Dancing with the pessimists
D.I.D. can do it together
To The Editor:
Re “D.I.D. Elections” (UnderCover, June 13 – 19):
My primary goal as the newly elected vice president of the Downtown Independent Democrats is to unify the club membership. A couple of days after the election, I reached out to Julie Menin and Pat Moore and several other D.I.D./Community Board 1 members to assure them that their concerns will be addressed. The recent past is just that, the past. I particularly like Pat Moore’s idea of D.I.D. members getting together for a social occasion without any official club business on the agenda except to have fun and to get to know each other better. We can now more forward, because at the end of the day, all of us are “pro-Lower Manhattan.”
Marc Ameruso
Vice president, Downtown Independent Democrats
Schools ignored
To The Editor:
Although it leaves out a number of area schools — P.S. 1, P.S. 2 and I.S. 131, for instance — the article “Downtown schools face city’s budget axe” (May 30 – June 5) was the one of the few articles in your paper that gives any inkling that there are schools in the Downtown area other than P.S. 234 and P.S./I.S. 89.
I have been a resident of “Downtown” for 15 years and a reader of the Downtown Express since the paper turned up in my neighborhood. I am the mother of a daughter, currently enrolled in Pre-K at P.S. 126. When I sought to find a public Pre-K, the Downtown Express was not a resource.
The issues facing P.S. 234 and P.S. 89 are important, but they are not the only public schools in the area. Those schools also have issues and concerns and should also receive coverage. Why are they so underrepresented in your newspaper?
Mary Myers
Tax man writeth again
To The Editor:
Re “Taxing Issue” (Letter by Lawrence White, June 13 –19)
A little over two weeks ago I asked Lawrence White and his friends to produce their tax records to The Villager/Downtown Express to prove they are actually paying New York City and State income and sales taxes on their sales of items to tourists in Soho. Mr. White ignored my request but stated in the paper last week that he and his friends have tax identification numbers so by definition they must be paying all their taxes. That’s like me saying that because I have a social security number I must be paying all my taxes. Obviously that logic is completely flawed. I’m not sure why Mr. White won’t produce his tax records but I ask him again to do so.
Tim Clark
Letters policy
Downtown Express welcomes letters to The Editor. They must include the writer’s first and last name, a phone number for confirmation purposes only, and any affiliation that relates directly to the letter’s subject matter. Letters should be less than 300 words. Downtown Express reserves the right to edit letters for space, clarity, civility or libel reasons. Letters should be e-mailed to news@DowntownExpress.com or can be mailed to 145 Sixth Ave., N.Y., N.Y. 10013.
