Readers hold forth on fixing NYC jails, the World Cup and transgender reality

Manhattan: Final week, NYC Division of Correction Commissioner Louis Molina instructed Metropolis Council members that “if nothing modifications,” the NYC jail inhabitants may enhance to greater than 7,000 individuals by 2024. This could certainly imply extra tragic deaths in DOC custody and worse situations for officers, who can’t appear to soundly handle the variety of individuals in jail already. These outcomes are unacceptable, and Mayor Adams must act now to vary course.

New York Metropolis is at present funneling increasingly susceptible individuals into decrepit jails the place they aren’t receiving medical care and the place the loss of life charge has hit a 25-year excessive. The variety of individuals in metropolis jails who’ve a critical psychological sickness is up greater than 20% since Adams took workplace, and stands at greater than 1,000 individuals right now. Of the individuals being held at Rikers Island, 90% are awaiting trial, however their instances transfer thrice slower than the nationwide common, creating an inflated jail inhabitants and unimaginable frustration.

Theorizing about what’s going to occur if “nothing modifications” isn’t management, and it actually isn’t getting stuff finished. What’s? Constructing supportive housing, funding community-based remedy and organising inhabitants evaluation groups which have labored in different cities to get individuals into different packages.

New Yorkers know higher than to imagine filling up Rikers Island will make us secure. Darren Mack, co-director, Freedom Agenda

Hauppauge, L.I.: Re “ ’Professional-mass-shooting’ man is arrested,” Dec. 18): How does William River Smith, the 20-year-old who regarded the Membership Q gunman as a “hero,” regards Black individuals as “brokers of Devil” and preached violence in opposition to law enforcement officials, not get a lifetime ban from being allowed to personal a firearm? How does a two-year ban make our society safer? The gun obsession on this nation is really a psychological sickness. Greg Arnold

Whitestone: Argentina made a giant mistake in taking Angel di Maria out of the sport within the final quarter-hour of the World Cup closing, and it nearly price them the sport. Di Maria and Lionel Messi have been the important thing gamers and scored the primary two targets, and when di Maria was taken out with the rating 2-0 for Argentina, the tempo of the sport modified. Out of the blue, Kylian Mbappe was turned free and carried France for the remainder of the sport. It was a fantastic recreation, however I don’t assume it will have gone into extra time with di Maria on the sphere. Dorothy Lyons

East Elmhurst: Throughout this time of the World Cup matches, it was an eye-opener for Hank Gola to write down in regards to the soccer nice Pelé (”Pelé,” Dec. 18). He was the soccer pearl to grace any soccer stadium. He shared his present with all and introduced love and happiness to the individuals he met. All of us have a present, allow us to share it with the individuals we meet. God bless. Gerson Fernandes

Ozone Park: As soon as once more the Every day Information has utterly eradicated the New York Rangers from its Monday morning protection. It was a fantastic recreation Sunday evening with a 7-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks, with a seven-game successful streak alive! Will somebody please have a gathering together with your sports activities division and allow them to know that the NHL, the N.Y. Rangers and MSG are an enormous a part of New York and so are the followers!? Disillusioned! Marie Tibball

Astoria: Why aren’t the New York Jets and Giants accurately named the Hackensack Jets and Giants? They don’t play and even follow in New York. Martin Warren

East Rockaway, L.I.: Can somebody please clarify to me what the attraction is of younger males sporting their pants manner under the waist, revealing most of their butt? I see this pattern increasingly typically now. Tanya Cabrera

Morris Plains, N.J.: Kudos to Voicer Louise Reeves. You nailed it — easy legal guidelines of provide and demand and a primary understanding of how enterprise is performed and the function of the president. Appears ignorant to me for individuals to make statements blindly, not realizing if they’re appropriate or not. Simply ‘trigger you hear it or learn it doesn’t make it true. Do individuals assume President Biden owns each company in the usA? No, he doesn’t. Companies make choices on profitability and not using a care about the way it impacts individuals as a result of they reply to majority stockholders who, I guarantee individuals, are about revenue. You’d assume the Keystone Pipeline’s latest spill would possibly give individuals a clue that it’s open. The extension challenge was halted as a result of billions have been wasted and it’s 10% accomplished for ever and ever. Joe Tierney

Manhattan: I’m each an NYC retiree and a World Commerce Heart respiratory affected person. Our mayor despatched us again into the poisonous zone a mere six days after the assault. As a consequence of that publicity, a few of my former colleagues are within the floor and others are most cancers sufferers. Now the town is forcing susceptible retirees into what is actually a business fraud, the Medicare “Benefit” insurance coverage rip-off. The U.S. Division of Justice has been indicting one among these plans after one other for large Medicare fraud, together with overcharges to municipalities for “phantom” procedures whereas denying sufferers essential companies. The U.S. Division of Well being and Human Providers Workplace of Inspector Normal reported that these plans end in “worse well being outcomes” by delaying and/or denying wanted companies. Why hasn’t your workers learn these reviews? I retired after having finished price/profit and different fiscal evaluation for six NYC mayors. Medicare Benefit is a budget-buster and a patient-killer whose solely benefit goes to the fraudsters operating these plans. Kathryn Nocerino

Far Rockaway: As an alternative of elevating the transit fares, how about you implement fare fee and implement the penalties for failure to pay the fare? I’ve been on the buses and have watched particular person after particular person stroll proper previous the farebox! I see it on the subways day-after-day, too, each at my dwelling station within the Rockaways and on the Fulton Heart. Moreover, driving the subways has turn out to be much more difficult with homeless individuals sleeping within the automobiles. Someday, there have been three individuals stretched out in a single automotive! So earlier than you go elevating fares but once more, attempt to enhance these situations for these of us who do swipe our MetroCards! Dana Y. Gibbons

Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y.: Each burdensome Con Ed charge hike is recent proof of our must say goodbye to fossil fuels (“Advocates rip Con Ed request to lift charges,” Dec. 16). Shareholders are successful over customers with each charge hike, particularly hikes within the worth of gasoline heating. We all know that photo voltaic and wind energy with ample battery backup are dependable and reliably low-cost, domestically produced and never depending on worldwide market forces. We’re heading in the right direction for a 70% clear electrical grid by 2030, as long as our leaders don’t give in to false options like hydrogen and renewable pure gasoline. So with the price of heating by electrical energy being considerably inexpensive than heating with gasoline, it’s time for Gov. Hochul to rise to the town’s management and require cost-effective, energy-efficient all-electric new constructing building statewide by together with it in her upcoming government finances. Jeff Schumann

Madera, Calif.: You don’t merely get up in the future and say, “Right this moment I’m a girl,” or say, “Now I’m a person,” even should you’ve been one all of your life. What transitioning requires is popping out from behind a masks that was fastidiously created from a lifetime of rejection — a lifetime spent in hiding from society’s view of what’s male or feminine. It requires one to utterly settle for that who we’re on the within shouldn’t be who different individuals see on the skin. It requires being the one who makes us blissful, not the particular person our household, pals or society need us to be. Whether or not that particular person is male, feminine, homosexual, straight, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or queer, it’s as much as us to determine. We have to be the one who makes us blissful. Robyn Angelique Harvey