Readers sound off on zoning rules, trash containers and bail reform

Let N.Y.ers choose what their city looks like

Manhattan: I write in defense of City Council member deference, which grants all members a veto on rezonings in their district. This empowers voters to elect candidates who share their vision for their neighborhood.

Zoning is used to print money for real estate developers who have bought politicians. Developers get billions while residents get a lottery for families earning $232,980 to pay $6,057 a month for “affordable housing.” When I was an Upper East Side council member from 2014 to 2022, I refused real estate money. This freed me to use member deference to lead a rezoning to block Billionaires’ Row, make empty spaces in buildings for billionaires illegal, open 1,000 affordable apartments and welcome housing and shelter for the homeless. Sadly, Mayor Bill de Blasio blocked my proposals to require affordable housing or integrated public schools in new towers. That’s why I proposed removing city planning from the mayor.

Take the 2021 Blood Center rezoning, where member deference was ignored. That rezoning was not about blood, it was about rezoning a residential block of brownstones to build a 334-foot commercial tower. It involved de Blasio, who owed lobbyists on the project $435,000, a nonprofit that provided blood as an alternative to the Red Cross, and a pandemic. It promised a new headquarters and new jobs to boost our recovery.

Years later, the Blood Center headquarters moved from Long Island to Westchester. Construction never started and the jobs never came. A new rezoning could allow a super-tall commercial tower without them. The City Council did not get what it voted for. This is an example for not only keeping member deference, but electing more candidates who refuse real estate money. Ben Kallos

Too open

Manhattan: I’m not sure how I feel about the MTA’s open gangway cars rollout, which will expand along various subway lines. Although I’m for the advancements and progression of technology, with the recent spikes in crime on the subway, I feel this will pose a huge safety issue for straphangers. Omar Branch

Solid support

South Ozone Park: Any NFL team with fans like Patti Smith, MC5 and Snoop Lion has my support. Go Detroit. Kevin Moran

Strong season

Massapequa, L.I.: Congratulations to Taylor Swift on making it to the Super Bowl. We all watched what a great season she had, as she was shown after every single play. I only hope someone comes along real soon and smashes all of her “records.” Tom Ascher

Do it right

Yorktown Heights, N.Y.: Thank you for “Containerization is set for uptown nabe in new way to pick up rubbish” (Feb. 2). A citywide mandate to have trash bags in sealed containers would go far towards deterring rodents, who populate where trash is left out. For anyone having smaller issues with rodents, the following methods are deterrents: mint sprays and pouches, ultrasonic plug-in devices, sealing holes, cleanliness and trash management. Glue traps are abominable. Causing such intense and prolonged suffering should never be an option. Glue traps are banned in England, Iceland, Ireland and New Zealand, and legislation has been introduced to ban them in America. Rodents are emotional, intelligent and just looking to survive. In many cases, their presence is due to human habits. The least we can do is use the most humane methods of deterrence. James Scotto

See it for yourselves

Brooklyn: The president and the mayor should take a walk to see what a pigsty Floyd Bennett Field has become. So, what do you say, boys? Come by anytime to the nightmare you have created. Christina C. Anderson

Softened up

Bronx: In your Jan. 15 editorial “Iowa, Trump and America’s future,” The News lamented the fact that President Biden is not facing a primary challenge. It should be noted that the last three presidents who had competitive primaries were Gerald Ford (1976), Jimmy Carter (1980) and George H.W. Bush (1992). All three were defeated in the general election. The moral? Be careful what you ask for. Edward Stapleton

Warpath

Bronx: This is addressed to all of the little maggots who want the big maggot back in the White House: Remember George W. Bush and the war he started in Iraq? Donald Trump wants to do the same thing with Iran! It’s more of a test of power, to show the world that he’s a strong president. But the world already knows that he’s a morally corrupt weakling at heart but his ego seems to be bigger than America’s safety. So, let your MAGA brain put it to the test: Prepare your sons for death on a foreign shore. Robert Adams

Clean record

Bayonne: I’d like very much to cast my next vote for President Biden, but with three wars on our hands, I can’t help but remember how Trump kept us out of them entirely. Focusing on this factor alone makes me quite prone to support our former president. Pete deMatteo

Crime and punishment

East Meadow, L.I.: On Jan. 30, a Pakistani court sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan to 10 years in prison for leaking state secrets and 14 years for corruption. Pakistan knows what to do with their political leaders who commit crimes. Hopefully, our courts have the courage to sentence Donald Trump to lengthy prison sentences for stealing documents, leaking intelligence on one of our nuclear-armed allies, and trying to steal, then overturn, the 2020 election, including the Jan. 6 insurrection. Richard Skibins

Celebrity option

Merion Station, Pa.: If President Biden wants to win in November, he must appeal to younger voters. He should replace Kamala Harris with Taylor Swift, who has name recognition, a huge fan base, minimal baggage and will turn 35 by January 2025. Paul L. Newman

All in

Sidney, Maine: It seems that Voicer Bob Pascarella wants to impress us with his scholarly language: “The Sword of Damocles” (hmm, I’ll have to look that up) as he scolds the “postmodern liberals… the media… the Democrats… elite mobs… their hedonist, distorted agenda.” Then he goes on to remind us that MAGA has the will and the wherewithal to overcome the “hate-filled despoilers and take back America.” I wonder if Pascarella has a replay of Jan. 6, 2021 in mind? Anyway, after all is said and done, his letter impresses me as another boorish rant by a Trumpian true believer who has bitten the bait of a world-class liar. George Hite

On good and evil

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.: We continually hear that those on the right, especially the extreme right, are unacceptable and intolerable. But Scripture says, “The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left” (Eccl. 10:2). Jesus was as far right as it gets. His children are right there with Him. The devil is as far left as it gets and his children are right there with him. This country would be much better off if the left made a sharp U-turn. Jim Black

Misstated

Rochdale Village: To Voicer Thomas Murawski: You are wrong in many ways. First, fetuses are not human beings yet. The Bible actually says it is not a person until it takes its first breath, so for the health of the mother it is not a “kill or be killed” situation. And 98% of abortions are not for convenience, as you say; it is for the health of the mother. And if a 10-year-old gets raped by her father or uncle, what then? Saul Rothenberg

Catch and release

Brooklyn: To Voicer Paul DiNardi: As you state, you aren’t surprised to see right-wingers using the despicable attack on cops in Times Square to bash criminal justice reforms. Maybe you should be educated that defendants for robbery, felony assaults, an unlicensed gun charge, etc. are let out the same day or next day just to do it again. I guess you also love to shop and ring a bell to retrieve the items you need, then wait due to chronic shoplifters that plague the stores and sell items to the bodega. Bail reform needs to be revamped. Time and time again, the defendant is arrested for a felony crime and is let out just to commit the next felony one. John Rico