Letters of 2023: Readers' views on climate change, Trump, Santos, LIRR fares, antisemitism, Gilgo suspect, migrants, roads, housing, guns, and more

Climate change

Feb. 12: What will electrification cost? We’re signing a blank check on electrification, replacing gas heating and hot water equipment starting in 2030.

— Bill Wisnewski, Lindenhurst

July 25: Most people should realize global warming is a fact. We saw that when Canada was burning and the United States was getting its smoke. More people in the Northern Hemisphere undergo major heat waves. The glaciers of Greenland and Antarctica are melting. The ocean waters might increase in this century not in inches but feet.

— Tom Wingenfeld, Lynbrook

Trump indicted

April 4: Why not indict former President Donald Trump for breathing? How low can the Democrats go? Why not indict Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt or John F. Kennedy?

— Ilene Curtis, St. James

April 9: If Donald Trump applied for a position of trust with the FBI or Internal Revenue Service, do you think he’d pass their background investigations for new employees?

— Donald Schwartz, East Meadow

Aug. 20: After his latest indictment, he claimed this should never happen in America. Wrong. This is exactly what happens when someone violates our laws.

— Robert Ambrose, Medford

Aug. 20: Our forefathers never could have imagined trying to dismantle their work by trying to steal an election.

— Vincent Grabinsky, Forest Hills

LIRR fares

Feb. 14: Long Island should secede from the state. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority payroll tax increase is the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

— Steve Louro, Nissequogue

Nov. 27: Fare beaters are committing a crime. It is called “theft of service.”

— George T. DeSpirito, Williston Park

War and hate

Oct. 13: Scores of civilians likely will die — not because of Israeli “barbarism” but because Hamas apparently would rather martyr its brothers and sisters than let them live in peace with the Jewish state. Most of the free world supports Israel — today — just a few days after a terrorist organization waged an unprecedented attack of murder, rape and kidnapping on Israeli soil. But what about tomorrow?

— Josh H. Kardisch, East Meadow

Oct. 15: If people don’t want to worry about their families in the war zone, tell them not to vote for Hamas terrorists to lead them and their government.

— Bonnie Sigman, Woodmere

Nov. 26: The antisemitism coming from academia, especially intellectual college professors, is both shocking and inexcusable. Their buying into terrorist organizations like Hamas indicates their level of ignorance about Israel.

— Beverly MacDonald, Lake Grove

Nov. 26: The Anti-Defamation League’s calling Jewish peace groups antisemitic conflates antisemitism with criticism of Israel, wrongly defining many Jews as antisemitic.

— Josh Dubnau, Huntington

Dec. 3: The greatest issue has been the unwillingness of Arabs and Palestinians to accept Israel’s very existence.

— Howard Kaufman, Plainview

Student loans

March 16: If forgiving student debt is unfair for those who suffered in the past, so was the 13th Amendment. The lives of freed slaves improved. We do things to improve lives.

— Fred Harber, Lake Success

July 19: How about requiring community service for a specified time in order to have a student loan forgiven?

— Marc Rogovin, Manorville

Oct. 3: I sympathize with students trying to pay off their loans, but back in the ’80s, I was paying off my loans monthly with an 8% interest rate for years. You borrow money. You pay it back. Plain and simple.

— Monica Klein, Deer Park

LI's red wave

Nov. 13: I have watched Long Island elections go from red to blue and back to red, like in a pickleball match. After seeing the national wins by Democrats in red states, I feel that Long Island Republicans reaped the benefits of not having reproductive rights on the ballot. If it was, we could have seen a different outcome.

— Debbie Paulsen Kahn, Herricks

Nov. 13: Republicans have swept another election here. Democrats are nowhere to be found in the seats of power. We are left with no clue how to win.

— Michael Richman, Great Neck Plaza

Nov. 13: A major issue is at stake on Long Island — how to motivate a larger Democratic turnout. Republicans consistently show up in greater numbers. It’s hard to know if Long Island voters are leading a national change or lagging behind.

— Joe Innace, East Islip

Nov. 13: Local elections are important to our immediate priorities at home. Not putting in the time and energy to vote for a candidate who will consider the needs of local agendas demonstrates a “not caring” attitude.

— Diane McGuire, Northport

Gilgo suspect arrested

July 30: When a series of murders becomes a cold case that drags on for years, one factor is present in most cases: Someone dropped the ball in the early stages. Will that be the case in the arrest of Rex A. Heuermann 13 years after the killing of at least three women?

— Michael J. Gorman, Whitestone

Debate on migrants

May 28: Suffolk County Republicans want to hire a lawyer to keep out migrants. This means they want to keep out children and their families who seek a better and more secure life. Those lacking compassion should realize they are more fortunate, but at any moment things can change.

— Lynn Geisler, Huntington

May 28: This situation has gotten out of hand. We need our political leaders to stand up and push back before we lose a fortune like New York City. Political leaders of neighboring counties are justified in refusing to jeopardize the well-being of their constituents.

— Jacques Hakim, Bayside

May 28: Maybe this country should concentrate more on its own people who are homeless and hungry.

— Thomas Sarc, Central Islip

Sept: 10: Nassau and Suffolk contain some of the most segregated communities in the country. The poorer minority communities have been that way for over 60 years, and likewise the wealthy, almost all white communities. Unless we look into our strongly held ideas of what we are “owed,” then honest discussion about immigration will be difficult.

— The Rev. Lawrence Duncklee, Riverhead

Sept. 18: An important point was missed in a poll. Most New Yorkers are inherently caring people. The real point and question that truly needs to be asked is: “How did we get into this mess in the first place?”

