Get out of here, Alec…
Ozone Oark: Please, Alec Baldwin, stop crying wolf and just leave New York already. Your whole life here has been nothing but a twisted knot of arrogance, contempt, insecurity and egocentricity — even by Big Apple standards. But if you think that living in plastic seclusion in a gated Los Angeles “community” is the answer to your deep pathology, social ineptness and staggering dysfunction, you are gravely mistaken. If you ever do leave, I predict you won’t last 30 days in that industry town before trying to draw attention to your pathetic, misfit life — as your erstwhile acting career continues to fade into oblivion. Richard C. Iritano
..and come to New Jersey
Closter, N.J.: I don’t blame Alec Baldwin for wanting to leave Manhattan. It seems he’s hounded by the press every time he leaves his apartment building. But why would he go to Los Angeles for privacy? He should move to New Jersey. We have lots of gated homes here and we would love to do a yoga class with Hilaria! Stefanie Rosner
Spike’s fallacy
Oakland Gardens, N.Y.: Spike Lee claims that schools in gentrified neighborhoods only improve once white people move in. The fact is, schools in gentrifiying towns lose their Title I funding as the average salary there goes up, resulting in a smaller budget and usually less staff. Yet these schools still improve — though for reasons having nothing to do with skin color. It is because the people moving in demand more from their schools, and take a more active role in their children’s education. Mike Murphy
Code words
Orangetown, N.Y.: So, Spike Lee is railing about “hipsters” in Brooklyn, while tossing M-F bombs. What a disgrace! While we are at it, is “hipster,” as Lee referred to the people he feels are ruining Brooklyn, the new code word for whites? Is that the same as when people complain about “thugs” being used as a code word for blacks? Martin Davin
Gun rap rim shots
Manhattan: The Knicks can’t win, even when they’re packing heat (“Point guard,” Feb. 26). Will Raymond Felton turn over his guns like he turns over the basketball? Apparently he was doing shooting drills — which he desperately needs. The Knicks need to cut Felton now. Why do they always ship players away when they’re good and get them back when they’re slow and their skills have deteriorated? Edward Drossman
McCray’s fallacy
Brooklyn: Writing in the Daily News, New York City First Lady Chirlane McCray asks: “Should our children wait until kindergarten to start developing basic skills and interacting with other kids?” (“Time is now!” Feb. 24). Sadly, she seems to be saying that children can only get the stimulation and structure they need in a classroom. It’s the parents of such children who would benefit greatly if they were in a classroom learning basic parenting skills, and thus sending their children to kindergarten prepared to learn. Maureen McCormack
Teach your children well
Corona: I’m a stay-at-home mom of a first grader, and I walk her to and from school every day. Rain, shine or snow, she has not missed a day. We are determined to have perfect attendance, and I have to reassure her when they close the schools due to snow that it’s not considered an absence. Children are a reflection of the parents, and we must set good examples. Daphne Harper
Woe-making mollycoddlers
Staten Island: To Voicer Gail Morrongiello: You must have ulcers with all that worry. But you’re just another mollycoddling parent adding to our traffic woes. First, Staten Island’s buses and trains have the best on-time record anywhere in the city. Secondly, the idea a pedophile is “lurking at every corner” is a complete cop-out. The statistics show that there are the same numbers as when we were young (I lived in Annadale, then, where there were no sidewalks at all). Please, keep your child in bubble wrap and don’t let him or her leave the house except when you chauffeur him or her to school and back. Or better yet, don’t bring any more children into this horrible world. Joseph Daly
Irony, meet hypocrisy
Whitestone: ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, a leading proponent of hydraulic fracking, is suing to prevent the construction of a water tower near his $5 million, 83-acre horse ranch in Bartonville, Tex. — because the tower would be used for storing water for fracking. The lawsuit states that Tillerson and his super-wealthy neighbors are concerned it might “devalue their properties and adversely impact the rural lifestyle they sought to enjoy” — not to mention poison the water. Tillerson is leading the fracking revolution, just not in his backyard. Robert La Rosa
An exemplary conductor
Southport, Conn.: It was a privilege for many years to have had Michael Shaw as my conductor on the ride from Southport to New York City (“Thank you note owed,” editorial, Feb. 26). I see some things never change; he was, and is, one of the finest gentlemen riding the rails, always polite, courteous and thoughtful. Metro North is very lucky to have such an exemplary employee! Pamela Norman
Don’t look back in anger
Woodside: I’d like to salute fellow Army veteran and Voicer Dominick Battaglia, but I respectfully disagree with his letter “Pearl Harbor remains a wound.” While I agree learning the English language is something we hope for all new arrivals to America, let’s give new Yankee pitcher Masahiro Tanaka a chance. I remember Mariano Rivera couldn’t speak a stitch of English, and now he can. As for Battaglia’s anger about the atrocities the Japanese committed during World War II, and his inability to forgive them, I am sorry to remind him we dropped two atomic bombs on Japan, killing and maiming hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians. Let’s not allow anger to find a friendly harbor. There’s lots of blame to go around, and we can only move forward by forgiving. Kelly A. Karavites
Forgetting to look back
Brooklyn: On the 21st anniversary of the first World Trade Center bombing Wednesday, I saw no mention of it the Daily News. Will you stop covering the anniversary of 9/11 as well? At least now we know how long you mean when you say “never forget.” Charles Brannigan
Men and their messes
Bronx: To Voicer Frank Furino, who says running the country is a man’s job: Maybe we’re in the mess that we’re in because men have been in control. Remember this, sir: No one pushes me around! Maria Izaguirre
Teaching behind bars
Carmel, N.Y.: Regarding “College for convicts” (Feb. 23), GED certification is already available to those who are incarcerated. Remedial reading, writing, basic math concepts and social studies may help turn lives around. But we don’t yet know how many prisoners will partake in college-level courses. Private colleges, especially those with huge endowments, should and could provide prisoners with higher education for free or at least at greatly reduced fees. Finally, in today’s world, vocational training would probably be the best schooling to prepare convicts for their return to the outside world. Susan McCormack
Some choice
Toms River, N.J.: To the Voicers who stated that addiction is a choice: I sure hope this “choice” doesn’t affect anyone you know or love. Mark Mellea
Dogs and disgusting people
Brooklyn: The end of winter is heralded by the melting of the snow. Unfortunately, this leaves behind a trove of land mines left by the dogs of irresponsible pet owners. It’s impossible to cross the street without stepping in it. These people disgust me. Triple the fines. Hugh Faughnan
Side shows and horse meat
Shrub Oak, N.Y.: Every day, the paper is filled with Voicers talking about about banning carriage horses, freeing circus animals, saving mute swans, gay marriage and gay athletes, not to mention the universal pre-K boondoggle. But the only questions that really matter are how to jump-start the economy, how to put people to work and how to wean the nation off foreign energy. The rest is self-indulgent noise. If we don’t get our heads out of our behinds, and fast, we are doomed to a very dark future where we will eating carriage horses instead of agonizing over their quality of life. Gabriel Pompe
