LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Make some room for the positive

Posted

To the editor:

(re: “Enough is enough on COVID,” March 4)

I usually read The Riverdale Press cover-to-cover in order to keep up with our neighborhood doings, and I appreciate The Press’ coverage.

However, after reading the March 4 issue, I am left feeling uneasy and, quite frankly, offended. I don’t expect to agree with every opinion expressed in The Press. However, I also don’t expect to be hit with lies, even in the form of a letter to the editor.

The letter from Manny Grossman is filled with lies. I sympathize with his business losses, but to say that “masks are useless,” and that the virus has been “one big lie,” refutes the hundreds of thousands of deaths this virus has caused in our nation, and the thousands that have occurred in the northwest Bronx.

Space should not have been given to this letter.

And then there is the Point of View by Alvin Gordon (re: “Looking at Black Lives Matter from one Jewish perspective,” March 4). Yes, all lives matter. But tragically, every time a Black person is killed during a traffic violation or out for a jog, we need to be reminded that Black lives are part of those that matter.

Instead of an opinion piece that pits Jews against Blacks, it would have been more helpful — and certainly more uplifting — to focus on the efforts that Black and Jewish communities are making to bring people together to work on critically important issues of police reform, judicial equity, health equity, and so much more.

My home synagogue, Beit Simchat Torah, is one of many Jewish organizations that are taking steps to address systemic racism. I would love to read in the pages of The Press what religious communities in Riverdale are doing to bring us together.

The Press is an important voice in Riverdale that reflects who we are as a community. Please use your influence to help make our great neighborhood a healthy, diverse and welcoming place for all who choose to live here.

Leslie Bernstein

Have an opinion? Share your thoughts as a letter to the editor. Make your submission to letters@riverdalepress.com. Please include your full name, phone number (for verification purposes only), and home address (which will not be published). The Riverdale Press maintains an open submission policy, and stated opinions do not necessarily represent the publication.
Leslie Bernstein,

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