Readers sound off on the Adams administration, White House cocaine and dining sheds

Manhattan: A year and a half into his first term, Mayor Adams is foundering. His hires are too often judged by loyalty rather than by competence and strict observance of ethical standards. His consistent micro-management causes instability. His administration, by contrast, can not retain professional talent, community builders and independent leaders, painfully evidenced by the recent resignation of the pioneering Police Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell.

Tellingly, facing criticism and public discomfort over challenging issues of finances, housing and public safety, Adams resorted to the lowest tool in his toolbox, casting opponents as racist. He did that last week in a meeting about rent control. Adams is repeatedly showing that his sly skillset may win elections, but his reliance on close-knit compatriots and their families does not work well in governance.

By contrast, Sewell handled her duties as police commissioner with dignity and poise. Adams, too involved with his former associates in the cohort, second-guessed her decisions. She did the honorable act of resigning. It is time for her to move up the ladder and run for mayor in two years. She has the knowledge, the values and the work ethic that fit this senior position. Theodore Roosevelt’s public service as NYPD commissioner and his reputation as a reformer catapulted him even higher.

Sewell can excite New Yorkers and use her fine reputation to lead the city with accountability and transparency, also helping to send an incompetent mayor into retirement. Itai Nartzizenfield Sneh

Howard Beach: Bus time clock #4307213 at 10516 Cross Bay Blvd., Queens, has been out of service for at least one year. This clock is important for seniors who don’t have a mobile phone to check when the bus will arrive. I have contacted the MTA, Department of Transportation, the mayor and local officials to no avail. Is this any way to run a city? What will it take to get this resolved? Lawrence Fiffer

Manhattan: To Voicer Eileen Johnson: Maybe it’s a good thing the Yankees radio broadcast doesn’t reach your area. At least you don’t have to hear John Sterling say, “It is high. It is far. It is — caught by the shortstop.” Damian Begley

Forest Hills: Well, well, well, so Bill de Blasio and Chirlane McCray have decided to separate. Does this mean Chirlane will finally cough up what actually happened to the millions upon millions of dollars that magically disappeared from her pet project, ThriveNYC? Somehow, I doubt it. J.M. Culley

Brooklyn: So a supply of cocaine was found in the White House and the initial explanation is that it may have been dropped by someone who took part in a visitors tour of the White House. They really expect the public to believe that? On the same holiday weekend that Hunter Biden was known to be staying at the White House, some careless visitor dropped his illegal stash? This administration must think we are as stupid as they are. I bet the staffer who discovered it and reported it will be a former staffer soon. Glenn Brown

Brooklyn: What a strange coincidence. Hunter is believed to be a drug abuser. Cocaine was never before found in the White House, as far as we know. Yet White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s focus as to how the cocaine got there is that it could have been left by a visitor. Why would anyone take the chance of walking into the White House with cocaine and then just leave it there? Unless he was making a delivery. Josh Greenberger

Manhattan: I know that Americans are the dumbest humans of all time, and New Yorkers are the dumbest Americans of all time, but the love of competitive eating is arguably the most insane thing a human has ever done. This was the best idea you all could come up with? Contests like Nathan’s hot dog battle? It’s not even a fun contest! It’s like a who-can-do-the-most-diarrhea contest. Gross as possible. That the entire press encourages this every year is criminal, in my opinion. As if Americans needed any other reason to be more gluttonous. You waste more food in one day than the rest of the world eats per day! Does the press have no maturity or conscience at all? Plus you (again) make America the laughing stock of the planet. Also, how is Chris Christie not the winner of Nathan’s contest every year? #MakeAmericaThinAgain. Stan Sifton

Brooklyn: Regarding Councilman Lincoln Restler’s embrace of outdoor dining (“NYC’s Open Restaurants must be made year round,” op-ed, July 5): I welcome the restrictions on outdoor dining. These ugly structures are a blight on our streets and a free real estate giveaway to certain businesses. In most of the winter and many rainy or superhot days in summer, these structures remain empty and only serve to narrow the space allotted to pedestrians. My Brooklyn Heights neighborhood, prized for its beautiful architecture, is turning into a maze of cheaply made metal and plastic structures with no concern for aesthetics. Anything to make a buck. And the rats! Why just restaurants? Why shouldn’t other stores be allowed to expand onto the sidewalk? Shirley Ranz

Manhattan: To Voicer Barbara Steever: The tired claim that activists advocating for the carriage horses don’t know squat about how to care for one is just untrue. Many experienced equine people want to see this horrible business end. NYC carriage horses have better homes than many other horses in this country? That’s not saying much, as I am sure many people don’t take care of their animals as they should. Has Steever been to one of the New York City stables? I have lived near one for years and I can tell you they are nowhere near adequate size, not to mention there is no opportunity for turnout due to their locations. I see the NYC carriage horses every day, Ms. Steever from Pennsylvania! Have you ever seen them in action? Barbara also seems to have a beef about NYCLASS, which had absolutely nothing to do with Elizabeth Forel’s op-ed. Teresa D’Amico

Darien, Conn.: To Voicer J. Napoleone: Yes, horse racing should be banned. Horses need not be kicked, drugged and whipped all because some wealthy owner, some rider and some fan can make some money betting on a fixed race. Dan Singer

Bronx: When I was in high school in the ‘60s, Upper Dublin High School in Pennsylvania offered rifle shooting as an after-school activity, and the Boy Scouts had rifle training in a school basement in the evening. We did not hear about mass shootings! Did the rifle training prevent the urge to perform mass shootings? Think about it! Robert O. Rowe Jr.

Brooklyn: To Voicer Bob Pascarella: You would not know a meaningful discussion if it bit your moronic head off. You don’t have opinions, all you have is verified lies, and you and the Voice of the People don’t understand that lies are not viewpoints or opinions. What’s really “sad” is your subservience to a draft-dodging, misogynistic seditionist who wouldn’t give you the time of day. Gary Butler

Barrie, Ontario: Re “Burning car hits French mayor’s house as riots surge” (July 3): The killing of a 17-year-old boy by French police bears frightening similarity to the killing of Trayvon Martin some years ago. The two boys were killed under dubious circumstances and under the pretext of law and order. Such pretext does not negate police responsibility for killing defenseless, dark-skinned men who are rarely given the benefit of the doubt, let alone the chance to explain themselves to sadistic officers with a hankering to inflict suffering on a racialized person. France’s outpouring of loathing has more to do with an unwillingness to be confronted with its own dark history of racism and genocide than any genuine fear of civil disobedience and a broken order. Yes, criminals must be punished, but the cry of the oppressed for fairness, equality, dignity and respect must be heard. The dark Jim Crow specter appears alive and well in the land of La Marseillaise. Christopher Mansour