Readers sound off on improving scaffolding, Trump’s crash comments and enduring friendships

Let the scaffolding manufacture assistance hole the mess

Long Island City: The op-ed “Speaker Adams indispensable extremity scaffold mess” (Jan. 26) hits the people connected needed reforms to “Get Sheds Down” but mistakenly claims that the scaffolding manufacture is an obstacle.

The NYC Special Riggers Association (SRA) represents the scaffold, entree and restoration industry. We judge sidewalk sheds should lone beryllium impermanent protection, spot owners should marque needed repairs promptly, and the Local Law 11 inspection process needs to beryllium revisited. We besides enactment improving lighting and colour schemes, allowing the metropolis to behaviour repairs if spot owners neglect to enactment and imposing penalties if enactment permits are not pursued wrong six months of erecting scaffolding.

We are proudly moving with Councilmember Keith Powers and others connected authorities to execute the top level of occurrence successful conception and implementation. The Department of Buildings is moving with architects connected a caller plan and indispensable support the structural integrity to support the public. Proposals to usage cantilevered platforms and disallow sheds connected caller operation sites volition lengthen the clip to implicit operation if information standards already provided by sheds are to beryllium maintained. It is spot owners’ work to repair their buildings truthful scaffolding tin beryllium removed. Unfortunately, smaller gathering owners successful lower-income neighborhoods person the toughest clip paying for required repairs and request entree to grants oregon low-interest loans to implicit these repairs.

No one-size-fits-all attack volition lick this problem, but the gathering codification amendments we enactment volition sphere our city’s historical skyline portion protecting pedestrians, residents and workers. Veronika Sikorski, president, NYC SRA

We’ll miss your voice

Bellerose: It is with large sadness to work of the passing of chap Voicer Larry Penner. I loved speechmaking his opinions. A batch of them were astir the MTA, section businesses and restaurants. One edifice helium would constitute astir was the Scobee Diner successful Little Neck, wherever my woman Eva worked for 25 years. We met him determination with his woman Wendy. I wrote a blog with Larry astatine the Queens Courier a fewer years backmost and it was a astir enjoyable time. I volition genuinely miss Larry, whose opinions were posted astatine section and determination newspapers and were astir informative. In my opinion, you were the greatest. My heartfelt prayers spell retired to Wendy and to his household and friends. God bless you, Larry, for a occupation good done. Frederick R. Bedell Jr.

Democracy still

Brooklyn: To Voicer Peter McCarthy: You are right, we are a republic — a antiauthoritarian republic. Bruce Mercadante

Needs help

Forest Hills: I americium not against RFK Jr. successful immoderate mode personally. He belongs successful a betterment programme for his addiction and different for not dealing with the trauma of the assassination of his begetter and uncle. He does not beryllium successful a furniture position, helium belongs determination wherever helium tin get assistance for these issues that helium doesn’t look to person resolved. It conscionable seems that helium is being enabled by this nomination. It is simply a look for catastrophe — for him and the country. Stew Frimer

Wayward workers

Bronx: With fewer exceptions, the astir despised employees successful our state contiguous are Republican members of Congress and the cabinet, their aides and the sadistic, vengeful and immoral orangish demon to whom they person pledged allegiance. They person forgotten our Constitution, their constituents and their ethics, morals and souls. Heaven assistance the remainder of us. Rose Mary Lancaster

Before bodies are cold

Jefferson City, Tenn.: Well, helium did it again. He shot disconnected his large rima with unsupported crap, different than his “common sense,” not adjacent 24 hours aft the plane/helicopter clang adjacent Reagan National Airport. Without immoderate impervious to backmost up his statements, earlier the achromatic boxes were recovered, earlier each passengers’ and crew’s bodies had been recovered, helium starts the blasted game. He blamed the aerial postulation controller, Joe Biden and his DEI policies. He adjacent blamed erstwhile Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, saying helium was a atrocious caput and a atrocious mayor. Relatives of those who perished don’t privation to perceive him placing blasted connected anyone earlier they are adjacent capable to decently grieve their loved ones. He adjacent has his vice president and proscription and defence secretaries echoing his unfounded claims. Is this what we person to look guardant to? Sean M. Talty

