Letters

2000 A Good Year
To The Editor:

I want to extend to you my very best wishes for the holiday season.

2000 has been a year during which we have continued to make significant gains in reducing the level of violence in Queens County and improving the quality of the lives of our residents. Your fair and thorough coverage during the year has helped to make those gains possible and for that I am grateful.

I wish you all the best for the holidays and send my warm regards for the New Year.

Sincerely,

Richard A. Brown

District Attorney

Queens County

Thanks For Calls

To The Editor:

This past Christmas, Astorian Albert Buzzeo, Assistant Commissioner of the Department for the Aging invited us seniors to one of the Merrill Lynch buildings to make our annual free Christmas telephone calls. The third, fourth and fifth floors of 220 Broadway were set aside exclusively for the seniors who were bused in from all five boroughs. They were allowed to make unlimited national and international calls to any part of the world.

We made three calls to our relatives in Croatia with the able and courteous assistance of Merrill Lynch volunteers who were extremely accommodating. Unfortunately, only one of our relatives was at home. The relative to whom we spoke was deeply surprised and moved to hear from us. It was such an emotional scene that we all cried. Then went on to speak to our relatives in Minnesota where Mary was born in the small mining town of Leetonia.

While the seniors were busy making their calls, the volunteers were treating us like special guests, supplying us with cakes and beverages. On our way home we were given a box lunch. We were given an extra treat by shaking the hand of Mayor Giuliani who had come to wish the seniors a Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah.

The preconceived notions have been that corporations are greedy, mercenary, and are only concerned with making huge profits and little regard for employees and the general public. We saw and witnessed just the opposite as Merrill Lynch and its numerous volunteers demonstrated the true meaning of Christmas: giving, sharing and spreading good will and love.

Sincerely,

Mary & John Favicchio

Flushing

Open Candidate Ranks

To The Editor:

If this election showed us anything it’s that we have to stop picking our presidential candidates only from the male, WASP aristocracy. There are thousands of Americans better qualified to be President than either Mr. Bush or Mr. Gore but they’re systematically excluded because they’re women, Latinos, Italian-American, Irish-Catholic, etc.!

Sincerely,

James J. Dillon

Long Island City

He’ll Be Missed

To The Editor:

On December 20th a good man of 82 passed away. He was a retired Chief Petty Officer in the United States Navy. He saw action on December 71,941 at Pearl harbor. From his neighbors and friends on81st Street I would like to say a warmest thank you and farewell to Dominick Constantino and wish him an eternity full of happiness in Heaven. You earned it!

Bon Voyage Dom you fellow veteran and friend,

Frank McCann

Jackson Heights