Letters to the Editor
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‘Double Default’
‘Trash Can Postscript’
Your editorials critical of my successor, David Yassky, for allocating funds for nonstandard trash cans which bore his name (apparently not at his request), overlook the important role Council Members have as community advocates and ombudspeople [Editorial, “Double Default,” April 29, 2008, and “Trash Can Postscript,” April 30, 2008].
I believe that in the early 1990s, I was the first Council Member to have asked the Sanitation Department for a non-standard can, specifically one designed to accept cans, bottles, and newspapers, but not household trash in bags.
The Sanitation Commissioner agreed to try them as a demonstration project to test support for the city’s then nascent recycling program. Innovation often springs from local conditions, and Mr. Yassky’s advocacy reflects that.
You suggest that a Council Member’s role be confined to the budget, local laws, and agency oversight, and state that he should no more be involved in trash can design than in directing police activities.
To the contrary, most precinct commanders in my experience encouraged me to bring problem spots to their attention, both to make sure that none were overlooked and to build confidence in my constituents that the police were responsive to their complaints.
There are ample examples of inappropriate taxpayer financed self-aggrandizement, but trashing Mr. Yassky for trash cans missed the mark.
KENNETH FISHER
New York, N.Y.
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