Letters: Closing Times Square plaza costly
New York City Police officers stand guard at a military recruiting center in Manhattan's Times Square Thursday, July 16, 2015. Credit: Getty Images / Andrew Burton
I've commuted into Manhattan for more than 30 years. Like Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, I remember the "bad old Times Square" ["Guv: Rein in topless grifters," News, Aug. 20].
Mayors Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg, in conjunction with city police, did a great job in cleaning up the area and making it safe for all.
Now, after the city spent millions to create a pedestrian plaza in Times Square, the mayor and police commissioner have suggested the city should spend more money dismantling the plaza to control unruly cartoon characters and some topless women.
Maybe the police commissioner could just assign a couple of cops to patrol the area? Seems pretty simple to me.
Gerard Sewell, West Babylon
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton are overlooking the potential financial impact of removing the Times Square-Broadway pedestrian mall.
The federal Department of Transportation, via capital grants, provided funding for construction of the plaza. Prematurely destroying this taxpayer-funded investment means City Hall might have to reimburse Uncle Sam millions for the remaining useful life of the investment that will never be met.
Larry Penner, Great Neck
