Readers sound off on subway rules, recreational pot and St. John’s the Baptist

Manhattan: I informed a police officer at the station on the mezzanine level of the Union Square station of a passenger with a dog. I told the officer, “Dogs are not allowed in the subway.” He told me, “Service dogs are allowed.” I told him to inquire if it was a service dog.” He told me it is illegal for him to inquire.

At the Canal St. station located on Center St. between Walker and Canal, there is no station attendant. Homeless people are opening the exit door for tip money. Many passengers walk through without paying their fare, some leaving a tip. Many calls to Transit District 2 have been unsuccessful to solve this problem. The commanding officer said that many arrests have been made but the district attorney refuses to prosecute. The new additional officers have been given instructions to stand near the center of the platform. They are performing window dressing. They are not to watch turnstiles, monitor trains or even to engage with people who are demonstrating emotional problems.

Illegal vendors are selling snacks all over the system, some on platforms. This creates a dangerous situation. Some are even bringing children and babies. These vendors are competing with newsstands, most of which are closed. The remaining few will close soon. Due to COVID, the station booths are not functioning but are manned. It would be more prudent to have the attendant out of the booth to assist passengers. Is this considered too dangerous? Why not re-open the booth services? Because the Transit Authority is trying to save money. Robert Gluckstadt

Woodside: The recent horrific subway tragedy where a 20-year-old man whose clothes got stuck in the subway doors during evening peak hours was dragged to death is indeed a grave matter that raises serious concerns, rattling wary and apprehensive riders literally on the edge. It’s no secret that the MTA’s safety record is more than spotty. Whether train operating protocols were not followed remains to be investigated. Unfortunately, random violence is now amplified by this tragedy and continues to breach commuters’ trust in the MTA’s handling of passenger safety. Commuters deserve nothing less than a 24/7, round-the-clock, safe, reliable and affordable transit system that each of us can take without any angst. Atul M. Karnik

Kew Gardens: As a teen, I remember asking older guys to buy us boys a bottle of beer as they entered a grocer’s because we were too young. The same will happen with marijuana now that it’s normalized for sale like it’s an ice cream bar. For some, it will be addictive and a gateway to other drugs. This marijuana has a potency well beyond your grandfather’s marijuana. And finally, my pet peeve has always been the use of the adjective “recreational” as it relates to marijuana. The adjective is absurdly applied to change the reality that this is a mind-altering drug. The policy for marijuana is better served when it is decriminalized, not normalized. Phil Serpico

Manhattan: Voicer Peter Janoff mistakes me for an armchair opiner on the urban condition. Guys have attempted to rob me several times (“attempted” because I am not inclined to become an unresisting victim). I suffered financial loss in a brownstone apartment burglary some years ago and in several auto break-ins while maintaining two vehicles with one garage space. My father, when he was almost 80, was mugged (without injury) and relieved of a substantial sum because he was old-school Italian and thought no self-respecting male should walk around without a wad of Ben Franklins. I am not unaware of the challenges of city life, but I will not run scared, I will not leave and I will not support jailing every light-fingered Louie for 20 years. Michele P. Brown

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Manhattan: Something must be done if we are going to build back New York City to what it was before COVID-19. There is too much crime in our streets and subways. We need to be calm and learn how to all get along and respect one another’s differences. I hope that NYC will build back stronger and safer than ever! In addition, it is important to support small businesses in one’s community. My husband and I support a jewelry store on the Upper West Side, Jewel Boutique. The customer service is friendly and the jewelers get to know their customers by name and face. Let’s stop the crime in our city and, together, build it back to what it was before COVID. Amy Rosenfeld-Kass

Sunnyside: Many community members took the time to be part of the Sunnyside Yard Master Plan Steering Committee. It seems that Queens always does its best for Queens and the state — and Queens always gets it right in the neck. The committee made the need for the Sunnyside Station the No. 1 issue on day one. Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan and Rep. Carolyn Maloney supported the station in the strongest terms. It seems that the project’s team had other plans and went along with the community (just for the eyes) knowing full well it wasn’t going to happen for all the reasons listed in the Daily News article of Oct. 26. Why have the steering committee? Just for window dressing? $53.4 million for the station that would serve millions of New Yorkers for generations is paperclip money in a project of $11.6 billion. George L. Stamatiades

Manhattan: I urge all devotees of Saint Padre Pio’s much-revered shrine inside St. John the Baptist church on W. 30th St. to write to their elected officials to oppose Gov. Hochul’s redevelopment plan of Penn Station, which will completely demolish the church, which houses the much-revered Padre Pio shrine where thousands go regularly to invoke the saintly padre’s intercession. Also join the chairperson of Community Board 5, Layla Law-Gisiko, who opposes the current Penn Station plan. Cecilia Gullas

Bronx: After six years of investigations, committee hearings and impeachments of former President Trump, the Daily News editorial “Hunting Hunter” (Nov. 20) expects the new Republican majority in the House of Representatives to turn the other cheek, look the other way and concentrate on more important issues. Like hell they should. Bob Pascarella

Fresh Meadows: Politicians use terms like “social justice” but establish discord, hostility and deceit while enriching themselves and their friends. They want to give jobs and contracts to their special groups for political ends and profits. The idea of civil service was to downplay preferential treatment. With their changes, they will institute preferential treatment for certain groups over others. If justice is blind in order to make the law equal, this is not equal, so there’s no justice. It will only create more inequity. Two wrongs don’t make a right. Keeping groups divided is an age-old political control tactic — divide and conquer. Vytautas Vileniskis

Bronx: I think I’ll go out and buy a pair of Adidas. I want to commend the company for standing up for what’s right, cutting Kanye West, or Ye or whatever he wants to call himself. No one is untouchable. He will be humbled like other people who thought that and wound up broke and alone. Integrity and honor seem to be things that can be bought and sold lately. I salute Adidas, a fine example of what America stood for — courage. Julio Rivera

Brooklyn: Thank you, Daniel Zarrilli, for pointing out that Superstorm Sandy gave us a kick in the pants to get off fossil fuels (“How Sandy woke up our city and planet,” Oct. 26). With climate disasters happening around the country, most Americans want climate action. Gov. Hochul is upholding our climate law and using the Biden-promoted Inflation Reduction Act to invest in clean energy and transition us from toxic gas heating and gas-powered cars. She must make sure the Climate Action Council, charged with creating a plan to enforce the climate law, is not swayed by the gas industry influence that infests it, trying to protect their profits against our interests and promoting false solutions like hydrogen, biofuel and renewable natural gas. Ella Ryan