Readers sound off on NYPD horse care, federal library cuts and an attempted assassin

Yahoo

07-04-2025

Tuckahoe, N.Y.: The NYPD is reviewing its $734,000 contract with the veterinarian who oversees its mounted horses because they 'just discovered his history of violating racehorse care rules.'
Among this veterinarian's many infractions and violations, which included several drugging offenses, he was found to have committed an improper and fraudulent act at Aqueduct Race Track by submitting health certificates for horses he didn't evaluate. He refused to list medications he gave, failed to follow licensing requirements, and was fined in 2020 for professional misconduct for failing to provide information to support his treatment of a horse in Queens.
He even declared collapsed carriage horse Aysha to be in 'good condition' with 'no injuries consistent with abuse or mishandling,' despite online videos clearly showing carriage drivers pushing and dragging this poor horse directly following his collapse. Not surprisingly, the New York State Gaming Commission refuses to comment on this issue; their only interest is keeping the races going. And why won't the NYC Department of Health comment? What is it hiding?
The abuses and cover-ups of the racehorse and carriage-horse industries have been documented for decades, both rife with big-money greed and corruption, with unions and public apathy keeping them going — aided, of course, by the fact that the animals can't complain. They are the perfect silent victims.
NYPD, would you send your family to a doctor with such a horrible record? These beautiful animals can't speak for themselves. Please be their caring voice. They are put into treacherous situations with an unruly public. You depend on them — and they depend on you. They deserve better. Kiley Blackman
Jamaica Hills: The world is going to hell in a handbasket! Have no fear, NYC residents, we can save the world by sorting through our garbage (or face fines). Who are these City Council members and how many of them actually live in NYC? Robert Gibbs
Brooklyn: Voicer Gregory W. Chupa has apparently been gaslit on the NY HEAT Act. It would save New Yorkers money in a very simple way: reduce gas service charges by preventing gas companies from building unnecessary new pipelines. We pay for those, and the more people who voluntarily go electric, the smaller the pool of gas consumers left to foot the bill. NY HEAT in no way requires homeowners to electrify, buy new heating equipment or spend extra money. For low- to middle-income families, gas bills would be capped at 6% of earnings. That's what NY HEAT is really about, and why it's so important to our wallets and well-being, and why Gov. Hochul must include it in her final budget. Samantha Gore
Staten Island: Re 'Poll: AOC would beat Schumer' (April 5): That says it all about the Democrats. Dumb and dumber. Thomas Fraumeni Jr.
Manhattan: I've been a proud library card holder since I was 6 and intent on reading the entire children's section of the Bayside branch of the Queensborough Public Library. Less noticed among President Trump's giant cuts to health care, veterans' services, medical research and Social Security is the disappearance of the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services. Staff is on administrative leave — paid but not allowed to work — and grant funding for 125,000 libraries nationwide is frozen. These grants are critical life support for services Americans need, like the 30 million people who rely on public libraries for internet access. Job seekers, veterans, rural residents and local schools need public libraries. Library cuts are cruelty imposed on Americans. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is fighting back. Everyone should be equally outraged at the harm being done to New Yorkers and Americans. Laurie Aron
Centereach, L.I.: Don't believe or repeat Voicer Tom Asher's letter regarding Bill Clinton and Barack Obama laying off more government workers than President Trump without noting major key differences. Tom pulled that info from social media and/or Fox News — not always factual sources. In fairness, Clinton and Obama did cut hundreds of thousands of government workers, but through legitimate buyouts. They did these cuts with bipartisan congressional approval. Republicans and Democrats reviewed and approved these actions with intelligent thought and consideration. Trump set loose Elon Musk, who was designated a 'special government employee,' and he wantonly swung his 'chainsaw' without regard for his actions and without congressional oversight. Musk fired and rehired critical government employees, with difficulty, hundreds of times. This is not the way democracy works. Trump keeps mum while bringing Musk's Tesla automobiles to the White House driveway. You say hypocrisy, Tom? Richard Dragani
Richmond Hill: To Voicer JoAnn Lee Frank: Regarding you desiring Trump for a third term, therefore you agree to disregard the Constitution? You are comfortable living under a dictatorship, agree with disrupting Social Security, the IRS, Medicaid, Medicare and the U.S. Postal Service, and his promotion of assault weapons? How about stripping memorials and all history of courageous Black and female heroes from government websites and history books? You must also approve of cuts to USAID, the National Institutes of Health and health departments. And because of his tariffs, all of us will pay more for every single item we purchase. Lastly, you must be comfortable with Musk sharing the presidency. All of our worldwide allies have deserted the U.S. and we now stand alone. I don't think most Americans will accept this for four more years. Ene Kelly
Staten Island: It is said that Nero fiddled while Rome burned. Fast-forward two millennia and he has returned. This time he has a golf club in his hand rather than a fiddle. Ralph D'Esposito
Ridgewood, N.J.: Trump's tariffs can be expected to increase U.S. unemployment and inflation. This double hit will not be easy to correct. Expect a Democratic congressional landslide in 2026. Ed Houlihan
Jefferson City, Mo.: I am worried about the recent Trump administration decision to stop all USAID world food programs when millions of people in Sudan, Yemen and other areas are in danger of dying of starvation. U.S. aid provides at least five major benefits: 1) Saves millions from death of starvation and malnutrition-related infection. 2) Allows millions of children to grow into a healthy and productive adulthood. 3) Reduces the risk of war in impoverished areas. 4) Creates worldwide goodwill for the U.S. 5) Creates income for U.S. farmers and food processors. In the past 70 years, U.S. food programs have fed 3 billion people in 150 nations and have long enjoyed strong bipartisan support. To fight world hunger, I urge the government to reinstate funding for USAID food programs and urge the public to donate generously to charities that fight hunger abroad and in the U.S.A. Luke Curtis
Jefferson City, Tenn.: I'm 66. I've been pro-Israel my entire life. However, being pro the country doesn't mean I support the actions of its government in Gaza, just as I am pro-U.S. but disagree with nearly everything my government has done since Jan. 20. Have the Israelis forgotten what the Nazis did to the Jews in the 1930s and '40s? Have they no sympathy for a minority people? I'm sure there are terrorists in Gaza — Hamas and others. But you don't annihilate an entire people to get at a few bad ones in their midst. Cutting off electricity and water is inhumane, as is bombing hospitals, schools and other places of refuge. Do you remember your fight for a homeland? Do you remember the Haganah and what they did to the British to gain a homeland? What makes you think the Palestinians won't do the same? Sean M. Talty
Brooklyn: To all of you who write in all the time and seem to be very aware of things going on in this country, I have a question: Remember a few months back when the Secret Service arrested a man with a rifle on the golf course where Trump was playing? Does anyone know what happened to Ryan Routh? After that happened, we never heard a word. Norma Joseph