Letters to the editor

Curtis Sliwa for Mayor

Dear Editor,

I agree with your article that Curtis Sliwa is the best choice for NYC mayor and that Republicans should support Curtis Sliwa. Unfortunately, there is a defeatist attitude that Republicans can’t win in cities, and so without a competitive Republican Party, Democrats are unopposed to ruin cities with their radical woke, left-wing policies, which most voters do not agree with. There are many voters who favor Curtis Sliwa but are hesitant to vote for him because they don’t think he can win. If the Democrats divide their votes among multiple candidates, then with proper funding and support from Republican organizations and donors, Curtis Sliwa can win.

I hope that you will continue to write in favor of Curtis Sliwa for NYC mayor, and for Republicans up and down the ballot, and that Republican organizations will financially support Curtis Sliwa and make a concerted effort to compete in cities.

Sincerely,

Moshe Tassalman

The Looming NYC Emergency

Dear Editor,

It just does not get through non-woke New Yorkers’ heads that Curtis Sliwa or Eric Adams cannot win the mayoral election, as Fox News hosts several guests that embrace Sliwa as if he has a shot to win, and not one host elaborates as to why that is impossible. It’s as simple as placing the numbers together in any poll, and if you get rid of the noisemaker Sliwa and the current mayor, Cuomo is ahead by a few points. I anticipate Adams to drop out, but Sliwa is a problem as he will siphon enough votes away from Cuomo to hand the election to Mamdani. 

It’s every registered Republican’s job to protest this insanity of Sliwa accomplishing this goal by threatening to leave the Republican Party, which brings me to what the Mamdani election will do and worsen the present conditions locally.

One person similar to Mamdani who has the same vision of neighborhood destruction is Donovan Richards, the Queens Borough President. He has single-handedly destroyed central Far Rockaway with his lies of inclusion, integration, and a place where all nations, creeds, colors, and religions can live united.

When I walk around, whether from the A train to my home in nearby Lawrence or to help make a minyanon Shabbos at a shul in Bayswater, I pass those beautiful buildings with doormen, gyms, and parking, and the windows of these new luxury apartments don’t even have drapes but shmattes and blankets of assorted colors. Many storefronts are empty, the smell of pot is in the air, dog feces are never cleaned up (so you need to look down, but for safety reasons you also need to look up at the surroundings), and intimidating people sitting on those benches created to be part of a mosaic of tranquility blaring their music or sounds.

I do not see a mosaic of different cultures, religions, and races. I see only the people from areas of the five boroughs that have gentrified or become too expensive for them, so they’re just sent to Far Rockway. Segregation at its best, accomplished by NYC.

The worst part is the silence of the community, including the Five Towns (no border crossing, may I remind you), that are allowing this destruction to take place, which with Mamdani as mayor will only worsen. 

And these buildings which include the homeless and the lowest-income population in NYC are not even 50 percent occupied. While the community is worried about new construction that will go up by the Inwood and Lawrence stations, they have quietly allowed this travesty to take place in our backyard without a peep. This is only the beginning, as all you need is a few of those 3,000 to 4,000 inhabitants nearby to see who the neighbors are in that beautiful neighborhood down the block or across the 878 and then it’s too late.

Reuven Guttman

Lawrence

Witness the Sentencing of Vicious Antisemitic Attacker of Joey Borgen

Dear Editor,

In May 2021, kippah-wearing Joey Borgen was viciously attacked by a mob of Muslim men in front of dozens of witnesses as he walked on West 49th Street to a Times Square rally for Israel. This high-profile case presaged many other antisemitic attacks since.

Five of his six attackers have been sentenced for up to seven years. Now the last defendant, Salem Seleiman—who kicked Joey in the face—will be sentenced on Monday, September 29. Send a clear message to Judge Melissa Lewis, District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and Seleiman himself by joining our Jewish community judicial watch group in New York State Supreme Criminal Court, 100 Centre Street, TAP A, room, 1100, Manhattan, at 9:30 a.m.

Sincerely,

Glenn Richter

Going The Extra Distance

Dear Editor,

The Five Towns is blessed with over 50 kosher eateries, but I write this letter to express gratitude and to shout out Eunice, the longtime manager and now proprietor of Cho-Sen Island, who has been a fixture in our neighborhood for many years.

Of course, we all know and love her because she always reminds us to count the sefira and other Jewish obligations. Her “baruch Hashem” is legendary, but this letter of hakaras ha’tov is very specific.

Recently, my family and I had dinner at Cho-Sen Island. Later that evening, my mother discovered she was missing one of her hearing aids—an item that is not only costly but deeply personal. She called the restaurant, and Eunice immediately checked around our table but found nothing. Most people would have stopped there. Eunice did not.

That same night, well after closing, she walked the four-block route my mother had taken home. To our amazement, she spotted the hearing aid on the sidewalk. Without hesitation, she brought it directly to my mother’s building to return it.

A few days later, Eunice noticed my mother walking across the street from the restaurant. She came outside just to say hello and to check in on her. When my mother offered another thank-you, Eunice’s warm response was simply, “Baruch Hashem” (“Thank G‑d”).

This act of kindness—literally going the extra mile—goes far beyond customer service. It reflects the heart of someone who doesn’t just run a business here but truly lives as part of the community, caring for her neighbors like family.

In celebrating Eunice and Cho-Sen Island, we also celebrate what makes our neighborhood special: people who look out for one another. May we continue to support the local businesses and individuals who bring that spirit of generosity and connection to our daily lives. 

SL

Sukkos and Seminary

Dear Editor,

The travesty that girls’ seminaries committed 30 years ago when my own daughters went to seminary, which I hoped they would have corrected when my granddaughter entered seminary last month, seems to still be alive and well! I am referring to the fact that seminaries start only a few weeks before the Yamim Noraim, before the girls even have time to make contacts, yet the girls are expected to place themselves for Sukkos on their own. They are literally thrown out of their dorms! 

A girl told my granddaughter that she never felt homeless before and now she feels homeless, having to find a place to stay for Sukkos. The dorm is closed for the whole yom tov, so there is not even the possibility for the girls to stay in and the seminary to provide meals. If the seminary wants the girls to come before the Yamim Noraim, they should be responsible for them. Otherwise, seminary should start after the yamim tovim. 

All this, for the mere cost of $30,000-plus. This causes some parents to come for yom tov, adding to the cost of the seminary year. And the way Yom Kippur comes out this year, it necessitates people to come for 2 1/2 weeks, something that many working parents simply cannot do. When will seminaries stop this travesty and when will parents unite and refuse to send their girls, only to have them fend for themselves, making the transition to seminary that much harder. Enough is enough!

Name Withheld