E-bikes are taking over and threatening us all
Middle Village: I am in awe of the bravery exhibited by those firefighters who responded to the fire caused by e-bike batteries in a 20th-floor apartment on E. 52nd St. (“Daring hi-rise rescue,” Nov. 6). The training and expertise exhibited by our Bravest was beyond anything I have ever seen as they saved a woman dangling from a 20th-floor apartment window. The heroic rope rescue was incredible.
However, I was surprised and saddened by the remarks of FDNY Chief Fire Marshal Daniel Flynn, who said he was looking to the City Council to enact rules to make the use of these batteries safer because the use of e-bikes, scooters and other micro-mobility devices are here to stay. I doubt very much that our elected officials have the stomach to enact regulations that would prevent these fires in the future. As a result, the public and our brave firefighters will continue to be at great risk of injury and death because our elected officials will never be able to enact regulations that can be enforced.
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The only solution is to totally ban all these vehicles and for the police or some other public agency to enforce that ban. We cannot rely on the public to safely use these vehicles and chargers as they currently exist.
They have to be fail-safe. If not, they should be banned. Paul Camilleri
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Every vote counts
Brooklyn: Voicer A. James Tortora’s assertion that Gov. Hochul would not have been victorious if the election had been decided on a county-by-county basis is probably true since she only won 13 of the 62 counties in the state. Since counties have varying populations, a majority of the counties would not necessarily reflect the majority of the people. We would then have a miniature version of the Electoral College where, except for Nebraska and Maine, the candidate who gets more votes in the state takes all the electors. The other votes become irrelevant. That is how we ended up with Donald Trump, whose vote tally was 3 million fewer than Hillary Clinton’s. Ed Temple
Double down
Washington, N.C.: Based on two risk factors for our national security, I believe Trump should run for president (as he is doing) a third time. He withdrew the U.S. from the Iran nuclear treaty. This caused Iran to start construction of a hardened tunnel complex that cannot be rendered inoperative by bunker bombs hitting at the correct angle. Also, the Trump administration negotiated a valid, proper and binding agreement to withdraw all armed forces from Afghanistan. This left that country in the hands of a corrupt government that did not have the support of its citizens. Gary Lefkowitz
Irredeemable
San Francisco: If you’re a failed former president whose insurrection lasted for more than four hours, be advised that calling a press conference and announcing your candidacy for renomination for president will not cure a flaccid or nonexistent moral spine. Stephen Silver
Power-hungry
Rockaway Point: We have three branches of government for a reason. Shared powers and checks and balances avoid a dictatorship. Trump wants to control all three branches and become a dictator. But first, his followers must win a civil war! Or the Republican Party can agree to choose another candidate to represent their original conservative values that place country before self or party. Patricia J. Murphy
Round 2
Haddonfield, N.J.: Dear Hillary, please run again. Kevin J. O’Sullivan
Like a virus
Astoria: I wish we could get inoculated from the ongoing, toxic menace of Herr Trump! Addendum: The only house he belongs in is a jail house! Karen N. Pearlman
Cold shoulder
Bellerose Village: I don’t think this would happen or should happen, but I wonder what it would’ve been like if CBS, NBC, ABC, MSNBC, Fox News and CNN all decided not to cover the big announcement down at Mar-a-Lago. Peter O’Connor
No love lost
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.: To Richard Johnson (“Trump’s new spin control — he’s DJ Don,” column, Nov. 6): Are you sure Trump has Bruce Springsteen on his playlist? These guys despise each other. Matt Engel
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Age limit
Little Egg Harbor, N.J.: It becomes increasingly difficult to take the Daily News editorial section seriously when it increasingly reads like some of the crazy letters from Voicers. To describe Trump as “the most dangerous man in America” is just silly. He certainly is a crude and obnoxious individual for sure but elections for public office should not be like picking the homecoming king and queen. Likeability has little to do with effective legislating or leading. In hindsight, I preferred many more of the policies of the Trump administration than the President Biden administration. Trump should not run again, not because of his personality flaws but because of his age. The same should also apply to Biden and a bunch of members of Congress. Our skills and mental capacity diminish with age. Notice the ages of most CEOs of successful companies and then look at the ages of so many members of Congress. William Cook
Public service
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Mountainside, N.J.: President Biden likes to quote President John F. Kennedy, but he has not quoted this famous one: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” I wonder why. Julia Knaz
Hold fast
Manhattan: The Daily News editorial “Stick with Ukraine” (Nov. 14) is worthy of The New York Sun’s “Yes, Virginia” status. It is just as heartwarmingly memorable. It is imperative that America continue to help Ukraine quell Russia’s barbarous invasion. It will be tricky to accomplish, as The News has eloquently pointed out. But we are the mighty and honorable United States, after all. This is what we do. Yes, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, “The good guys can win this war.” Susan A. Stark
Scrappy Poles
Brooklyn: Hey Vlad, I don’t know if you are aware that in 1939, the Polish people attacked German Panzer tanks on horseback with Molotov cocktails and put many of them out of commission. Get my drift? Louie Scarcella
Customer complaint
Bayside: I booked a stay at Legacy Resorts in Florida through Expedia. My husband then was diagnosed with cancer and the doctor said no traveling. You would think Expedia would have a shred of decency, a quarter ounce of sympathy — nope! They initially said Legacy Resorts had to refund me. It took a few calls but I found out that’s a lie. Expedia has my card information and charged my card. If I would have gone on Facebook and other sites and saw the complaints, I never would have used Expedia. I never had a problem in the past but this is the first cancer diagnosis. Jacqueline Huneidi
$600 mil
Morristown, N.J.: The NYC Independent Budget Office says that the rudderless city will spend at least $596 million on freebies for illegal immigrants. Meanwhile, clueless Mayor Adams and his cronies are attempting to cut back on health benefits for former hardworking retirees by dumping them into a watered-down Medicare Advantage plan. This underhanded move is supposed to save the city $600 million. Now we know where that money will be spent. Even after a judge ruled in favor of retirees, gutless Adams is now strong-arming the City Council to change the rules midstream, a desperate move to help fund a sanctuary city where much of the taxpayers’ money is spent on services for those who entered the country illegally. Adams, a former city employee, is a selfish backstabber more concerned with illegals and his political career than he is with retirees. Frank J. Perry
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Road to perdition
Staten Island: To Voicer Tony Mirabella: Spot on, brother. I couldn’t have said it better myself. This city started tanking when the liberals elected Bill de Zaster and now Mayor Adams. Thomas Fraumeni Jr.
Gun nuts
Rochdale Village: To Voicer John Colella: Boy, are you lost in the smoggy haze of Faux News. Just about everything you said about guns and Dems was a lie. Dems don’t want 18-year-olds buying automatic rifles. They don’t even want them to be legal. They don’t want known terrorists on no-fly lists to buy guns. I bet you voted for every Republican candidate, all of whom venerate the ownership of machines that kill at 50-plus bullets a minute. Saul Rothenberg