Letters to the Editor
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
‘Norman Schapiro, 70, Ran City’s Only Kosher Winery’
I read your obituary of my wife’s cousin, Norman Schapiro [Business, “Norman Schapiro, 70, Ran City’s Only Kosher Winery,” October 16, 2007].
I have one correction for you. The slogan was, “Wine so thick you can cut it with a knife” and not ” … you can almost cut it with a knife.”
No need to water down his memory or his wine.
It was good old-fashioned thick and sweet malaga and people did in fact line up outside before the holidays to get a few bottles — especially for Passover where red wine is traditionally used to symbolize the Red Sea and the blood spilled by the 10 plagues.
I was fortunate enough to bypass the line with my late father-in-law who was a Schapiro cousin.
Actually the original spelling was Schapira.
PHILIP KAMARAS
New York, N.Y.
‘Socialism for Schools?’
Andrew Wolf, in his article “Socialism for Schools” apparently feels that cooperation and collaboration between teachers and administrators borders on “socialism” [Oped, “Socialism for Schools?” October 19-21, 2007].
He criticizes the plan agreed to by the New York City teachers’ union and Chancellor Klein because it has the audacity to allow employees and management to work together, rather than remain in the usual adversarial mode.
A merit system that only rewards so-called excellent teachers will pit teachers against one another, everyone competing for the best students and the most resources.
This “divide and conquer” strategy has certainly not been an overwhelming success.
Cooperation, however, is not the same as socialism.
A sense of unity and common purpose offers the best chance to have everyone doing their best to achieve excellence in our city schools, and I applaud both the union and the administration for choosing this approach.
RUTH BOYLAN
Englewood, N.J.
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