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Fanning flames of racism
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MAY 13-19, 2015
While I applaud the addition of the Center for Performing and Visual Arts (in the Joseph Avenue neighborhood), I wonder why it was necessary to fan the flames of racism in a recent letter (Feedback, April 29). I will be interested in seeing who will patronize this new venture. I lived most of my life in Brooklyn and was a frequent visitor to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. The garden is smack-dab in the middle of the borough and has an extensive program for children. But the children I saw there were — for the most part — from neighboring ultra-hip Park Slope or the nearby Hasidic community. I saw hardly any Hispanic children and very few blacks, despite the fact that the garden is across the street from Crown Heights. Money is not a factor as the BBG offers free admission to children under 12. Neither, obviously, is transportation. Before we play the race card, we should see what other cards are in the deck. GREENPOINT GAL
Don’t pick on Pacino
Despite your negative and misleading movie review of “Danny Collins” (April 13), my friend and I went to see it because Al Pacino is starring in it. Portraying an aging rock star, Pacino shows he is not just the “Godfather” star. The story is a lesson for all would-be entertainers who
may put their families and friends out of their lives in pursuit of fame. Annette Bening is superb as the understated hotel manager, and Christopher Plummer’s lines are exquisite and perfectly delivered. It is a movie I will long remember. I hope your review doesn’t discourage moviegoers. Pacino is far from “mildly creepy” as your review said. D. JEAN LANG
The kids on the buses
Readers continue to write about the violence at the downtown transit center and RTS’s decision to stop busing city school students.
You know what fixes this? Neighborhood schools with equal and adequate funding and plenty of community support. Instead of shipping our kids all over the city, they need to go to school where they live and invest in that community. Problem solved. FRANK THOMAS JR.
So the decades-old city school busing saga continues. This was quite possibly the only way it could have grown worse. JSPOUNT
Poverty is such a convenient scapegoat for urban problems. Because of its complexity and ambiguity, no one can be blamed or everyone can be blamed. No one can solve poverty or everyone can solve poverty. Depending on one’s perspective, poverty can be described as the root of urban problems or it can be seen as a manifestation or result of urban problems. Unfortunately, there will never be an end to poverty because there will never be agreement on what it is, what caused it, or how to end it. One thing for sure is that poverty will always be a polarizing topic for political debate. DON SHERMAN
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