— Vincent J. Cristiano, Ronkonkoma

Hochul's housing plan

March 21: Gov. Kathy Hochul and the Legislature apparently have declared war on Long Island. The governor’s housing plan will affect most residents. This is an existential threat to Long Island that cannot be ignored. The plan, shockingly, contains no provision for adequate drinking water, sewage disposal, adequate roads, schools, police and hospitals. We must oppose this plan every way possible.

— Lawrence Donohue, West Islip

The Santos saga

Jan. 1: Thank you, Rep. George Santos, for giving us a new euphemism for “lying” called “resume embellishments.”

— Roderick Andersson, Islip Terrace

Jan. 1: Do you want people operating on you who only say they are doctors? Or a person representing you in Congress who has no skills other than oration and the ability to lie?

— Charlie Mirsky, Plainview

Jan. 1: Santos claims he is not Jewish but Jew-ish. I’d say he is a nebbish.

— Vicki Appel, Massapequa Park

Jan. 1: Santos should not be in Congress. We voted for a Mercedes-Benz and got a Pinto.

— Eddie Plant, Levittown

Jan. 3: He says he’s sorry he fabricated parts of his resume. He’s only sorry he got caught.

— Carl Viñas, Huntington

Jan. 10: After flashing what appeared to be a white supremacist hand gesture in the House, Santos should resign.

— Paula Frome, Glen Cove

Jan. 10: Every day that passes without Republican leaders pressuring Santos to resign is a slap in the faces of voters.

— Howard J. Herman, Great Neck

Jan. 15: Voters did not choose Santos but a fictionalized version. The one currently occupying a seat in Congress needs to step down.

— Maryellen Viola, Massapequa Park

Jan. 22: He fails to understand that voters elected the man on his resume. He is not that man. The real George Santos is just a fraud. If he had an ounce of integrity, he’d resign. Sadly, he does not have even that.

— Jerry Romano, Bellmore

Feb. 3: While the jokes are funny and the mockery well-founded, his constituents have no representative in Congress protecting their rights. There is nothing comical about that.

— Howard Metzger, Westbury

May 14: The federal indictment gets to the heart of where Santos’ constituents live — in an undeserved purgatory, nay hell.

— Jeanette Walowitz, Great Neck

Dec. 4: The House has finally rid the chamber and country of George Santos, a disgraceful member of our government, a liar and a con man. Hopefully, the justice system holds this man accountable for his criminal actions. The bipartisan vote to expel him showed that Congress can put country over party.

— Jim Kiernan, Holbrook

Nassau Hub casino

May 14: A casino, as proposed, is a destination-only venue. Nearby businesses likely will be adversely affected by the increase in vehicular traffic.

— Michael Lefkowitz, East Meadow

May 21: Do Nassau residents who fear gambling coming here not have a smartphone? When friends and I watched the Knicks, everyone was placing bets throughout the games. Sands is not bringing gambling to Nassau — it’s been here.

— Kristen Nicole Mendez, Westbury

May 26: Some legislators want to use the funds from a Las Vegas Sands casino for their constituents. That would serve only their community. A better idea would be to pass legislation that Nassau County must use the funds to reduce the taxes we pay.

— Richard Levens, Lynbrook

Guns in schools

Feb. 21: The Smithtown Central school board, known for protecting our children from critical race theory, LGBTQ notions of sexual identity and COVID-19 mask mandates, voted to place armed security outside every school building. The shootings at Parkland, Florida had armed security stay outside, and Uvalde, Texas officers cowered in the hallways. An armed intruder on a suicide mission, armed with an AR-15 rifle, is not going to be foiled by an armed guard. Maybe better to spend the money on school psychologists.

— Louis Vincents, Smithtown

June 7: Most U.S. government buildings have armed guards and detectors. Everyone is checked at sporting events. Our elected officials should propose legislation to have at least one armed guard in every U.S. public school. To not do so is negligent.

— Claude Kasman, Nesconset

Mascot concerns

May 28: While mascots may have been chosen with good intentions, it has become evident they are offensive and disrespectful to Native Americans, the people they claim to honor. This group has been marginalized and discriminated against for centuries. By using these images, we perpetuate harmful stereotypes that reduce entire groups to caricatures.

— Adam Dulberg, Massapequa Park

May 28: It makes no sense that school mascots that have been part of our communities for ages should be removed.

— Holly Gordon, Bay Shore

May 28: Let’s look through a lens other than the “white” lens that shaped our country.

— Maria Vivona, Melville

June 7: How hard is it to understand that indigenous nations do not want their cultures to be appropriated for the purposes of sports teams?

— Mike Brady, Kings Park

Dangerous roads

Oct. 29: In my 42 years of driving, I haven’t seen such disregard for traffic rules. People routinely speed, race, use exit and entrance ramps as passing lanes, cross over double yellow lines to pass, and worse. There is no patience, courtesy or respect for other drivers. The police need to ticket these people who think they are stunt drivers and race car drivers.

— Andrew Herzman, Farmingdale

Congestion pricing

Nov. 28: Plenty of us know the benefits of congestion pricing. Riders are already benefiting from tremendous investment in our infrastructure, with projects like Third Track, Grand Central Madison.

— Gerard Bringmann, Patchogue

Dec. 10: The MTA should change its name to Massive Taxation Agency. The midtown tolls will create traffic jams outside the new excessive toll zones.

— William Pastarnack, Glen Cove