LETTERSTO THE EDITOR

Assault by battery

Dear Editor:

Lithium-ion batteries, whether in e-bikes, scooters, recreational or commercial, are responsible for an epidemic of mayhem and murder. Leadership, new enforceable laws and education are urgently needed to turn the tide against these weapons of societal destruction.

Structures throughout Downtown Flushing — private and public — are packed with these devices. There must be a total and complete ban against their presence anywhere within a multiple-dwelling building.

Where is the local political will to lead on this crisis?

Mayor Adams, please appoint an e-bike czar to immediately call a summit with representatives of all the necessary stakeholders and carve out a sustainable and equitable balance between public safety and worker rights. In the interim, permit 311 to accept complaints re: lithium-ion batteries and associated devices where a threat level is apparent.

Time is of the extreme essence.

Eileen and Frances Scanlon Flushing

Bearly cute

Dear Editor:

The Australian marsupial that wandered into a convenience store could have wanted only one thing: a nice cold bottle of Coca Koala!!

Raymond Hackinson

Ozone Park

Editor’s note: A viral video of the koala’s visit to a gas station is widely posted online, including at yhoo.it/3F22gBf.

No need for a new HS

Dear Editor:

Re “Parent board hears about SCA projects,” by Deirdre Bardolf, March 2, multiple editions: Sometimes we have to face facts ... no matter how pleasant they may be.

The School Construction Authority’s Ben Goodman restated there is no shortage of high school seats in Queens. Taking the SCA’s projections and already approved HS annexes and buildings into account, the Queens HS seats surplus grows from 2022-23’s 5,996 seats to a projected surplus of 21,522 by decade’s end. These are the SCA’s and Department of Education’s own numbers!

The DOE’s failures to assign students evenly and make all schools attractive choices do not change the above facts, particularly as enrollment preferences are borough-based.

Those still harping for yet more HS seats in Queens are not motivated by concern about overcrowding. They want a large specialized high school here so their penchant for segregation can be made more convenient. Unpleasant but true.

The “academic refugee” myth about students being forced out of Queens to attend specialized high schools is just that — a myth. It is their parents’ choice to have them attend these schools fully aware of their location. Even if every Queens-residing student currently attending a specialized HS in the Bronx, Manhattan or Brooklyn decided to attend HS in Queens, there would still be a surplus — albeit smaller — in Queens HS, which would grow each year per the SCA’s statistics.

It is disappointing to see our Borough President’s Office support a “build no matter what the needs are” policy, one which only benefits the SCA’s contractors and future charter schools looking for underutilized spaces. The debt service is substantial and the impact on existing schools is material.

I would urge the BP’s Office to take a hard look at the numbers and refocus efforts toward improving the existing schools that need attention, along with bolstering the schools that neighbor the new construction already underway.

Michael Athy Jamaica

The writer is a retired Queens high school principal.

Obi-Don Kenobi

Dear Editor:

Maybe Donald Trump is not a liar, but truly believes he is a Jedi Master who can use his mind tricks to implant suggestions in gullible minds: “The 2020 presidential election was stolen from me. On Jan. 6, 2021, American patriots held a very peaceful demonstration at the Capitol building. Hundreds of classified documents were not found at Mar-a-Largo.”

And finally, his ultimate mind trick, “You will vote for me in 2024.”

Glenn Hayes Kew Gardens

Trashing prayers

Dear Editor:

When it comes to mass shootings, I agree with Lenny Rodin (“Prayers work,” Letters, March 2): Thoughts and prayers aren’t Garbage! After all, we’re not talking about separate thoughts and prayers. Not one group of people sending thoughts over here and another different group sending prayers over there.

We’re talking about thoughts and prayers being sent together. That’s why thoughts and prayers aren’t garbage. Garbage can be recycled and actually serve a purpose.

Unlike Republican politicians like state Sen. Danny Britt, who, just hours after three students were killed in a mass shooting in Michigan, sponsored a bill to loosen gun restrictions in North Carolina. If prayers did anything, people like him wouldn’t be in office.

Robert La Rosa Whitestone