Hochul rejects MTA’s plan to charge NY marathon $750,000: Letters

The Issue: Gov. Hochul’s veto of an MTA plan to charge a $750,000 fee to run the New York Marathon.

Kudos to Gov. Hochul for nixing the insane bridge fee and putting the MTA in its place (“Kat: I toll you no!” April 5).

Now continue with bail reform and put the criminals in their place — jail. Or is she a one-hit wonder, proving that occasionally a blind squirrel can find a nut?

James Foley

Airmont

Nothing says “New York City reasoning” more than stopping drivers from using a bridge that was built for them and instead surrendering it to a bunch of runners who think they’re going to live forever.

Who cares if drivers are inconvenienced, right? How about this: You want a marathon? Have them run around Central Park however many times.

Joe Cesare

Copiague

Extorting money from innocent motorists through congestion pricing to subsidize the agency facing huge monetary shortfalls wasn’t enough for the MTA.

The MTA has means at its disposal, within its system, to tighten finances — most importantly, by clamping down on fare evasion.

Let the transit users pay, not the drivers or the runners.

Ron Wasserman

Freehold, NJ

Although I think the MTA is a vast sinkhole which recklessly spends money and does a rather poor job of maintaining the system, I think it raised a valid point about getting toll money for the closing of the Verrazzano Bridge.

All of these walks, runs, bike rides and street fairs cost money — both in terms of police enforcement and in the amount of inconvenience and air pollution generated by diverted traffic, including buses and trucks.

John Ost

Manhattan

In 2023, there were 51,000 marathon finishers, generating millions in race revenue on top of the profits from merchandising.

The CEO of NYRRC’s salary is well over $500,000. That is higher than that of some CEOs of major corporations. Keep in mind that the NYRRC is a nonprofit organization.

Before disparaging the MTA for trying to get a piece of the action, maybe The Post should look into where all this marathon money goes.

William Carroll

Woodside

The Issue: The dismissal of a case by two Queens squatters to retain the right to squat in a home.

I was overjoyed to read in The Post that the lawsuit brought by two brazen squatters against the rightful owner of a Queens home was dismissed by the presiding judge, and they are finally out on the street where they belong (“They can’t go home again,” April 6).

More and more, I am hearing that common sense, justice and normalcy are slowly making their way back into our society. And this is a perfect example of it.

For years now we’ve been forced to live in an upside-down society with common sense having been thrown out the window.

You can attribute it to the #MeToo movement as well as cancel culture, critical race theory, Gov. Hochul and questionable woke ideas.

Crushing the squatters is clearly a victory for us hard-working, tax-paying citizens. Maybe we can take back our society.

Bill Calvo

Brooklyn

Squatters only have rights thanks to laws made by stupid governments.

The New York penal code says entering or remaining in a building with intent to commit a crime is burglary.

Burglary is a felony, and squatters should be arrested for burglary on the spot. No bail for them; they’ll just become squatters at another building. Squatters are criminals.

Ralph Freddolino

Thornton, Colo

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