Manhattan: Deborah Alexander’s recent op-ed (“School elections are now political,” Op-ed, May 6) claims that city and community boards of education (CECs) are becoming unnecessarily into politicians and division by parent groups endorsing specific candidates and caution. against others The only highly organized group whose members have used their CEC positions to run for higher political office and who have repeatedly referenced divisive national issues is their own organization, Parent Leaders for Accelerated Curriculum and Education (PLACE).
PLACE-aligned CEC members and candidates have promoted an extremely limited agenda. The severe shortsightedness of their agenda is illustrated by their 2021-23 term on the District 2 CEC, during which they proposed resolutions to defund public schools, resist reducing class sizes, and remove a popular superintendent and competent When parents were terrified of COVID in 2021, the PLACE-aligned CEC stubbornly refused to discuss any of their concerns. Instead, they called for an end to masks and challenged the validity of vaccines. While parents were concerned that children with special needs were being left behind due to a lack of services during the pandemic, the CEC refused to focus on any issues other than reinstating screens and tests for gifted and talented programs. They publicly stated that children with higher grades during the pandemic had worked harder and should be rewarded with higher quality schools than those who received lower grades.
The parent volunteers who oppose PLACE would love to be able to focus simply on advocating for the needs of families and schools. However, we cannot support the defense that only a small proportion of families benefit that characterizes the approach of PLACE-aligned CEC members. Rebecca Garte
Forest Hills: Re “Phonics is critical” (May 10): I’m surprised it took so long for a school principal to realize that the way we learned to read in the 1950s is the best way to teach to read children Talk about being “awake”. Linda Sperling
Pine Plains, NY: For the Voice Jimmy Durda: The stupor of the American public is largely due to recent decades of emphasis on the fourth R added to the three R’s of education: reading, ” writing,” “arithmetic and reparations. Schools used to educate, now focus on illusory fairness. Joseph McCluskey
Manhattan: CUNY prides itself on diversity at every level, from our student body that speaks 137 different languages to our faculty and even my executive team. That’s why I was outraged to see Voicer Rosette Liberman cite recycled lies about our university, claiming that zero members of my senior leadership are Jewish. I am honored to have several Jewish leaders in my cabinet, as well as in many other leadership, administrative and faculty positions at the university and on our campuses. Equally troubling is the false claim based solely on appearances that a photo of me with eight students in the Chancellor’s bio page has no Jewish students. The photo reflects some of the great diversity, which would be impossible to reflect in a single image, of our 226,000 students with whom I work every day. In fact, there is a Jewish student in the photo, along with East Asian, Latino, Muslim, and South Asian students. They are much more than their faith and the color of their skin. They are New Yorkers, studying hard while balancing work and family to strengthen our city and our workforce. Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, chancellor, City University of New York
Brooklyn: I see activists tear up the city to put migrant children in a NYPD gym. I bet each and every activist has at least one bed or couch available at home. I don’t see them offering their space. When they do, maybe people won’t see them as hypocrites. Glenn Brown
Massapequa Park, LI: Congratulations to E. Jean Carroll! Finally, Donald Trump has been found guilty of sexual abuse and defamation charges. God bless you for standing up and sharing your pains. Now everyone knows he’s a degenerate. Frank Mullahey
Bronx: Donald Trump has got to be one of the dumbest people in history. In his statement for his rape trial, he defended his p–sy-grabbing as something stars have been doing for a million years, admitting he is a sexual predator. He didn’t know there were “stars” a million years ago, but at least he’s not a creationist. Randall Borra
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Ozone Park: They got it. What amazes me is how George Santos got away with his lies and falsehoods for so long. This outright fraud said he would represent Long Island. Who would even recognize him in prison? She’s the political version of Elizabeth Holmes, the Theranos scammer who took millions of dollars from people who believed her made-up claims. They have always said that politicians lie, but never in the history of this country has anyone taken the lie to such an extreme and didn’t care if anyone found out. Ray Hackinson
Pelham, NY: In her op-ed “New York Assembly Must Stop Blocking Abortion Bill” (May 8), Julie F. Kay says, “Abortion is a human right”. The purpose of abortion is to kill the baby in the womb. So let’s connect this definition to Kay’s statement, “Killing a baby in the womb is a human right.” With such disorientation and lack of morals, Kay and her ilk epitomize everything that is wrong with our society today. Wendy Packus
Bronx: How often do we see the headlines: “A person was beaten and assaulted on the subway and no one came to his defense.” However, when someone defends others or themselves, we vilify and condemn them. It is a pity that the young man lost his life. I don’t think murder was intended here though. We shouldn’t be so tribal that we can’t see an accident when it happens. Jake Diaz
Middle Village: Regarding your May 1 op-ed, “Helping New York’s Seniors This Month and Every Month,” Mayor Adams, his Office of Labor Relations and the City Committee of Labor are doing the exact opposite with all city employees. Right now, retirees are affected, but eventually, all city workers will be in trouble. The reason is that they are trying to take away the original Medicare/Medigap plan that we were promised and received for over 50 years, and replace it with a Medicare Advantage program that no one wants. Lee Rottenberg
Branchburg, NJ: I understand there have been some big changes in the way you produce your paper, but your distribution has fallen far below acceptable standards. Picking up the final Metro edition of The News is a waste of money. The sports section has nothing on any of the previous night’s games – no scores, recaps, nothing. We only talk about injuries, rumors, etc. This is the same thing that is talked about on sports radio stations. Your competition (NY Post) always has its sports final in the stands in the morning next to your Metro. There has to be a better way to distribute in a more timely manner. Frank DiBrango
Brooklyn: I see your role is getting smaller and smaller, but what about those huge margins? Felix Baez
Yonkers: Voice Martin Sandok laments the decline of the Daily News, especially its sports section. He also claims that the New York Post’s sports section has improved, but “the rest of the paper is just a slant rag.” Obviously, Sandok hasn’t been reading Leonard Greene’s columns. They are generally the epitome of slanted journalism. Recently, Greene had the audacity to state, “I think Sheeran did steal Gaye; it is not the first case of this type” (column, April 30). Well, the courts proved otherwise. So far, I haven’t heard any apologies for tarnishing Ed Sheeran’s reputation. However, I also find it alarming that Greene is an adjunct professor at a journalism school given his views. Frank Brady
