#Letters to the Editor — April 4, 2021

Vax vexation
Maybe the process of getting an appointment for the vaccine is part of the problem of fewer people in poor neighborhoods getting the vaccine (“Lax vax in NYC’s poorer nabes,” March 31).

It’s often an online process that is extremely cumbersome. I had to jump through hoops for over a month before I could find an appointment. And then I had to drive over two counties away to get vaccinated.

Lower-income individuals may not have the technology or wherewithal to obtain appointments. Maybe the state should change the process to how you get a flu shot: Allow for walk-ins to get vaccinated instead of forcing people to go through various online iterations to make an appointment.

I know from experience that I was ready to put on hold getting vaccinated after over a month’s worth of frustration.

Jim Glaab

Elmsford

School safety
In 1996, I began to teach in a high school in The Bronx. I felt sorry for the kids entering the building each day through metal detectors. The school was like an armed camp. But I soon changed my mind. (“NYC kids [and their weapons] back in HS,” April 1).

The population was violent. The boys were always scared, and this does not lead to peace and tranquility. My students shared with me that they could not walk from their homes to the bus stop without being approached and menaced by other teens. They carried box cutters as defensive weapons should they be attacked.

After witnessing violence over the next months, it dawned on me that professional safety agents were required to get even a semblance of sanctuary in our building.
After the violence this year, it is a foolish idea to remove security. The schools need trained professionals to control their populations. Don’t be a foolish liberal on this issue.

Dianne Stillman

Brooklyn

Message in masks
There is a mixed message being communicated to the American public by President Biden, Dr. Anthony Fauci, et. al. (“Outta My Face,” Seth Barron, Post­Opinion, March 29).
Everybody in the country knows that Biden and Fauci and other government officials have received their shots, and therefore should be all but immune to the virus, yet they are undermining the public’s faith in the available vaccines by continuing to appear masked in public.

I received my second shot in early February. If it were up to me, I would abandon my mask all together. But unlike major public figures, no one that I meet in my daily travels knows I am protected. For that reason, out of respect for others’ fears, I continue to wear a mask where required.

Biden has indicated that he is going to spend $10 billion to encourage people to get vaccinated. I would submit that having the public see him mask-less would do infinitely more good.

Oscar Huettner

Solebury, Pa.

Fleeing NYC
Regarding Howard Husock’s column, “Goodbye, NYC” (PostOpinion, April 1), does anyone think Mayor de Blasio and his fellow wokesters in the City Council are really concerned about this mass exodus?

They’re doing everything they can to push away the middle class and working poor, who desperately need jobs, good public schools and safety on the streets and in the subways. The city has failed miserably in each of these areas.

And white-collar jobs can now be performed in the suburbs or in much better-run, lower-taxed states. Who will be left besides poor folks on government assistance and a few ultra-rich?

E. Cooper

Glenmont

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