Honor these life-savers by paying them fairly
Staten Island: Reading your article “EMTs chase down car as it rolled away carrying wounded gun victims” (May 24) reminded me of an old TV show’s closing lines, “There are 8 million stories in the naked city. This has been one of them.” Thank you for highlighting the uplifting work of these two FDNY Emergency Medical Services heroes. They are members of N.Y.’s Best, NYC’s smallest first responder service performing an outsized role.
There are just 4,400 EMTs and paramedics. Last year, EMS’ stethoscope-wearing women and men answered more than 1.6 million calls for help. In all seasons, in all weather, paired in ambulances scattered on the thousands of miles of city streets, when minutes count, they are ready to reassuringly provide rapid, on-the-spot emergency medical treatment. Their patients are victims of heart attacks, strokes, fires, blood-gushing wounds caused by violence and accidents and so on. In the past decade, they brought back to life the hearts of more than 10,000 of our fellow New Yorkers.
But FDNY EMS personnel don’t get good treatment from us. Those in EMS, who joined the FDNY for a career in the emergency medical profession, sacrifice tens of thousands of dollars in earnings and benefits yearly compared to NYC’s other 44,000 first responders, police officers and firefighters.
Right now, EMS is still functioning under a contract that expired almost two years ago. For years, the City Council has been calling, without avail, for EMS pay parity. Mayor Adams is the first NYC mayor to promise EMS pay and benefits parity with other first responders. Such a new contract would have been a meaningful way to celebrate National EMS Week. Too bad our city leaders didn’t make it happen. Helen Northmore
Queens Village: I agree with Voicer Carmelo Burgos that reducing the city speed limits from 25 to 20 is a bad idea. It has always been a cash cow for the city. If NYC and other municipalities really cared about safety, they would focus mainly on the rampant dangerous driving on the highways. Driving 20-30 miles over the speed limit, swerving in and out of lanes without signaling, using exit and entrance ramps to pass cars, hazardless tailgating, etc. There are far more serious and numerous accidents on the highways, and they know it. Nothing is ever done! Hey, put your speed cameras on the highways, and use the red light revenue to pay for the installation. I am sure most people would support it. Lawrence Krasner
Forest Hills: Voicer Grace Fornatora called out Gov. Hochul’s labeling of Donald Trump’s supporters as a “bunch of clowns.” I could have called them something else, but it would not be printable in this family paper. Anyone who still supports the former president and his “Unified Reich” is now endorsing a 1930s return to fascism and all of its evil manifestations. So, Hochul’s description of Trump’s supporters as a bunch of clowns was quite charitable, in my opinion. Fornatora has a right to her opinion; she might not even vote for Hochul when it’s time to reelect her. But don’t try to represent the entire state by her description of those who still delusionally support the former president, who could be convicted on 34 felony counts this week right here in New York. Ron Gersh
Hoboken: To Voicer JoLinda Celentano and all other people voting because of money: How much is democracy, the Constitution and our way of life worth to you? You all seem to be happy to give it up all for a few extra bucks in your pocket. As they say, everyone has their price. I guess we all know yours. Joe Ewansky
Bronx: To Voicer Raymond P. Moran, who claimed to not know the names of the police officers who died due to trauma from the Jan. 6 mob attack as the then-president watched it live on TV. The following are their names: Brian Sicknick died of a stroke the next day after being sprayed by a chemical irritant; Howard Liebengood died by suicide; Jeffrey Smith (hit by a metal pole, was never the same) died by suicide. Also, then-President Trump never visited or spoke about the 114 officers injured by the mob. I guess you forgot about the rest of the Capitol Police, some who have disabilities until this day and some left their jobs. I hope this answers your question. Facts will always be facts, whether you believe them or not. Lydia Milnar
Tarrytown, N.Y.: Because it was Memorial Day and I took pause to think of all those who have served in the military and law enforcement, I will list the valiant Capitol Police officers who lost their lives in Trump’s incitement of a riot of storming the Capitol to disrupt the certification of the vote, which Voicer Raymond P. Moran apparently doesn’t seem to care about, yet they are an integral part of our nation’s law enforcement. They matter, Mr. Moran. They stood up to the rioters who Trump whipped into a frenzy to disrupt our democratic process to support his lies of a stolen election, to take away our votes. Here are the heroes who died shortly after the riot from medical complications and suicide from PTSD, which does matter. These were members of law enforcement who Trump apparently doesn’t value. I list the names of these heroes: Brian Sicknick, Jeffery Smith, Howard Liebengood, Kyle DeFreytag, Gunther Hashida. All these brave men died as a result of defending our nation’s capital and I would like to honor their memories. Adam Reich
Brooklyn: Welcome to the “Jeopardy!” fan club, Voicer Katherine Raymond. My issue with the Daily Doubles is only the fact that when it becomes a runaway game, I know the winner before the final question, so it takes away a little excitement. BTW, my suggestion was only regarding the Masters Tournament. June Lowe
New Windsor, N.Y.: To Voicers Katherine Raymond and June Lowe: The late “Jeopardy!” creator Merv Griffin was a big fan of horse racing, and when he and ex-wife Julann came up with the idea of the Daily Double, the suits at NBC were originally against it due to its gambling connotation. But Merv managed to slip it through and it remains a very important part of the game 60 years later. And yes, Ken Jennings does fine as host, though he’ll never be as good as Alex Trebek, who hosted for 37 years, or even original host Art Fleming, who hosted on NBC daytime for 11 years. The show is a classic, we should be forever thankful to Merv for his creation. Todd Schuster
Syracuse, N.Y.: Joseph Manago was partially right about Islam. That, however, was long ago and far away. After centuries of decline, modern times have seen its internal hijacking by radical Islamist political distortion — a danger to the faith, its adherents and the world. Besides marginalizing moderate believers, it is marked by fanatic opposition to Western ideas of tolerance and democratic rule. It presents particularly ferocious resistance to coexistence with any sovereign Jewish entity in the Jews’ historic homeland. Such extreme animus was amply demonstrated by Manago’s outrageous charges against the Jewish state of Israel. Christians now flee to Israel from oppression in the Palestinian territories. Arab Israelis, whether Muslim, Christian, Druze, Circassian, Bahai, etc. are full citizens, enjoying rights and opportunities that their co-religionists in surrounding lands can only dream of. Richard D. Wilkins
Brooklyn: Isn’t it a shame that the vital role Islam has played in history that Voicer Joseph Manago cites occurred more than 1,100 years ago? More recently, Islam has played a vital role in perpetrating the proliferation of suicide bombings. According to Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), a London-based charity, the overwhelming majority of suicide bombings occurred in Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, the Palestinian Territories and Pakistan: all Muslim countries except Israel. Between 1993-2009 in Israel, there were dozens of such bombings — virtually all of them occurring against civilians at bus stops, marketplaces and restaurants, resulting in 742 dead and 4,899 injured. All perpetrated by Hamas, the PLO, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, all of whom are Muslim. It appears that algebra is not Islam’s sole legacy. Steve Herskovits…Read more by Voice of the People
