‘Waiting For a Signal’

On January 24, 2003, my son, Henry Anthony Badillo, called 911 from his cell phone for help. Henry was with three other boys and told the dispatcher that his boat was taking in water and, well, the rest is history as we know it [“Waiting for a Signal,” Andrew Wolf,” Opinion, December 9, 2005].

My son’s body was recovered four months later. Henry was my only child. It took me a year before I could muster all my strength and listen to the audio of his last words.

Henry was very explicit in regard to his destination. A dispatcher’s job is to know all the geographical areas of New York City, such as bridges, waterways, etc. It is not that Henry abbreviated “City I…..” He did say “City Island,” but, because of the static, the dispatcher did not hear the ending.

In any event, the dispatcher just logged the call and did not contact the Harbor Police as regulated. It is inconceivable to me how someone can hear a person saying that they’re going to die and not react to it. But that was not the only problem.

When Henry was given a cell phone, he was told that the phone was for two things: (1) If he was going to be late, he should call me or his father. (2) If he found himself in trouble or in harm’s way, he should call 911 for help.

If I had known what I know today, I would have not given him the second option.

I was very ignorant of the fact that we had been paying the surcharges for Enhanced 911 and we were not getting that service. I did not know that unlike the land phone, if you called 911, you could not be located. I also found out through an audit that was conducted that New York State was using those funds on other items such as lawn mowing, pencils, dry cleaning, etc.

Well, the parents of the other boys and I started a petition to get funds allocated for precisely E911 and were successful. New York City has received more than $15 million from the $100 million that was appropriated from the Dormitory Bonds.

To my knowledge, New York City is in Phase Il of the Enhanced 911 whereby if a person calls from their cell phone, they can be located. Of course, I don’t know for sure if this is a fact because no one’s talking. However, I’ve gotten this information from reliable sources.

What I do know is that December 31, 2005, was the deadline for all wireless carriers to be in compliance with E911. I do know that some carriers did ask for an extension. I called the Federal Communications Commission before the designated deadline to see whether it had been extended and was told that December 31 was the final date.

With all the technology, we should be able to accomplish this. We should be getting better signals. However, too many have eliminated the land phones and substituted their cellular phones.

What will happen when another Henry calls from their cell phone for help? Will another mother bury their son without be able to kiss their child goodbye, because the only thing you can kiss is a body bag?

When a parent losses their child, there is never closure. They go on with their lives but their memory of their child lives within them every day. Many things I do, I do in my child’s name because that is all I have.

Will you have to wait for another signal to be saved? I don’t know, but we need to fix the problem today not tomorrow.

VIRGINIA RUIZ BADILLO
www.HenryBadillo.com
Bronx

‘A Private Landmark Agenda’

Thank you for articulating and publicizing the phenomenal exploitation of pseudo-legal methodologies to resist the growth of Orthodox Jewish communities [“A Private Landmark Agenda,” Andrew Wolf, Opinion, December 30, 2005].

Among observant Jews, conversation frequently turns to the difficulties presented to us in various geographical areas. We face and confront these efforts one family, and one community at a time.

Perhaps we need to shift our efforts to a larger scale. Isn’t it time to have an inquiry and a report on the harassment shown to us? Let us remove the mask of legalisms from what is, in fact, a clear manifestation of prejudice.

One of the major Jewish agencies might examine the pattern that emerges when all the issues are tallied and charted for the metropolitan area, the state and/or the country.

Thank you for your clearly written article, which can be the impetus for a broad investigation. We need to expose the use of zoning laws, bureaucratic obstacles, and the like, which provide cover for plain old irrational unpleasantness and unfairness toward Jews.

J. PFEFFER
Woodmere, N.Y.

‘An Icon of Evil’

I would like to thank William Meyers for accurately describing the essential amorality of Ernesto (“Che”) Guevara [“An Icon of Evil,” Arts & Letters, December 27, 2005].

Mr. Meyers’s article should be required reading for every college student in America.

RICHARD SHERMAN
Brooklyn

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