Creative interventions for unruly roads

Brooklyn: Voicer Patricia Nuzzo’s suggestion that police use drones to identify and ticket “backfiring muscle cars and engine-roaring motorcycles” is only practical if the offending vehicles have legible license plates — if they have plates at all — and if they’d even bother to respond. These idiots tear through traffic, often trying stunts and popping wheelies as if they’re on some private racecourse.

If Nuzzo lives on a main drag, as I do, she also knows that speeding is only part of the problem these idiots present. I’ve had to stop countless conversations while one or more of these jerks roared by, or missed dialogue on a TV show, or been woken in the middle of the night by them roaring through the streets.

I know that chasing them down is dangerous, but drones aren’t the answer. Maybe fining the mechanics/manufacturers who adapt the mufflers would help solve the noise problem. I don’t know how you stop these jerks from speeding, since they know damn well that it’s illegal but they also know nobody’s going to stop them. My hope is that someday they have a colicky baby, and when they finally fall asleep after hours of crying, a jackass just like them comes roaring past their house and wakes the child again. Karma.

Ilsa Ruthen

Mayoral power

Manhattan: The rifles were out uptown Thursday, making a warzone of a residential neighborhood (“ICE agents shoot man in NYC as 5-year-old sits in backseat of car,” Oct. 9). Parents were walking their children home from school and people were shopping when seven shots rang out. Long guns on a city street, shooting into a car, putting a child and bystanders at risk. ICE is known for these practices, and the neighborhood reacted with outrage. Their community is no longer safe. Much as I think ICE should be abolished, it ain’t happening soon. I want Mayor Mamdani to do something more than making strident speeches. Amazingly, ICE still parks in city lots. Mayor Michelle Wu forbade that in Boston. It must be forbidden in NYC. That’s a start. Yes, the man had nonviolent convictions and was here illegally, a civil offense. Does that mean he deserved to be shot?

Danette Lipten

Symptoms of a system

Brooklyn: Another shooting by an ICE agent has resulted in protests. There are clearly too many shootings by ICE since Donald Trump became president the second time. Of course, criminals must be arrested. However, in America, police do not shoot when arresting a suspect unless absolutely necessary. In communist countries, police have authorization to shoot anybody they want without punishment. Under Trump, we’re heading that way. So it’s clear which party actually follows the communist playbook. It’s not the Democratic Party.

Alan Podhaizer

Answer honestly

Kings Park, L.I.: When running against Jimmy Carter for president, Ronald Reagan asked if you were better off than you were since Carter became president. The answer was obvious. To my Republican friends and extreme followers of this president, I ask: Are you (and the country) better off than you were since this president took office?

John Karahalis

False-flag fear

North Bergen, N.J.: Trump may be stupid and he may be crazy, and with the 2026 elections fast approaching, he’s definitely getting desperate. Since he’ll most likely be unable to either steal or cancel the upcoming elections, I fear he will resort to attacks on the two major cities in California that he’s mentioned as the enemy’s targets. This would be the final move of a madman trying to stay in power. History taught us that Hitler may have burned down the Reichstag in order to create the chaos and fear he needed to give him the power to unite and “protect” the people against a common foe presumed to be responsible for the event. Why else would Trump single out two major cities in a blue state? I hope I’m wrong, but we better prepare for the madman’s next move.

Irving A. Gelb

Sanction sanctimony

Toronto: Didn’t the orange idiot threaten the EU with tariffs if they imported Russian crude? How will Humpty impose tariffs on himself? After all, diesel prices are only up a little bit, aren’t they?

Peter Earle

Gulf of understanding

Largo, Fla.: Re “Hurricane Isaias may upset president’s Alabama trip” (Oct. 9): You write that the president seemed unaware of the storm churning off the coast. He probably thought the trip was still OK as long as the storm was in the Gulf of Mexico and not the Gulf of America.

Michael Ferrara

Deserving of protection

Brooklyn: As the Oct. 19 deadline for Temporary Protected Status for Ukrainians approaches, I want New Yorkers to understand what ending it really means. A Ukrainian home health aide provides daily care for my 92-year-old grandfather in Brooklyn. The trust, consistency and attentiveness she brings can’t be replaced by just anyone — it is the result of a relationship built over time with someone deeply vulnerable. If her work authorization lapses, we lose her, and the impact on his health would be severe. Her story isn’t unique. Thousands of Ukrainian TPS holders care for our elderly, staff nursing homes and fill essential roles across this city, all while the war in Ukraine makes safe return impossible. I have written to my representatives, the White House, the governor and the Department of Homeland Security urging an extension. The human cost of this deadline deserves to be seen.

Mariya Kofman

Public death threat

Kew Gardens: The U.S. military has never broadcast a live execution to the general public. Moreover, a current military regulation states that “no person under of the age of 18 shall witness the execution.” If carried out, this would be unprecedented. And there is no question it would end up on all social media platforms. Better minds need to prevail before we do such a thing.

Phil Serpico

Pre-Hochul plan

Hyde Park, N.Y.: To Voicer David DiBello: It seems that you wanted to complain about congestion pricing, but like a true MAGA, you had to start with a bald-faced lie: “She (Gov. Hochul) gave $4 billion to illegal immigrants.” I know where he gets his “news.” Hochul did give $4 billion to NYC. It’s to help close the budget gap there, not for immigrants! That is a lot of money! Five percent of that is being used to help immigrants “gain legal work status,” which is a good thing, if you ask me. By the way, David, the whole congestion pricing idea has been floating around for at least a decade. Hochul may have “unleashed” it, but it all started way before she became governor. You and your ilk have gotten so used to throwing these random lies around — and believing them — that you can’t stop doing it.

Jack Cregan