Readers sound off on CUNY pensions, wildfire smoke and liquor laws

Yonkers: To Celia Sporer (“CUNY must fix its pension mess,” op-ed, May 21): You have my absolute sympathy regarding your issue with the CUNY pension debacle. To have to make up seven years of deductions plus interest over the next 14 years on top of regular payroll deductions is a financial nightmare.

I am a retired NYC teacher and suffered through many blunders dealing with the Department of Education, my tax-deferred annuity and pension. The Teachers’ Retirement System changed my pension beneficiary to an unknown person, told me if I died, my wife would not receive my benefits, removed five years of service from my work history because the supervisor who signed off on the documentation no longer worked for NYC, and removed more than three years of time bought back from my wife’s work history. The DOE charged me eight days of sick time for four days of absences, docked me a week’s pay under the Taylor Law in the ‘70s when I was not working, married me off while I was single so my deductions were screwed up for more than a year, took more than four years to rectify line-of-duty reimbursements, tax consequences and TDA issues for my wife and gave me at least six W-2s during my career that did not match up mathematically with my paystubs from their respective tax years.

I absolutely know where you are coming from. I corrected every mistake mentioned above. It was time-consuming and extremely frustrating. The end result was, however, they were corrected along with any back pay plus interest. You simply can’t wait seven years without looking at your paperwork and hoping the city gets it right. Alan Newman

Bayside: I say it every morning: “No tie!” My husband just passed away. I want to give Sam Champion his ties! Oh, what size shoe is he? I have shoes too. Can’t stand those things on his feet. He needs to dress up. Theresa Polese

Bronx: I was shocked to hear that Maria Shriver, the cosmopolitan correspondent for NBC whose father founded the Peace Corps, is ignoring Joseph Baena, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s child and a half-sibling to her children. Joseph has grown up into a fine young man who did not share in the financially well-to-do upbringing Maria’s children had. Love should have no bounds and I would urge Maria to display the affection she has with her children to Joseph and include him in all family gatherings. Chet Walker

Wickenburg, Ariz.: Re “Worker shot in the butt at Queens restaurant is second violent attack at eatery in a week” (June 3): Worker shot in the butt? Really? Posterior, rump, behind, bottom, derriere, tuchus — how many other words could you have used that would have said: “I am not a 3rd grader, I am a professional journalist”? Bush league, certainly not up to professional standards. Buster Jig

Manhattan: With air quality alerts and skies murky with Canadian wildfire smoke, we are breathing in the climate crisis, raising our heart and lung disease risk and making our lengthening pollen season allergy symptoms even worse. People living near polluting gas peaker plants and related facilities can only hope the rest of us are getting the message. The Climate Action Council’s scoping plan contains a step-by-step program for a phased gas transition that shuts down fossil fuel burning as offshore wind comes online. Gov. Hochul can even take action to boost our offshore wind goal from 9,000 megawatts by 2035 to even more. If Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie can’t get the NY HEAT Act over the finish line this session, it’s a major loss for our necessary gas transition, and a win for gas companies profiting from pipeline development. While Republicans try to undo federal climate legislation, we should be upholding climate action in New York. Laurie Joan Aron

Oxford, Conn.: Legalizing the sale of wine in grocery stores (“Modernize New York’s liquor law,” op-ed, June 5) will incur significant social costs while delivering little if any benefit. While the convenience for mom to put wine in the cart next to bread and eggs may be tempting, we must acknowledge the real threat it poses to New York’s communities. Public health experts advise reducing alcohol outlet density to combat the alarming rise of alcohol-induced premature deaths. The CDC estimates that one in eight deaths among adults 20-64 were attributable to excessive alcohol use. The New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports says alcohol-related death rates for women have gone up by 85% in the last decade. By making it easier to purchase wine, Wegmans and Whole Foods would be harming New York’s moms, not helping them. Wine in the supermarket will make our grocers richer, but our communities can’t afford the cost. Edgar Domenech

Bronx: It’s very simple to restore pride, dignity, civility and morality to America’s youth: Mandatory two-year military service at 18 years of age, men, women and transgender — no exceptions! John Cirolia

Brooklyn: I am an avid Trump supporter who believes he should be reelected (four years later) to the second term he rightfully deserves. I wish to send a message to my Democrat friends who are forcing President Biden to run again because he is the only acceptable person to run against Trump: Biden has had two brain aneurysms in his life followed by brain surgeries. If you have any compassion for the man as a human being, you can not force him to run again. If anything should happen to the man in his final year and a half as president, it will be on your conscience. David DiBello

Howard Beach: Voicer Eugene R. Dunn derides Biden for running for a second term after taking another fall at the Air Force Academy commencement ceremony. Does Dunn feel that Trump should be disqualified for running for a second term after he planned and instigated the MAGA mob to bring down our democracy on Jan. 6 so that he could remain in power? Or is Biden falling a much more serious transgression to Dunn? Barbara Berg

Cincinnati: When George W. Bush was asked to assess his two-term presidency after leaving office, he replied accurately that it would take at least 50 years before a thorough accounting could be determined. The COVID pandemic, a global event with more than 1.1 million American deaths so far and almost 7 million deaths worldwide, is a tangled social and political disaster whose origins may never be known no matter how many years transpire. Politicians are scrambling to cover their rear ends — Andrew Cuomo for his incredible decision to put COVID patients into nursing homes, the very sites Cuomo should have avoided, and former President Donald Trump for his daily briefings that confused Americans by showboating fear and ignorance. Now the two are seeking cover in a mutual-admiration coven. Years from now, their decisions will highlight the many mistakes in this sad chapter in human history. Paul Bloustein

Bronx: Attention, Voicer Delores Clark: You were not there — the only people who can speak about what happened to Jordan Neely are the people who were on that train at the time, period. Daniel Penny must be treated fairly. You say no one was in danger? Several passengers had already called 911 for help. You don’t call 911 just to say, “Hi.” Wake up. Eric Cavaballo Callvado

Bayside: To Voicer Vanessa Enger: You sure went a long way to turn the word “cracker” into a pretzel. I’ve never read Shakespeare, but I am Scotch/Irish and I don’t ever remember being called a cracker by a white guy as a term of endearment. Growing up in a city housing project in the 1950s and ‘60s, I did have way too many battles with Black guys and almost the first words hurled in my direction were, “C’mon, cracker.” Black slaves brought here from West Africa in the late 1600s didn’t speak the king’s English. So maybe you’re right, Ms. Enger. Black slaves stole the word cracker from white people. You win. Please don’t respond. I’m tired. I need a nap. Kevin John Carroll