Big job

New Rochelle, N.Y.: Before the president again challenges without grounds the fittingness of aerial postulation controllers, possibly helium should, dissimilar President Ronald Reagan, amusement them immoderate respect. Richard Rodrigue

Oversight is over

Bronx: It seems that astir Americans didn’t wage overmuch attraction to President Trump’s firing of 17 inspectors general. The dismissals went mostly unnoticed, possibly due to the fact that we were each distracted by quality of caller wide arrests and deportations of amerciable immigrants. Inspectors wide are appointed to oversee, analyse and denounce immoderate attempts astatine fraud, lawlessness oregon corruption by authorities officials. By law, the president was expected to notify the Congress of his intent to disregard the inspectors with astatine slightest 30 days notice, but helium didn’t. That successful itself is simply a usurpation of the law, yet nary Republican has dared kick astir it. Sen. Lindsey Graham really said (on “Meet the Press”) that helium was “OK” with what Trump did! Some who are knowledgeable of the workings of authorities are suggesting that the firings whitethorn beryllium Trump’s archetypal measurement successful an effort astatine a coup. Carlos B. Martinez

He’s a joke

Ossining, N.Y.: Voicer Josh Greenberger, tarnishing my beloved Brooklyn, has bladed tegument similar his cult person Trump. The jokes that late-night hosts archer astatine his disbursal are the benignant of truth-telling we need. The absurdity earlier america by having specified an unfit idiosyncratic successful powerfulness indispensable beryllium highlighted. Trump invites jokes done his endlessly appalling behavior, grift and ineptitude. Greenberger seems to hide oregon does not attraction that Trump is simply a convicted felon and a traitor who attempted a coup that resulted successful dormant constabulary officers. He told atrocious lies during the run that the likes of Greenberger thigh up. Cats and dogs being eaten? Really? Trump is simply a loathsome carnal recovered by a tribunal and assemblage of his peers to beryllium a serial intersexual predator. Don’t blasted comedians for poking fun. Look to yourself for giving unsighted enactment to specified an abhorrent human. Robert Rundbaken

Don’t deface

Ballston Spa, N.Y.: No to each you cronies who thought up putting Trump’s mug connected Mount Rushmore. Don’t adjacent deliberation astir it. You’re drinking excessively overmuch of that Kool-Aid stuff! Daniel Simard

Better than us

Itasca, Ill.: Thanks, Canada. In America, we say, “Good fences marque bully neighbors.” America, you whitethorn person heard, loves walls. We’re gathering 1 down south. It’ll spell good with the symbolic barriers we’ve erected wherever unity erstwhile lived. Most Americans enactment our 2 sovereign nations continuing arsenic bully neighbors. But excessively galore travel the “Canada arsenic 51st state” proceedings balloon similar lemmings racing disconnected a cliff. Our enactment has an overreach issue. Anyway, convey you for your eternal patience, being a large WWII ally, your existent enactment successful warring Southern California’s wildfires, and being the eventual bully sport. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m besides drafting letters to Greenland and Denmark. Jim Newton

Friends forever

Tarrytown, N.Y.: I person been successful a substance radical chat for astir 10 years with 11 friends. We each grew up unneurotic connected the challenging streets of the Bronx. Some of america are becoming grandfathers now. On Inauguration Day, two-thirds of our radical had a large day! As they celebrated “their guy,” I sat staring into my telephone and decided I was not going to accidental my accustomed “good morning” time arsenic I person been for the past 10 years. Over the past 10 days, astatine slightest 5 of them checked successful to spot if I was OK. We person tried not to speech authorities connected our chat due to the fact that it ever leads to heated arguments. But I person decided that time I volition accidental bully morning. I genuinely emotion my friends and would bash thing for immoderate of them. I volition person marks connected my lingua from biting it, but I person decided “their guy” is not going to ruin our lifelong friendship. Stephen Talenti