Take steps to protect horses and safety

The Plains, Va.: Conservancy is about protecting nature, wildlife or historic places. It also means an area of protected land, or the official act of saving natural resources. Let’s also talk about the vision of the designers of Central Park. The original paths were built for three types of traffic: pedestrians, horseback riders and horse-drawn carriages.

To keep everyone safe, designers Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux built a system of tunnels, arches and bridges that let the paths cross without crashes. I don’t believe Olmsted and Vaux placed an expiration date on the use of horses and carriages in the park. Again, the words conservation and preservation are important here! David Saltonstall, the Central Park Conservancy’s vice president for government relations, policy & community affairs, claims that “nostalgia cannot trump public safety,” and said, “We have a public safety threat that needs to be mitigated.” Yet, who was in charge of placing toxic yew plants along the carriage paths? Who was lax in announcing that Con Edison would be doing electrical work in the park and there could be danger of live wires?

I’ve repeatedly asked previous mayors, City Council members and Central Park to add updates for the health and safety of the horses, including hitching posts, awnings to protect from weather, misting fans, safe heaters in winter, and to give the carriage paths back to the horses exclusively. Problem solved.

Mindy Pless

Ride elsewhere

East Elmhurst: To Voicer Robert K. Greco: I agree that bikes are not meant for the streets of NYC. You want to ride a bike, go to the parks around you. Bikes are a menace on the streets. City Hall has no clue when it comes to bikes in NYC.

Gerson Fernandes

Heat needed

Paramus, N.J.: Heat storage is another zany MTA idea. Instead of storing this platform ambient heat underground for the winter, just use it right now. Buildings need heat in the summer too, for domestic hot water, HVAC and absorption chillers. Con Edison could use this heat to preheat their billions of gallons of makeup water.

Walter Stevens

Senseless swipe

Carle Place, L.I.: An NYPD lieutenant pleads guilty to stealing a $275 crystal bauble (probably $10 on eBay) from a yoga boutique he was working at in his off time. I’d guess he was making well more than $200,000 annually after 30 years of service. For this he blows his career and his reputation? Is anyone ever satisfied with what they already have? How many lives have been ruined reaching for that extra dollar?

Rudy Rosenberg

Work to be done

Ridgefield, Conn.: President Trump, as we all know, took control of the Kennedy Center by firing its leadership and choosing his own “Yes, sir, we all love you, sir” board. That new leadership, without Trump’s knowledge (snicker), voted again to add his name to the building’s facade: “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump.” Two key words are “restored” and “renovated.” If followed to the letter (pun intended), we all know they are past-tense verbs. Both words indicate the work is finished, but it’s not. That means Trump’s name can’t be added to the facade until all restorations and renovations are completed — at least two years from the start of the work.

Michael Pickering

Intentional delays

Lido Beach, L.I.: Bravo for your editorial about Trump’s vendetta against American wind energy (“Trump’s antipathy to wind energy is lose-lose-lose,” Aug. 10). It’s shameful that companies like RWE are abandoning their wind projects, but I can imagine the gangster-like deal: Pull out now and take the payoff, or we strangle your wind project with bureaucratic delays and litigation so you’ll never make back your investment. The beneficiaries of this industrial terrorism are Trump’s fossil fuel donors, who profit as their competition from renewables (and our Mother Earth) is throttled. Ordinary Americans are left to suffer both the short- and long-term consequences of Trump’s fossil fuel mania. “The terror of climate change,” as you aptly put it, is here — witness more powerful and more frequent wildfires, tornadoes, hurricanes, typhoons, etc.

Amy Posner

Emulating the enemy

Brooklyn: America’s most dangerous enemies are Russia, China and North Korea. Each have atomic weapons that can reach America. They’re all dictatorships on the communist model. Opponents are killed or jailed. The leaders take over business to enrich themselves and force the population to worship them. Our president calls several Democrats communists to scare people, yet he praises the leaders of those countries and their methods. In fact, he follows their policies.

Alan Podhaizer

Evidence, please

Holliswood: Voicer W. Twirley writes that the assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pa., was staged. Would this Voicer please share any facts they have uncovered about it being staged to a news outlet, perhaps the Daily News?

Gregory W. Chupa

Ever-deeper debt

Accord, N.Y.: I’m hopeful that the next president will make reducing the national debt a priority. Since Bill Clinton, none of the presidents from either party have worried about the debt. Meanwhile, poor Uncle Sam is slowly dying under the debt’s burden. The Republican billionaire class wants its tax cuts and loopholes while the Democrats want their subsidized Medicaid and programs like Head Start. All of these requests may be admirable, but Uncle Sam just can’t afford it anymore. Can someone please do something to help before Uncle Sam goes away and our precious nation dissolves?

Frank Lancellotti

Prioritize play

Las Vegas: I was disgusted watching a Little League game on Friday night between Darien, Conn., and Bayonne, N.J. Little League is supposed to be fun for kids. They should be able to participate and try their best while experiencing such a great game. I’m all for trying to strategize and win a game, but understand who you are managing as well. Shame on Darien and shame on Little League Baseball for allowing a rule to intentionally walk a 12-year-old, not once but a couple of times. Remember, no one is getting paid and no one is going to get fired. Let the kids play. When you go home, take a look in the mirror and ask yourself if you feel great about your coaching job.

Dennis Buckley

Legitimate grievance

Bellerose: Luigi Mangione has pleaded guilty to killing CEO Brian Thompson of UnitedHealthcare. Murder is wrong, even if you disagree with a company’s policies. Mangione should receive punishment to the full extent of the law. However, I’m 77 and my wife is 73, and I’m in Stage 4 cancer. I believe medical insurance company fees are getting out of hand and should be reined in. My insurance, which is UnitedHealthcare, is increasing my insurance costs, and it comes down to buying food or paying housing costs. The American people are victims of insurance companies. Something must be done.

Frederick Robert Bedell Jr.