‘Abroad in New York’

Re: Francis Morrone’s article on the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court’s building [“Abroad in New York,” Arts & Letters, June 6, 2005]. I write to respond to his question about why the Brooklyn Museum has never been asked to remove a statue of Mohammed. The Brooklyn Museum does not have a statue of Mohammed among the figures of ancient worthies that line the building’s attic facade. There is, 10th from the east on the Eastern Parkway facade, a statue by Charles Keck, titled “The Genius of Islam.” Around the corner is inscribed the name “Mohammed.” However, in the words of a 1910 publication that explained the meaning of the sculpture program, “The statues are not portraits … Neither do they bear a direct relation to the names below them. Instead they symbolize those factors that made certain periods in the world’s history notable as stages in the development of civilization.” The sculpture and the inscription on the Brooklyn Museum’s facade, therefore, were meant to honor the contributions of Islamic culture to world civilization without actually representing Mohammed.

KEVIN STAYTON
Chief Curator
Brooklyn Museum
Brooklyn

‘Social Security Overseas’

Re: “Social Security Overseas,” Editorial, June 16, 2005. One does not have to look overseas for examples of private accounts as a solution to failing Social Security systems, although the examples you cite are illustrative. One can look to three counties in Texas or to teachers’ pensions for the entire state of Massachusetts or to numerous other examples of government institutions that opted out of Social Security years ago in favor of economically sound private systems.

Or, one can look to the federal government’s far superior Thrift Savings Plan for government workers and note that Congress has exempted itself from Social Security, a right that it does not deem appropriate for us common folk.

Democrats understand full well that private accounts would usher in the advent of an ownership society, where every worker has a vested interest in the success of corporate America and a strong economy. This is about keeping the masses dependent on government – on Democrats. They know for a certainty that with the implementation of private accounts, the jig is up; their raison d’etre will cease to exist. It is telling that they would willingly permit Social Security to lapse into financial chaos, rather than adopt a simple, elegant alternative.

EDWIN R. THOMPSON
Manhattan

‘Condo Towers Will Soar’

Re: “Two Condo Towers Will Soar at 99th and Broadway,” Julie Satow, Page 1, June 17, 2005. I fail to see why it was so commendable that the developer sat through the entire meeting when he stands to become several hundred million dollars wealthier than he already is. Mr. Barnett was there, but he made no concessions whatsoever to the desperate requests of the community (lower height, no big box stores, starting construction later than 7 a.m., reserving some apartments for low- and middle-income residents, more parking inside the buildings, better garbage-pickup plans), except to agree to clean up the filth and rats and mold that have made the three brownstones an eyesore for years.

TONI RACHIELE
Manhattan

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