Latest news with #MiaMolano
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Readers sound off on hospital closures, attacks on universities and climate costs
Manhattan: Re 'Invest in health care to invest in NYC's future' (op-ed, April 30): The loss of Beth Israel Hospital is catastrophic for lower Manhattan. The proposed Lenox Hill Hospital expansion is not the solution. In this century, approximately 20 New York-area hospitals have closed, mostly in low-income neighborhoods. On Manhattan's East Side, where Lenox Hill is located, there are now more than 10 beds per 1,000 residents. With the Beth Israel closure, a 180-bed Presbyterian Hospital affiliate located on William St. is the only hospital south of 14th St., where 400,000 people live. That is 0.5 beds per 1,000 people. Residents of Chinatown, Tribeca and Battery Park now have no hospital. The Health and Hospitals Corp. fails to regulate the distribution of new beds. More beds in upper Manhattan will not solve this problem in the rest of the city. Lack of medical insurance with resultant unpaid hospital bills is one major reason for hospital failure in low-income neighborhoods where many people are uninsured, have Medicaid or Medicaid Expansion and are thus in jeopardy of losing their insurance. There is an excellent solution, the New York Health Act, now pending in the state Legislature. If passed, this act would provide appropriate health care for all state residents. Voicer Mia Molano published a passionate plea for this legislation. Were this bill enacted, virtually all New Yorkers would receive better health care at a lower cost than is currently available. Dr. Marc H. Lavietes, former secretary; Physicians for a National Health Program, NY Metro chapter Staten Island: There's a new mom at Northwell Staten Island University Hospital and she's not on the maternity floor. Meet Mother Goose, who gave birth to a clutch of goslings just outside the Lois & Richard Nicotra Heart Institute. In a touching twist of nature and nurture, she's chosen to nest her babies beside the newly installed heart sculpture that expresses 'Good Health is Everything'! We had been anxiously awaiting the goslings' birth for the past month. As our clinical teams care for patients on the inside, this devoted mother is quietly warming hearts just outside. I also just found out Thursday was National Mother Goose Day — talk about a crazy coincidence! Jillian M. O'Hara Staten Island: Mayor Adams has not made an attempt to hire school safety agents. Why? These are the men and women who protect our children every day. They are true unsung heroes. Their numbers have waned. The reasons are too numerous to mention. The agents are a division of the New York City Police Department. The police commissioner should be in the mayor's office at least twice a week or more to get a reason why the mayor has not hired more agents. Or does the commissioner not care about the safety of students? Agents need to be replaced to protect our students, teachers and all staff. Mayor Adams, find money to hire them. Jeffrey Van Pelt Brooklyn: Recently, I had to call a car service for an appointment to see a podiatrist. The address was on Sheepshead Bay Rd., and while there are many businesses north of the bay at Emmons Ave., the driver told me it was west of Ocean Parkway in Coney Island. The driver was right and I was wrong. I agree that while it is an inconvenience to change a street or avenue of a geographic location, this can only result in duplication, which results in mass confusion. One street and/or avenue is enough for any borough or city. Any more creates limitless problems for the post office and the general public. Elliott Abosh Astoria: You're better than this, or at least should be. Regardless of how anyone feels about Thursday night's Knicks game, the Knicks won. That's a fact. I came on your website looking for the game and the only article I could find is an opinion piece from your best Knicks writer about how they're not ready for the Celtics ('Brunson pops the clutch!' May 2). While his opinions may be on point, that's an article for Monday. Where is the article about the game itself, about what happened in the first quarter and beyond? Is the article buried somewhere online? If so, it shouldn't be. C'mon, be better. John Warren Whitestone: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, have you gone mad? A deal with President Trump is a deal with Russia! Why don't you just cut out the middleman? Robin Mazzia Bronx: Trump lied to us about who started the Ukraine war. It was his pal Vladimir Putin who started it all. Trump has been kissing Putin's butt for a long time. He owes Zelenskyy a big apology, but the liar king will never apologize to anyone. I support Ukraine. I'm glad Zelenskyy stood up to Trump. Doris Festante Larchmont, N.Y.: I find it hysterical that Trump is now blaming Joe Biden for the drops in both the stock markets and GDP. It was just a year ago that Trump was taking credit for the economic boon during the Biden administration because he said everyone was excited about him winning the election. My understanding is that Trump also blames Biden for the Lincoln assassination. Evidently, Joe, being as old as he is, happened to tell John Wilkes Booth that Abe and Mary changed their minds about going to Ford's Theater that night! Steve Michaud Wellfleet, Mass.: As the cost of living continues to jet along with the financial markets being