‘Blaine in Florida’

The New York Sun has wisely opposed campaign finance regulations as violating the freedom of speech.

The Sun has also argued that New York City’s public campaign financing system deserves to be scrapped.

Wasn’t it Thomas Jefferson who wrote “that to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical”?

Jefferson’s words, in the Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom in Virginia – the precursor to the religion clauses of the First Amendment – “enact that no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever.”

Why, then, does the Sun favor compelling atheists to support the propagation of Judaism, or Jews to finance the propagation of Christianity?

This is exactly what providing school vouchers to religious schools would do, and what the Blaine Amendments prohibit [“Blaine in Florida,” Editorial, August 17, 2004].

The Sun can claim that the Constitution “wasn’t meant to exclude all religion from public life,” but such arguments carry little weight when its answer to state constitutions that do make such a prohibition, is to change those constitutions.

The fundamental issue is what principles the Constitution should uphold.

If most Americans were atheists, would the Sun advocate taxing believers in order to finance schools that promoted atheism?

Do men acquire the right to sacrifice a minority’s conscience just because they happen to be more numerous?

To say that public financing of religion is permissible if “religiously neutral” is an evasion.

Strict religious neutrality would require each person’s religious beliefs to receive as much support as he would have voluntarily contributed, which would make government financing unnecessary.

The only reason for public subsidies is to coerce people to finance religious institutions they would not have supported voluntarily – and this, I submit, is a tyrannical motive.

People should be free to use their own money to educate their children in whatever beliefs they deem appropriate.

The use of tax credits is an entirely appropriate way to allow them to retain more of their own money for this purpose.

The use of vouchers – subsidies extracted from others by force – is not.

PAUL BLAIR
Manhattan

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‘Proud to Be the Clown Prince of Brooklyn’

It’s ironic that on a morning when I held hearings on capital funding for Brooklyn’s hospitals, followed by a press conference on the Medicaid crisis in Brooklyn – both of which The New York Sun totally ignored – I had to read a condescending profile of me that suggests that I care only about getting laughs [“Proud To Be the Clown Prince of Brooklyn,” Lauren Mechling, Page 1, August 18, 2004].

I’m not a quiet guy and I make no apologies for my Brooklyn attitude. But I am more than Brooklyn’s cruise director.

I am a successful advocate on the most serious issues facing Brooklyn: affordable housing, economic development, environmental protection, health care, public transportation, and more.

My job as borough president is to make sure Brooklyn’s needs take a back seat to no one.

Sure, I do see making Brooklynites happy as part of my job, but perhaps if the Sun actually covered the serious things I do in Brooklyn rather than focusing only on the fun events, I might have been the subject of a balanced and accurate profile.

MARTY MARKOWITZ
President Brooklyn

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Hunters Point Rezoning

The New York Sun’s article on the recently adopted Hunters Point rezoning displays a lack of understanding of planning principles and surprising confusion about this important City initiative [“Plans for Neighborhood’s Revival Leave Residents on Islands of Despair,” Julie Satow, New York, August 16, 2004].

Although a handful of homeowners seeking greater profit obfuscate this point, the City Planning Commission has in fact rezoned the mid-blocks where these individuals own property.

This 43-block rezoning between the Citigroup Tower and Queens West on the waterfront is a fine-grained zoning that recognizes the area’s mixed-use character as well as its low and mid-rise built form.

The rezoning removes complex limitations on residential and commercial use, making it easier for owners to reinvest in their properties.

The City Council’s adoption of the proposal will facilitate opportunities for moderate-scale residential and mixed-use development in this unique, transit-rich, culturally vibrant neighborhood.

AMANDA M. BURDEN
Chairman New York City Planning Commission
Manhattan