POLITICS: Christmastime in New York City: Letters

The Issue: Johnny Oleksinski’s column bemoaning the holiday season in today’s New York City.

It looks like Johnny Oleksinski swallowed some Grinch pills before he wrote his bah-humbug “New York at Christmastime” article (“Escape from NY Xmas,” Nov. 30).

As an ardent participant of Christmas in New York City for many, many years, I took exception to the dour description of the holiday season as “noisy, dirty chaos” and to his criticism of the Rockettes experience.

I believe everyone is very aware that the cost of the holidays has increased, and they will either be prepared to spend the extra money or not experience the festivities offered.

I, for one, am grateful for the opportunity to spend some Christmastime in New York City with my family this year. Merry Christmas, Johnny!

Alice Daly

Mahopac

Oleksinski’s review of Midtown at Christmas couldn’t be more spot-on.

I lived in the city from 1991 to 2006, and every year, I’d entertain my parents with a day of the city’s Christmas spirit: the tree, St. Patrick’s, the inventive window displays, chestnuts on the street corners and mobs of people creeping shoulder to shoulder along Fifth Ave.

Since moving to Long Island, I have yet to visit the city. I have no reason to. It has become an ugly place, at Christmas or any other time of year. But it wasn’t always like this. I remember when people were civil.

Keith LePage

Huntington

Oleksinski needs a visit from the Ghost of Christmas Past. What is the purpose of dragging down the city that gives you a living?

No, New York is not like the movies, but it’s also not the hellhole that Johnny describes.

Somebody give this Scrooge a piece of fruitcake.

Jim Pantaleno

Staten Island

Johnny, Johnny, Johnny, if you can’t find joy in New York City at Christmas, it’s time for you to take up golf and move to Florida.

Except for a Christmas village in Germany, you couldn’t find a more festive, exciting place to spend Christmas than New York City.

Of course,​ the “godforsaken” Rockefeller Center tree is crowded; it’s spectacular!

The thousands of people out there in NYC during the holidays can’t all be wrong, Johnny.

Carol Puttre-Czyz

Manhattan

The Issue: The video in which six Democratic lawmakers urge troops to disobey illegal orders.

Military training on illegal orders is rigorous and does not need to be supplemented by people with bad intentions (“Sen. Kelly’s Disgraceful ‘Defense,’ ” Editorial, Nov. 26).

Sen. Mark Kelly and Rep. Jason Crow had this training and obviously had a sinister objective in this video “warning” about illegal orders.

They should be held accountable for their actions, as should the four in the video who may not have had training but followed the pied pipers.

Larry Hootnick

Watermill

While military personnel are obligated to disobey an illegal order, determining whether an order is illegal can be difficult and could bring a court-martial for insubordination if the wrong choice is made.

But there’s a better option for troops facing a moral crisis: retire or resign from the military.

Like Navy Adm. Alvin Hosley, who will soon retire following his concerns over deadly strikes on suspected drug boats off Venezuela’s coast, troops can exercise moral judgement without spending years in a military prison.

Richard Reif

Kew Gardens Hills

Sen. Kelly and the other five Dems who said those damaging words show such a hate towards President Trump and America. They are a disgrace and should resign.

Mo Colarusso

Manhattan

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