hammered, I imagine I'm not the only senior citizen who isn't retired, just tired. Mike Rice Patchogue, L.I.: I have been watching the news showing all the slashing and cutting of jobs and closing agencies by the Trump administration. Trump says he wants to cut waste, but what he really plans to do with this money is give his billionaire friends a nice, fat tax cut, and any crumbs left over will go to the rest of us to try to placate us. Time to contact your representatives and senators, especially the Republicans, and tell them to step up, do their jobs and actually represent us. Lynda Welsh Hamilton Square, N.J.: Our universities have always attracted the best and brightest from all parts of the world. Most often, they remain and add their talents in all areas, especially science and medicine. Trump's absurd reaction to anyone not white or born here will ultimately diminish all of us. Eileen Johnson Waltham, Mass.: Harvard University's internal report confirms that the campus schools most committed to humanistic values —education, divinity, public health and government — are also among the most hostile environments for Jewish students. This moral failure demands urgent reform. As the largest funder of American higher education, the federal government has both the right and responsibility to use its resources to enforce compliance with Title VI and other nondiscrimination laws. But rather than cutting off all university funding, much of which supports essential scientific research, it should apply pressure precisely where violations are most severe. The White House must not act with blunt force but with precision. What's needed is not a wrecking ball, but a scalpel: targeted, principled intervention that addresses antisemitism in the departments where it is most deeply entrenched. Rachel Fish Manhattan: To Voicer Terry Hansen: Yes, former Senate Budget Committee Chair Sheldon Whitehouse has repeatedly confronted his colleagues with his climate chart that reads, 'Time to Wake Up.' You cited his warning that rising home insurance costs will imperil our housing, and then financial, markets. He's also cited the Potsdam Institute's warning that the world's current level of fossil fuel use, without rising, will cause annual damages of $36 trillion by 2050. This number does not include the cost of individual emergencies, like hurricanes, floods and wildfires, that would be increasing annually in number and severity. Time to wake up, indeed! Every senator should be brandishing that chart. Thomas A. Caffrey Whitestone: If you can't forgive, you burn the bridge over which you must pass. Sally DeFelice
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Readers sound off on universal health care, ignoring courts and a classic jersey
Brooklyn: I am writing in strong support of the New York Health Act, crucial legislation that would guarantee comprehensive universal health care for all New Yorkers. By eliminating financial barriers, this bill ensures that health care is a right, not a privilege. The law would lower overall costs, improve health outcomes and provide much-needed relief to families and businesses burdened by high insurance premiums and out-of-pocket expenses. The law is so crucial due to the widespread effects of unaffordable health care. According to the 2018 Healthy CUNY survey, 'Nearly 33,000 undergraduates, or 13.5%, reported that some health problem had interfered with their school work.' Students who receive reliable and affordable health care are able to spend less and manage their wellness while maintaining grades. Growing up, my family struggled to make ends meet whenever an injury occurred and a hospital bill came due. Many times, when one of us did not feel well, we would do every home remedy possible to avoid receiving medical assistance and a bill that would impact our lives and ability to find funds for other essentials. Having to choose between your health and your next meal or your utility bills is something nobody should have to experience. More than ever, we need to urge our elected officials to pass the New York Health Act to receive universal free health care. I urge readers to contact those in your area via phone, email and campaigns. Your voice and support can make a great difference on a topic that affects us all. Mia Molano Jackson Heights: After the numerous extensions for obtaining a Real ID, many people are now panicking before the May 7 deadline. These are probably the same procrastinators who started their school term papers the Sunday night before Monday's due date — like me. Glenn B. Jacobi Saugerties, N.Y.: I just watched ABC News report two stories about a person being shot and killed and another about an off-duty cop having his car hijacked, and he was shot while escaping. They reported that the suspects have been arrested numerous times and were let go. How does this continually happen in NYC? How come these people are let go to do the same thing or worse? Why are the same people committing crimes over and over again and not being punished? Stanley Cable Brooklyn: I always find it strange when people like Voicer Chris Lee complain about union members being overpaid, with the inference that they're undeserving of the pay they earn, and portray them as lazy and unworthy of respect. Just like in any work environment, there are always some who don't seem to pull their fair share of the workload. Union members don't have a monopoly on that kind of