E-bike scourge
Nicole Gelinas was 100% right in her argument about the problem of two-wheeled vehicles (“Time to Rein in Vicious E- Cycles,” Sept. 25).
Whether electric, gas or pedal-powered, the majority of bike riders in New York City do not respect the rules of the streets.
An easy fix would be to enforce the laws. If police would pull over reckless riders and ticket them, this would teach them to play by the rules.
The fines need to be high, for a few reasons: One, it needs to serve as a deterrent to not be a repeat offender. A small fine of, say, $50 or $100 would mean nothing to a person who is paying $5,000 rent.
Two, if the fines are high, the revenue would pay for the enforcement. And if enforcement is high enough, the revenue could replace the need for congestion pricing, which is an absurd and terrible idea. Then maybe pedestrians can go back to feeling peaceful when walking our beautiful streets.
Kreg Ramone, Manhattan
Chicago’s pain
Gianno Caldwell’s anger is heartfelt and well-justified, but let’s stop blaming “the policies of the Cook County prosecutor, Chicago’s most recent mayors, the governor and other politicians throughout the state of Illinois” (“Save the Second City,” Sept. 26).
Those politicians did not walk into their offices. The people of Chicago put them there, knowing full well the consequences. Those politicians have not “recklessly ignored the people they were elected to represent.” They are doing exactly what their constituents wanted.
How do I know that? Mayor Lori Lightfoot showed Chicagoans what kind of disaster her woke policies had brought to the city during her four years in the office. What did the people of Chicago do in response? They elected someone even worse to replace her.
Chicago is perfectly capable of solving its crime problem on its own without the help of Congress, federal dollars or the FBI. All it needs to do is to enforce the law and restore order instead of emboldening criminals. The only question is: Do people want it?
Xiaoming Wu, Palatine, Ill.
Looters’ woes
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes (“Philly under siege,” Sept. 28).
I find it sad, ironic and laughable that influencer Dayjia Blackwell, known as Meatball, was upset at her arrest after she livestreamed the looting in Philadelphia.
First, looting is a crime. We all know that. Second, yelling to incite crowds is also a crime. But the icing on the cake: She taunted the police on her Instagram account.
Sadly, I do not expect the woke district attorney in Philadelphia to ask for a lot of jail time. But that said at least there was an arrest.
P.S. to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: They were stealing technology, expensive shoes and yoga pants — not bread.
Chris Plate, Waterloo
AOC’s idiocy
Venezuela’s oil-based economy was destroyed by the very kind of idiotic socialist policies that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez would like to impose on us here (“US sanctions at fault in Venez. surge: AOC,” Sept. 25).
She wants to open the floodgates to allow in as many impoverished people as possible, while redistributing wealth and instituting the same radical spending that drove Venezuelans into extreme poverty.
If she gets her way, this country will become as politically and economically unstable as the places these people are trying to escape from.
Where will we all escape to once that happens? How can anyone take her seriously?
Gary Mottola, Brooklyn
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