Readers sound off on overnight deliveries, criminal drivers and Curtis LeMay

Manhattan: Overnight deliveries reduce congestion, emissions and the negative safety impacts of truck deliveries. That is why I appreciated the insights in the recent “Deliver NYC packages late at night” op-ed (July 12) and am proud of the work we are doing at NYC Department of Transportation to facilitate more overnight deliveries.

NYC DOT has operated an innovative Off-Hour Deliveries program since 2009 and we have expanded it to 1,100 locations citywide. Deliveries happening between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. have more than doubled since 2019, and the rate continues to grow.

The initiative has not come without challenges. A company like Just Salad gets nearly all of its deliveries at night, though some businesses remain unpersuaded by the benefit due to financial, delivery or neighborhood constraints. We strive to get as many businesses as possible to participate, understanding the program will not work for all. As we continue our efforts, we are optimistic that congestion pricing will inspire the commercial sector to think creatively about consolidating deliveries. Ideally, companies will find the financial disincentive of delivering during peak hours of the day — when the congestion charge will be highest — to be an additional reason to opt for off-hour deliveries.

To improve the way deliveries occur in our city, we are also expanding residential loading zones, and will be piloting shared-use delivery lockers and “micro-hubs” to provide central locations for trucks to unload and use cargo bikes and other greener forms of transportation for final deliveries. Ydanis Rodriguez, commissioner

Brooklyn: Re “Explaining NYC’s delivery workers’ minimum pay” (op-ed, July 13): It is fair and just that delivery workers will now receive a living wage with benefits. I hope this will enable them to not be in such a mad rush to collect a tip that they ignore NYC traffic regulations. There should be registry requirements for their vehicles and some kind of identification that will enable authorities to issue fines and penalties for unlawful behavior like riding on sidewalks or going through stop signs and traffic lights. Such regulations will make their jobs safer and will restore some much-needed sanity to our city’s streets. Ed Temple

White Plains, N.Y.: The police department on Long Island has arrested a person they claim is responsible for the deaths of four women killed more than a decade ago. The police claim they got DNA off a hair found on the burlap that the dead bodies were wrapped in. They also found DNA on a discarded pizza crust. In my opinion, if DNA can be taken off wrappings and from a discarded pizza box, why can’t the Secret Service get any fingerprints or DNA from the cocaine bag found in the White House? To me, and I am sure to many other Americans, it adds up to one big cover-up. Joan Cocurullo

Orange, N.J.: To all concerned parties: Please settle the SAG-AFTRA strike ASAP. Who wants to hear union president Fran Drescher’s whiny voice for months on end? Derek Tague

Forest Hills: Just when you thought it was safe to watch TV again, here comes Jonathan Lawson from Colonial Penn every 15 minutes on every channel (I change the channel when he comes on, and there he is again). Verizon gets paid by advertisers and by subscribers. They get paid twice. The FCC (Forget Consumers Completely) gets its share of the profiteering, so it doesn’t care. Sara Ross

Valley Stream, L.I.: Thank you, Judge Lyle Frank, for blocking the switch for NYC retirees from Medicare to Medicare Advantage (Aetna) health insurance. You made my day. Even the attorney for Aetna acknowledged that it is “very likely” that medical care deemed necessary could be turned down or unavailable to retirees. The city granted retirees lifetime medical coverage, so that is an extremely disturbing statement, especially coming from an attorney employed by Aetna. Please, Mayor Adams, leave us retirees alone so we can get the care we need in our golden years. Fran Esposito

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Brooklyn: Re the Medicare Advantage plan for city employees: I’ve heard that it’s the reason Aetna has named Eric Adams its employee of the year. Peter Salber

Bergenfield, N.J.: I can’t decide who my favorite Voicer is, Tom Ascher or Bob Pascarella. Their insights are, to say the least, fascinating. Guys, keep your letters coming. Al Schwarzler

Lackawaxen, Pa.: Several Voicers, most recently Don Coffer, have suggested as inculpatory Daniel Penny’s military training as informing him of the likely consequences of the chokehold he apparently applied in his scuffle with Jordan Neely. The flip side of that knowledge is the more aware one is of the vulnerability of the victim, the less likely one is to give up the advantage. It may be less frequent today than back in the 1940s and 1950s, when (mainly) boys would challenge for group physical dominance — someone in an unbreakable hold might “give” but then resume the fray and gain the upper hand. So, the issue of legal guilt or innocence may turn on the jury’s opinion about the sincerity of Penny’s perception of threat to himself or others, rather than his failure to release his hold. Not a jury that most people would want to serve on! John A. MacKinnon

Bronx: Two fatal crimes involving automobiles present quite the conundrum for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (“Road rager stabs tires, gets mowed down,” July 13, and “Uptown teen tragedy,” July 13). First, the senseless use of a car by one person to kill another over a minor dispute. However Bragg’s office spins the facts whether to indict or decline, I doubt he will demand that all cars be outlawed as deadly weapons that are too easily accessible. The second case, a 16-year-old wrecks a stolen car, killing two friends. Don’t be surprised if Bragg attempts to place all blame here on Hyundai and Kia manufacturers for designing their autos too vulnerable to theft. Joe Schulok

Staten Island: It’s not enough that we are spending billions of taxpayer dollars to house, educate and otherwise care for the economic migrants. Now advocates are whining that they should be chauffeured everywhere they go (“The bus stops here,” July 13). Enough already! Is the Legal Aid Society going to send someone to cut their dinner for them every night too? Maybe lawyer Josh Goldfein can chew their steak and feed them directly from his mouth like a mommy bird. John Colella

Manhattan: I guess we should thank you for “Off to the Races with the Daily News” for racing at Saratoga Racetrack. You dedicated a full page to handicapping the races, but the main thing your readers want is to have the racing charts in the paper like the Daily News used to have. In order to get the racing charts, your readers have to buy that other paper. Instead of a full page of handicapping, make the page smaller and add the racing charts to it, or just put the racing charts back in the paper. If you need to see a sample of what it could look like, buy that other paper. Jeanette Pecora

Berkeley, N.J.: Regarding Voicer Michael Barnhart’s reference to Curtis LeMay (who would become chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force) and his involvement in getting Japan to surrender in WWII: LeMay ordered his bombers to use incendiary bombs in night raids that destroyed numerous cities in Japan, bringing a more rapid surrender. I’m 91. I recalled my Air Force enlistment, with a major assignment to Continental Air Command (CONAC) at Mitchel Air Force Base in Hempstead, L.I. in 1952. A lieutenant colonel and I sometimes drove to our homes in New Jersey on weekends. One day, he mentions Russia acting up in a situation involving the president. LeMay had his bombers in the air. President Eisenhower had peace during his term. LeMay was part of that accomplishment. Later on, he built up the Strategic Air Command. It was nice to read Barnhart’s mention of LeMay. Kevin J. Gately