employed city workers need to be negotiated through collective bargaining. Anything else violates the Taylor Law. That said, retirees are no longer part of any union, which means the Taylor Law does not apply to them. This makes me wonder why both UFT President Michael Mulgrew and DC37 President Henry Garrido are saying that Intro 1008, a bill that protects the health benefits city workers were promised when they took their jobs, violates the Taylor Law. It appears that our union leaders have things reversed.
Lee Rottenberg
Not right
Bellerose: Some kids call paras “nut teachers,” as their duties include helping students with severe disabilities. I call bull
Robert Berger
No teeth
Holliswood: Voicer Ellen Settanni: Mayor Mamdani did remove consequences against errant cyclists. When a motorist receives a moving violation, there are consequences for ignoring the summons. The motorist will have their drivers license suspended and be subject to arrest if stopped while driving with a suspended license. If a cyclist ignores a moving violation summons and gets stopped again while cycling, there’s nothing the NYPD can do other than issue more moving violation summonses that will be ignored and go unpaid. Hence, that’s why the NYPD started issuing criminal court summonses to cyclists. If the cyclist ignored the “C” summons and got stopped again, they would be subject to arrest on a “C” summons warrant and brought before a judge. Since the NYPD has been ordered by the mayor to no longer issue “C” summonses for errant cyclists, expect a lot more deviant cycling behavior.
Gregory W. Chupa
The course is set
Manhattan: Thank you for your thorough and dramatic coverage of Friday’s devastation at the beach club at Atlantic Beach (“Tornado hits Long Island’s Sun & Surf Beach Club,” Aug. 21). Folks might grunt, “Only a beach club.” Noted. But coal miners know not to grunt, “Only a canary, we’re OK.” Ever since James Hansen alerted the nation 38 years ago to the increasingly devastating effects of climate change, his warning has been borne out. Is a beach club limited? Yes. But its message, in the context of climate breakdown, is that worse is on the way. And then worse yet — so long as we keep relying on fossil fuels for our energy.
Rachel Makleff
The one thing
Manhattan: The other night, I was watching Baz Luhrmann’s 1992 movie “Strictly Ballroom.” I couldn’t help but think what a perfect name this would have been for a film celebrating the accomplishments of President Trump’s second term!
Gary Stein
Perennial problem
Cincinnati: Re “Trump’s un-American Truth Social grift has to end” (editorial, Aug. 16): Corruption infests every level of government and has since people began to govern. Human nature is what it is and has not evolved substantially since Homo sapiens first developed. The only news here is the magnitude of recent examples. Political radicals have found purchase in Democratic primaries in part because of disgust with our present system of capitalist greed, self-dealing and multi-card monte with all cards in the president du jour’s hands. Rectitude is a hindrance in the game of electoral politics, where money greases the slippery pole and glad-hands welcome the winner with inside information. “Hail to the Chief” sends shivers of delight and dreams of riches. We must, as Barack Obama said, fundamentally transform the system, but as The Essex sang in the 1963 chart-topper “Easier Said Than Done,” it’s as hard in love as it is in governing.
Paul Bloustein
Direct consequences
Manhattan: Three food-borne illnesses in the last few weeks have struck the American public. That is what happens when a foolish idiot like RFK Jr. is put in charge of the nation’s health. One of the first things he did was greatly reduce the staff at all agencies that safeguard our food supply. Now we see the result
Richard Simon
Doomed by arrogance
Howard Beach: Nazi Germany believed it was superior to every other nation. It planned a swift, decisive war in Russia, believing its people, weapons and tactics were superior to the Slavs. They figured that in six to eight weeks they’d be in Moscow for a victory celebration. It didn’t turn out that way. The Russians bled them white. Instead, it was the Russians who celebrated victory in Berlin. Nor did an air war against Britain using a superior air force, V-1s and V-2s force Britain to surrender. Wrong again. Ideology can’t overcome facts. Barring the use of nuclear weapons, the ill-conceived war against Iran was also bound to fail — helped by this administration’s incompetence and bravado.
Ernest Kienzle
Cookie-cutter campaigns
Keyport, N.J.: I’m seeing political ads for Mike Lawler and Tom Kean. They are exactly the same, just replacing the names. Which, if true, wouldn’t be a problem for me. But they are pushing the “fact” that each of them worked hard to reduce healthcare costs. Thanks to their hard work, things did change. I feel that I’m the only one who remembers last year, when the Republicans pushed through the One Big Beautiful Bill (that Chucky Schumer was going to fight) that caused my rates and my drug costs to go up. Another example of say anything, even falsehoods, to get elected. Haven’t we learned yet?
Joe Napolitano
