‘Bloomberg’s Sister Enters the Fray’

Re: “Bloomberg’s Sister Enters the Fray Over U.N. Offices,” Meghan Clyne, Page 1, March 8, 2005. If the city regards the building site as a job-creating project, wouldn’t it make more sense to site it in a borough with a greater need for jobs – perhaps Brooklyn, which has the greatest unemployment? And how does the mayor arrive at his numbers for the United Nations’ economic contribution to the city? Their buildings and those of member-nations pay no taxes, their foreign employees pay no taxes, and several thousand employees get rent-free apartments as well, taking market-rate rentals off the tax rolls. No tourist has ever come to New York specifically to see the U.N. They won’t stop coming here if the U.N. moves to New Rochelle. At least when tourists buy things in the city, they pay sales tax – the U.N., its employees, and affiliated groups, don’t.

Being nice to people who have not shown one bit of interest in our community is not they way for our leaders to act.

PERRY LUNTZ
Manhattan

‘The Din in Dinner’

Re: “Many New York Restaurants Put the Din in Dinner,” Pia Catton, Food & Drink, March 9, 2005. Ms. Catton identifies a major problem that exists not only for restaurants, but also for the lounges people like to go – or used to like to go – before dinner.

In 1996, Jack Fetterman and I – fed up with the scarcity of venues in which to converse over cocktails – decided to try an experiment. We approached the management of the now-shuttered Bar d’O and proposed bringing in our old LPs and providing the lounge with a program of quiet instrumental music on Thursday evenings, beginning at 7 p.m. As it turned out, our experiment – with the help of a talented group of like-minded D.J.s – turned into a weekly event that lasted nearly four years. It seems that the music we played – initially mostly tracks by Martin Denny, Les Baxter, Henry Mancini, and others from the 1950s and 1960s – became so popular among the patrons of the lounge that we somewhat unwittingly created a ‘scene.’

Suffice it to say that by 9 p.m. or so, the place was typically so crowded that the volume needed to be increased for the music to be heard, and then it became more difficult to converse, and then the cycle repeated ad infinitum. Nevertheless, even Mancini’s “Something for Cat” at full volume was a welcome alternative to the mediocre rock, insipid rap, and odious hip-hop that seem to dominate the sounds ape today.

SCOTT SPRINGER
Manhattan

God bless you. I’ve been complaining about restaurant noise for years without anyone putting it into words. Bravo.

One small thing – I think some restaurants really do not want diners who are over 35. They want the young and “hip” crowd and one way to ensure this is to play loud music. Loud music is like bug repellent for those of us who fit into that age category.

PAULA MLYN
Manhattan

War Coverage

From the outset of the Iraq war, The New York Sun has correctly referred to those attacking and killing Coalition forces as the enemy – avoiding the childish euphemisms, like ‘rebels’ and ‘insurgents,’ preferred by lesser publications. This high quality coverage continued throughout the presidential elections and has nicely culminated in the March 15 headline, photo, and lead story: “Million Lebanese Stage Massive Retort To Terrorists” [Claudia Rosett, Page 1]. Kudos to the Sun’s staff for bringing us the real news.

JOSEPH MARTIN
Manhattan

Claudia Rosett’s article on the anti-Hezbollah demonstrations in Lebanon brought tears to my eyes.

Thanks, Ms. Rosett, for letting me participate a little in the yearning of a people for freedom.

It was great.

JAMES E. PORTER
Glendale, Ariz.

‘President Hillary?’

John P. Avlon writes that the Democrats should not nominate Hillary Clinton for president because she is the most polarizing figure in American politics [“President Hillary?” Opinion, March 18, 2005].

The fact is that with the exception of Eisenhower, all recent two-term presidents have been polarizing figures – that includes FDR, Reagan, Nixon, Bill Clinton, and George H.W. Bush. This is because polarizing presidents energize their base. Jimmy Carter, Ford, and Mr. Bush were noncontroversial and lost their bid for a second term.

If Mrs. Clinton were the nominee, she would be a candidate who would excite the base and who, unlike Mr. Kerry, would have a clear message.

REBA SHIMANSKY
Manhattan

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