behavior. The most troubling thing, though, is how it seems like there's a race to the bottom where, instead of making strides to uplift the quality of work, salary and benefits for all, there's the argument that everyone should earn less to make it even. Unions have been fighting to improve working conditions for decades. Maybe Lee and others need to ask why everyone can't have the same benefits as union members instead of the other way around. Wanda Peakes Brooklyn: Universities' refusals to adopt President Trump's demands to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs, ban masks at campus protests, enact merit-based hiring and admissions reforms and combat antisemitism, so as not to 'surrender their independence or its constitutional rights,' as expressed by Harvard President Alan M. Garber, are deceitful and show the sinister atmosphere that has gripped our universities. Trump is not asking them to modify their math or science curriculum. He's asking them to adopt policies that make campuses safe for all students, hold individuals accountable for inciting students to violence, and reward students who excel in academics. These are policies that would curtail schools' independence or constitutional rights? The heads of these institutions seem to be as irrational as some of their students. It's a disgrace. They never should have received government support in the first place. Josh Greenberger New Rochelle, N.Y.: I never thought of our president as an analytic, data-driven strategist, but I was wrong. When considering a novel, risky, expensive new product, procedure or process, a savvy businessman will run a smaller-scale operation to verify the idea — or better yet, have someone else foot the bill for the trial run and use their results. Here's where I give Trump credit. He let a dictator violate 80 years of post-World War II norms and invade a less powerful neighbor in order to gain territory while the international community did nothing. This was his proof of concept on the cheap. Watch out, Canada! Richard Rodrigue Peters Township, Pa.: It didn't take long for the reckless and irresponsible actions of the Trump administration to translate into damage to consumer and investor confidence and to the economy and stock market. Even Trump has had to acknowledge that a recession is possible this year, and if that happens, it will be because he is choosing to walk right into it with eyes wide open. Tariffs and the threat of them, and a rampage of firings and threats of firing career federal civil service employees, are not winning strategies. The president who promised he would bring prices down on Day One has set that aside in his pursuit of destroying the federal government, and to exact revenge on those he feels contributed to efforts to hold him accountable for alleged crimes. Will reason and good judgment ultimately prevail before it's too late? I wouldn't bet on it. Oren Spiegler Bronx: In response to Voicer Bob Cavaliere's comment, 'Expect dumb people to get elected and do dumb things,' I can't help wondering if he meant those who voted for Trump. Just asking. Mary Ann Guarneri Ashburn, Va.: Trump isn't the first president to ignore decisions of U.S. courts. During President Andrew Jackson's autocratic rule from 1829 to 1837, the Supreme Court issued a decision Jackson didn't like. His response, according to some sources: 'John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it!' Jackson's refusal to respect the court's decision resulted in the forced deportation of the Cherokee Nation from Georgia and the notorious Trail of Tears, where close to 17,000 Cherokee died during their exile westward. I'm guessing the consequences of Trump's deportation policy in defiance of the courts — he's even deported three children who are U.S. citizens, one a 4-year-old with cancer — will be devastating, too. Mike Barrett Milwaukee: During a recent congressional hearing, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse provided a stern warning regarding 'the very dark economic stormclouds that are on the horizon that relate to climate change.' Whitehouse explained that increased coastal flooding and wildfire risk are propelling our nation toward a home insurance and property value collapse that will impact the entire economy. Consider that in 2016, Freddie Mac's Economic and Housing Research group reported: 'Rising sea levels and spreading flood plains… appear likely to destroy billions of dollars in property and to displace millions of people. The economic losses and social disruption may happen gradually, but they are likely to be greater in total than those experienced in the housing crisis and Great Recession.' Urgently reducing greenhouse gas emissions and funding adaptation should be a top priority for every politician who is concerned about national security and economic stability. Terry Hansen Manhattan: Re 'Sack that talk! Carter says he wants to wear LT's No. 56' (April 26): Numbers 56 and 11 are off-limits, even if the Giants have a policy of un-retiring numbers. I was in Giants Stadium for both home playoff games in January 1987, watching Lawrence Taylor, Phil Simms and the rest of that legendary team. I later met both men in Midtown Manhattan during the 25th anniversary celebration of their first Super Bowl win. I respect Abdul Carter, arguably the most talented player in the 2025 draft. But those jersey numbers and my childhood memories are sacred. Adam Silbert
