Letters to the editor

Anti-war hero

To The Editor:
I first met anti-war activist extraordinaire Cindy Sheehan in 2005 at a Mothers Day dinner given by peace activist Dave Robinson at the Chelsea Ristorante. It was two days before the very first Chelsea Stands Up Against The War vigil on Eighth Avenue and 24th Street. It was a privilege to meet her, and she hadn’t even become CINDY SHEEHAN yet. I was relieved that she has taken some time for herself after two years of taking on George W. Bush.

Lately, I find myself always in a hurry, with the nagging feeling that no matter how much I do, there is always something that I’m not getting done. Like being against the war. I do more than most but a lot less than Cindy Sheehan has done. Cindy didn’t get me into the anti-war movement or help me become an activist. What she did do is make sure that no matter how intense I get, I won’t lose my humanity.

Cindy put a lot of humanity into a movement that sometimes loses sight of it.

Chuck Zlatkin
Zlatkin is a founding member of Chelsea Neighbors United to End the War.

Remembering Rustin

To The Editor,
Re “Remembering Bayard Rustin with pride” (news article, June 22):

I recently wrote a letter to Mr. Walter Naegle, Bayard Rustin’s partner, who was featured in your cover story last week. The reason I wrote the letter is because I feel that it expresses how I feel about Mr. Naegle, Mr. Rustin and other leaders of our past. It express how so many people have had a hand in so much of our lives, and yet some of those people are getting lost in the cracks of our society. It is a letter that expresseswhat we all can do if we restore the names of those who we do know made a contribution—it may create a better place for the future to come and may help us to track the other future leaders who may be out there. Simply, I wanted to express my thanks for those who paved my way. I really appreciated what Chelsea Now wrote about Mr. Bayard Rustin, and I’m so glad that you did that for me and others.

Kevin E. Washington

Hospital’s home is here

To The Editor:
I am very disappointed by the suggestion that St. Vincent’s Hospital should consider leaving the Village, a community we have faithfully served for over 150 years.

I am a native of Greenwich Village — born and brought up in the neighborhood — so I am personally aware of its unique character and the ways it has changed over my lifetime. I joined the Sisters of Charity in 1950 and returned to living in the Village in 1966 when I resumed working at St. Vincent’s.

When Mother Mary Jerome Ely, a fellow Sister of Charity, spearheaded St. Vincent’s establishment in the Village in April of 1856, she did so with the goal of raising the level of care we were able to deliver to the residents of Lower Manhattan.

We are now faced with the question of how do we most safely, efficiently and effectively deliver the highest level of

compassionate care to all our neighbors who need it?

I believe the answer is to give the Village a state-of-the-art hospital that will not only care for all of our medical needs, but will also be a source of community pride for the entire Village, including our closest neighbors.

A call to move this hospital — a very vibrant part of the rich history of the Village — is not the answer.

Sister Miriam Kevin Phillips

Phillips is senior vice president for mission, St. Vincent’s Hospital Manhattan

Thanks for saving my life

To The Editor:
Without St. Vincent’s, our centrally located Village hospital, I would not be writing this letter. About seven years ago, I awoke with severe chest pain, walked down five flights of stairs and hailed a cab. I did not know that I was having a heart attack or that by the time the cab traveled five short blocks to St. Vincent’s E.R., I would be in cardiac arrest — not breathing, no pulse, no heartbeat.

I am thankful every day for the doctors and nurses who worked so hard to save my life. I am thankful for St. Vincent’s on every Mother’s Day, at every graduation I have attended for my children, on all the birthdays and holidays I celebrate with my family and friends.

Because St. Vincent’s is a centrally located hospital, I arrived there quickly and survived with minimal damage to my heart. I hope that no one finds themselves in the situation that I faced, particularly the people who believe that St. Vincent’s should be moved to the outskirts of town.

I write on behalf of all the people whose lives have been saved, all the children who have been born there and all the people who benefit every day from the care and compassion received at St. Vincent’s Hospital, our neighborhood hospital, centrally located for all in need.

Liza Mirisola

Don’t toll Manhattanites

To The Editor:
I have been reading the information on Mayor Bloomberg’s congestion pricing, and while I support it, I have one major issue with the program: What about people who own a car that is registered in Manhattan?

I see this program as a penalty tax for anyone in my situation. As a Manhattan resident I should be exempt from these charges.

I work outside the city. I leave for work after 6 a.m. and usually return to the city around 5 p.m. From what I read, I expect to be charged $8 when I leave the city and $8 when I return. This represents an added $16 a day, $80 a week, and $320 a month. There is already a premium to maintain a car in the city: expensive parking facilities, more expensive insurance costs, more expensive gasoline prices and ever-rising toll charges. I don’t feel that I should now be charged to enter and exit the borough in which I reside.

John R. Dean

E-mail your letter to the editor not longer than 350 words in length, to news@chelseanow.com or fax to 212-229-2790 or mail to Chelsea Now, Letters to the Editor, 145 Sixth Ave., ground floor, NY, NY 10013. Please include phone number for confirmation purposes.