First responder attrition, a cost we can’t bear
Staten Island: Re “FDNY merger was uneasy at first” (March 16): When NYC’s Emergency Medical Services were moved into the FDNY, the Rudy Giuliani administration’s public justification was lowering the time it took to reach people needing emergency medical assistance. The strategy seemed to work at first. By 1998, the mayor announced that the time it took to reach a patient suffering a life-threatening emergency had dropped to seven minutes and one second.
There’s a better chance of being alive after a sudden heart attack, stroke or traumatic injury if EMS reaches a patient quickly. But without enough EMTs and paramedics, the FDNY can’t do that. In February, NYC’s Local Law 119 Compliance website recorded that 3,645 patients with life-threatening medical emergencies waited 20-plus minutes for paramedics. It did not report the longest times patients waited, nor if they survived. Official testimony at a City Council hearing this month clarified that, taking into account the EMTs then still in training, there were more than 450 EMT and paramedic vacancies “in the field.” Union officials repeatedly testify that the FDNY EMS hemorrhages first responders because it lacks parity with NYC’s other “uniformed services.” After five and a half years on the job, EMT base pay is $30,000 less than a Sanitation worker’s.
Waiting for an ambulance is not the time to wonder, “Who’s going to fix this problem?” Helen Northmore
Safe distance
Syracuse, N.Y.: Re “Ending violence, not buffer zones, protects Jews” (op-ed, March 26) by Jews for Racial & Economic Justice: People peacefully visiting houses of worship and educational venues deserve needed separation from appalling, massed-crowd harassment and intimidation. It doesn’t inhibit those protest mobs’ free speech rights in the least. Their vile chants are surely loud enough to be heard from 25 feet away. How short is that? Eight yards, less than the distance needed for a football first down. Those undeserving objects of their contempt absolutely ought to be afforded such minimal dividing space. Richard D. Wilkins
Care & companionship
Bronx: Re “Savannah to air” (March 26): What happened to Savannah Guthrie’s mother is sad. I assume that many families who have the means will have someone look after an elderly mother or father 24/7, especially if said parent has a physical condition. Virgilio Carballo
Golden rule
Dayton, N.J.: As a self-identified “casual Catholic,” I was deeply moved and spiritually motivated by Voicer Brian Jordan’s observations and thoughts on how we can all improve our lives by making the effort to simply treat your neighbor with respect and kindness, especially during this season of Lent! Personally, I know my interactions with others will again be focused on being an advocate for mutual understanding. I hope others were inspired by the wise words of Jordan. I certainly was. Ed Fraass
Imperial arrogance
Brooklyn: On Jan. 1, 1965, Barry McGuire released the song “Eve of Destruction.” If you listen to it, you’d think it was written and released today. It seems that President Chaos has learned nothing from history. America has gone to war many times with the hubris of superiority. In Korea and Vietnam, we could not defeat a smaller, less-equipped enemy. Poor planning about what effect these wars will have and fake reasons to go to war are a part of the mainstay. We’re spending hundreds of billions of dollars for Benjamin Netanyahu to eliminate anyone he perceives as a threat and become the most powerful country in the Middle East, causing death and destruction. Enough. Take care of Americans first. Stop giving away our hard-earned money. Greg Ahl
Ask the affected
Bronx: Like Dracula rising from his coffin when he was assumed dead, the issue of reinstating the draft keeps coming back. In his op-ed (“Revive the draft for a fairer nation,” March 23), Zach Iscol claims that giving politicians a larger supply of warm bodies will somehow curtail the drive toward war. He’s right that any decision to use force should be fully debated and explained, but having a draft doesn’t guarantee that. Given the large number of draft-eligible people, which should include women, there would be necessary and inevitable deferments, exemptions and other mechanisms that would essentially replicate the situation of previous drafts. I’ll listen to serious proposals to reinstate the draft when the call comes from an 18-year-old with much more directly at stake. John F. Backe
Unfit for duty
Brooklyn: Zach Iscol writes in favor of a U.S. military draft. However, he omits an important fact. According to retired U.S. Army Col. James Welch, author of “The Art of Military Recruiting”: “Only about 23% of Americans between the ages of 17 and 24 meet the basic qualifications for military service. The remaining majority are disqualified for reasons ranging from obesity and medical conditions to criminal history, drug use or inadequate academic preparation.” So, unless our military plans on lowering standards to the point where they mean nothing — a truly frightening proposition — a draft is simply not feasible, and we’d still wind up with, at best, a military where only about a quarter of those who are eligible actually serve. Eugene Resler
Woman of the people
Jersey City: As a lover of our history, I enjoyed the story of Frances Perkins (“Frances Perkins & the fire that pushed her on,” op-ed, March 25) since most people have never heard of her. She was the first woman to serve in a president’s cabinet, the Department of Labor under President Franklin Roosevelt. Now, there was a really great president — not like the idiot we have. Perkins is responsible for helping to create Social Security, the minimum wage and unemployment insurance. I wish we had someone like her today. Anthony C. Zaccone
Befitting visage
Lords Valley, Pa.: The U.S. Mint is going to cease with the penny, and President Trump wants his face on a coin. How about we start minting 2-cent coins and put Trump on them? After all, he puts his 2 cents into everything anyway. Leonard Stevenson
Bang-up job
Scarsdale, N.Y.: Trump loves crowing over his perceived accomplishments. He says things like, “No one could believe how quickly I got it done,” “people have never seen anything like it,” and “I’m the only one in the world who could do this.” Well, he can honestly say that now. Just take a look at the airports. John Kern
Do diligence
Brooklyn: Sadly, we saw what can happen when people are overwhelmed when they are working. The Air Canada flight and the Port Authority firetruck crossing paths was an unusual thing. Yet, it happened. It taught me to appreciate the time we have. Also, to be patient and try to clearly surmise the situation. As I have said before, we live and learn. For those who died and those who survived, what happened will not be forgotten, but learned from. Sharon Cesario