Letters to the Editor

Vote Out Pro-Landlord Pols
Frank Baxter (Letters, Feb. ’98 Tenant/Inquilino) has the right idea. Tenants must take the offensive. A good way to start would be to work as hard as we can against all Republicans and Democratic friends of landlords. Not only should Republican State Senators Nicholas Spano (Westchester), Serphin Maltese (Queens), and Guy Velella (Bronx) be targeted, but also Efrain Gonzalez (D-Bronx), the sneak who was sick on April 7. If Democrats like Larry Seabrook (Bronx) choose to support Governor Pataki, they should be linked to Joe Bruno.

Let’s guarantee that Councilmember Tony Weiner (D-Brooklyn) doesn’t make it to Congress, and let’s replace John Ravitz, my Assemblymember, who said he was pro-rent-control, but still supports Pataki.

Tenants would be the most powerful voting bloc in the state if we were organized. This November, we must lash out at the ballot box. Tenants should and must vote out every elected official we can get our hands on who isn’t highly pro-tenant.

William Mayer Manhattan

Who Gave Away Garden Land?
I thought public property (“Lower East Side Activists Fight to Save Gardens, Feb. ’98 Tenant) was supposed to be disposed of through auction. Has New York City become Mayor Giuliani’s private fiefdom?

Pearl Silverfine Manhattan

Stanton St. Demolition a Crime
Just read your outstanding article about the demolition on Stanton Street (Feb. ’98 Tenant). It was extremely disturbing to see how people without power are treated in this country. I think of myself as sophisticated politically, but your article touched a nerve in me that was very upsetting, to say the least. The meanness of the city officials in not letting the people back into the building to collect their belongings compounds their meanness in their rush to knock down a building that could still be standing, home to the many people who were living there. Do you know of any organization that can respond quickly to try to stop these lightning demolitions?

I hope that your article will get wider circulation so that more people will know how the other half can be treated when it comes to real-estate profits. I guess many of us can be thrown out without much protection from the law.

Stuart Lachs Manhattan

Vallone Not Tenants’ Friend
City Council Speaker Peter Vallone has shown himself to be completely unfit for higher office. Remember: Only two months ago he sponsored Intro 994-A, a law that would have permitted landlords to “self-certify” that housing-code violations have been corrected. No city inspectors, no kidding, just landlord lies. Councilmember Stanley Michels called it one of the worst pieces of anti-tenant legislation ever (Jan. ’98 Tenant). Tenants who successfully demonstrated against the bill carried this banner: “Hey Valloney, 994-A Is Baloney.” Vallone had to shelve the bill. Unless we shelve him, it may be resurrected.

Vallone’s current “pro-middle class” platform is a hodgepodge of non-credible campaign promises of lower taxes and more money for education. The promises are calculated not to alienate the rich who control politics, and can’t be enforced by the middle class (until we add recall to the state constitution). They therefore depend on taking Vallone’s word. That is an unacceptably bad bet considering his past performance.

I strongly support Betsy McCaughey Ross for governor. I am not afraid of her wealthy husband. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a millionaire, and he did more for the unrich than any other President in our lifetime.

Peter D. Moss Queens

Met Council has not yet endorsed a candidate for governor—although we are not likely to support re-electing George Pataki after he tried to dismantle the rent laws.