Pol’s Twitter spat shows ugly side of party politics
A Park Slope state Senator told
the deputy communications director
for Senate Republicans to “kill
yourself” in a Dec. 18 Twitter post,
after the spokeswoman claimed on
social media that a parking placard
displayed inside a car illegally
parked along a bike lane belonged
to the lawmaker (“Slope state Senator
tells fl ack for chamber’s GOP to
‘kill yourself’ on Twitter,” by Colin
Mixson, online Dec. 19).
State Sen. Kevin Parker’s disturbing
tweet — which he quickly
deleted, although not before a reporter
for NY Capitol took and
shared a screenshot — came hot on
the heels of gun legislation he introduced
last month, which would
require authorities to review social
media posts made by people applying
for gun licenses with an eye
for threatening language, among
other things.
The pol fi red off the threatening
missive after Senate Republicans’
spokeswoman Candice Giove
identifi ed him as the problematic
parker in a comment she posted to
a photo shared on Twitter, which
showed a white Vokswagen completely
blocking a bike lane in
Manhattan.
The online tweet-a-tweet drew
many reactions from readers:
What a s------. I would be ashamed
to be represented by such a person.
Jim from Cobble Hill
A few months ago on the network
news, a city inspector was caught
parking his assigned city vehicle in
an illegal manner and had his vehicle
taken away.
I guess the higher civil servant you
are, the better you get treated.
Joe Placard from Bensonhurst
This is like every interaction with
Democrats ever. This is how they
speak to anyone they disagree with.
The news here is actually getting a
fake apology, outside of social media,
they double down on the hate.
Henry Ford from Bay Ridge
Too much anger, and parking privilege.
Time to resign. Bikernyc
from Downtown
Now that Trump is neutering
himself, my new nightmare is when
Sen. Parker and Alec Baldwin go out
drinking after a 12-step Rageholics
meeting. BklynPete
from Bensonhurst
A few years ago, Parker punched a
reporter-photographer from the New
York Post who took photos of him
abusing his parking placard by parking
illegally.
He does this kind of thing all the
time. david from plg
Who cares if he can’t get a gun
permit? He shouldn’t have a driver’s
license and defi nitely not a parking
placard. Mike from Williamsburg
Cops from all over Brooklyn are
now patrolling America’s Downtown
after a recent uptick in shootings
there, including a fatal November
incident when a gunman
shot and killed another guy at the
foot of an escalator inside a swanky
new shopping center (“Downtown’s
Blue period: Cops from across boro
patrolling nabe during holidays after
spate of shootings,” by Julianne
Cuba, online Dec. 20).
“You’ll see other precincts’ patrol
cars, that’s all part of our plan
increasing presence here,” said Police
Department Assistant Chief
Jeffrey Maddrey, the commanding
offi cer of Patrol Borough Brooklyn
North, which serves the neighborhood
in addition to the local 84th
Precinct.
Law-enforcement offi cials,
Borough President Adams, and
leaders of the business-boosting
Downtown Brooklyn Partnership
worked together on the plan to
bring more offi cers from Patrol
Borough Brooklyn North — which
covers neighborhoods including
Bushwick, East New York, Greenpoint,
Vinegar Hill, and more, in
addition to Downtown — to the
busy shopping district during the
holidays.
But the concerted effort to stop
some acts of violence may be putting
other locals in harms way. For
instance, putting more boots on the
ground Downtown led to confusion
on local streets earlier this month,
when two Boys in Blue from the 88th
Precinct allegedly parked their police
van in a Jay Street bike lane,
forcing a cyclist to swerve into traffi
c near Willoughby Street, where a
driver struck her.
A couple of commenters
shared their thoughts on
COURIER LIFE, D 30 EC. 28, 2018–JAN. 3, 2019 DT
the security scheme:
“They should not be parked in the
bike lane, if they were that’s something
were addressing,” Maddrey
said. Yes,
I’m sure that is a top NYPD priority.
Mustache Pete
from Windsor Terrace
Why not stop and frisk these thugs
when they leave their homes for a
court appearance? That would nip
things in bud. Oldtimer
from Brooklyn Heights
Offi cials at the state-run Metropolitan
Transportation Authority
estimated that those who skip
paying fares on our buses and subways
will cost the systems a whopping
$215 million, Courier Life
columnist Bob Capano noted in a
recent piece (“Prosecuting subwayfare
beaters is only fair,” by Bob
Capano, online Dec. 20).
Data presented to Authority
board members earlier this month
showed that fare evasion has more
than doubled since Manhattan
District Attorney Cy Vance announced
back in February that
he would not criminally prosecute
fare beaters, according to Capano,
who argued that you don’t need a
degree from Harvard to fi gure out
that if there is really no threat of
prosecution for jumping a turnstile,
more people will do it.
For evidence of brazen acts of
fare beating, the columnist pointed
locals to social media, where more
and more residents are sharing
eyewitness accounts of the rulebreaking,
he wrote.
Several readers weighed in:
Another spot on column by Capano.
Joe C from Bay Ridge
I don’t understand this policy at
all. Why would anyone pay the fare if
there are no consequences for not paying?
I was recently on the B41 bus on
Flatbush Ave. and watched as more
than a dozen people crowded on the
bus from the back door without paying.
I have also seen lots of people
(mostly teenagers) jumping the
turnstiles or going in the exit door
at both the Caton Ave. end of the
Church Ave. Q line or at the Parkside
Ave. stop.
It’s absurd to think it’s okay to not
prosecute fare beaters.
I’m puzzled from Flatbush
Fare beating has been going on for
years but with poor service I see why
it’s gone up. TOM
from SUNSET PARK
What do Andrew Gounardes, Justin
Brannan, Peter Abbate, and Mathylde
Frontus say? Thomas Hilton
from Bay Ridge
Doggone good work
To the Editor,
I need to thank you for following up
on the missing dog story (“Dill-ightful!
Lost dog, Pickles, rescued after threemonth
search,” by Colin Mixson, online
Nov. 28) You made my day.
I had seen the “lost dog” posters
in Sheepshead Bay and Marine Park,
and wrote down the phone number
and kept it in my bag. I recall the female
lost dog also.
Recently, I saw probably the last
poster left, and was saddened thinking
the dog was never found, and how
far could he have gone? Then, I got the
Courier on my porch in Marine Park.
God bless your work! Mrs. Marshall
Marine Park
No fare is only fair
To the Editor,
With all of the recent talk of raising
the bus and subway fare, the question
appears to be “to raise or not to
raise,” but by how much.
My solution is lower it to zero. If
the mass-transit system is considered
a public good, such as a park, then government
should cover the cost using
the same method as a park, through
budgeted funds, and not on daily use
basis. Furthermore, government gets
its money from taxes and fees, and the
fare is just a fee for the privilege of riding
the buses and trains.
The idea is to replace the daily fee
with three different taxes. The fi rst
would be a percentage of income to
the New York City annual tax return.
The second would be to reinstitute the
commuter tax, and the third would
be a surcharge on hotel rooms for
tourists based on the number of people
in the room and number of days.
My idea would eliminate the need for
catching fare beaters, no need for fair
fares, no need for congestion pricing,
no costs for MetroCards, no cost for
developing the cashless system, and
riders can go through all doors legally
without paying, speeding up
the trips.
All of these reasons would be included
in the three collection methods
above. Samuel Pam
Sheepshead Bay
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