To The Editor:
Re “Yippie! Out of jail!” (Scoopy’s Notebook, Nov. 24):
I continue to be disappointed by your newspaper’s coverage of this criminal drug dealer Dana Beal.
You glorify him as though he is a hero — a folk hero!
Sir — he is a common criminal!
What has he done all his life? What did he accomplish? What good did he do?
Let us use the figure of 100,000 Village residents (a low estimate). Now, among this multitude there are tens of thousands of hard-working, honest, industrious people.
Yet you choose to use your forum to rant and rave about a criminal!
I mean, stories can’t be that hard to find.
For example, on Wednesday I was in Cafe Reggio, where I talked with a young woman who grew up in the Village, right on Bedford St. She went to public schools and later became a very successful actress and singer. Daphne Rubin-Vega — who appeared in “Rent” and other productions — now has a 7-year-old child. But her story is one of success — not criminality or scandal.
Why not write about her or others like her? I see more and more articles about criminals like Lynne Stewart and Dana Beal!
I hate to sound like an old fogy, but I have been reading your paper ever since I was a young boy and I feel it is losing its way!
Joseph Marra
