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to Yenta 6/19/00
Given that I am passing through on my way to NJ, and my aunt's name
was Yenta, I am curious as to how a town like New Hope came upon the BRILLIANT idea of
"The Yenta". It's GREAT. I think I'll "cop" the name for my family
newsletter!!
Brenda Freedland Pangborn
Bingham Farms, Michigan
P.S. My father was born in Kane, PA in 1908, so many great people came from PA.
Letter to Yenta 6/16/00
Your fascinating responce to my earlier post on the fireworks
display is a good example of the attitude that is associated, by many, with the powers
that be in the Eagle Fire Co.
As a resident of New Hope, a taxpayer of New Hope, and a merchant in New Hope, I find it
comforting to know my neighbor, N. Dalton of SOLEBURY, and obviously a member of the
fire company, has such a keen interest in protecting me and the rest of the citizens of
New Hope and apparently Lambertville, from our self induced folly of wanting a fire works
display.
I firmly believe that New Hope's chief of police is a professional fully capable of
conducting crowd control, and all you have to do is walk around the Shad Festival to see
that Lambertville can do it. If the chief stated that a fireworks display should not be
staged, then so be it. From what I heard he never got the chance to study the question.
For members of the fire company to make statements insisting that a fireworks display will
result in death, destruction, and lawsuits, shows that they are obviously unwilling or
unable to provide whatever professional support the POLICE might find necessary.
I guess my point is this; that to have a fireworks display is a question for the
residents, political leaders, and police departments of New Hope & Lambertville, not
the fire company and residents outside New Hope & Lambertville. I've been to many a
fireworks display in New Hope and towns much larger and the same size as New Hope. Was it
crowded? Where there cars parked everywhere? Absolutely; have you ever been to one
that wasn't? To make statements that New Hope, for some reason, will be unable to
accomplish something that is done in tens of thousands of communities across American,
without death and destruction, is an insult to the residents, political leaders, police
departments of New Hope & Lambertville, and even the Eagle fire company.
As for your diatribe on Mr. Gerenser, I have no comment, other then my initial comment,
that I rarely agree with him.
Apolitical
Letter to Yenta 6/16/00
Hmmm.......so what if Sandy Trappen was reading a magazine, what
about Richard Hirschfield picking his nose and enthusiastically chewing and talking ?
No Borough Council member even listened, except Bob and Burt. And that was out of
disbelief that their president was going forward with the firing of Victoria Keller.
Personally, I think the borough manager position should be a political appontment. Let's
face it, unbeknowst to us, the voters, Richard never wanted Victoria in Borough hall. I've
heard for months how Richard never even spoke to Victoria, let alone WORKED WITH HER.
Never spoke and just wrote memos
with order's ? I loved the way Richard cut the numbers to look good, I studied the
numbers too. People that spoke out for Victoria at this meeting were right. Our borough
president can't work with others (and has no social skills either). The point here is,
Richard and his followers, didn't have to listen. Their minds were made up. We, the
public, were just a dreaded necessity for them. Many newcomers to borough meeting were
saying.. "I never knew this was going on". Speak, Richard, speak. Why not
spend twenty hours a week speaking to all of your constituents ? I am sorry that I voted
for him. I just wanted to vote against the "dream team". At least we knew what
they thought. So...let the new borough manager be selected by King Richard and we'll just
write a contract for four years of employment with option, at the new president's whim, of
another four years. That will keep the insurance premiums down. It's a crime that all the
financial woes of New Hope are placed on the borough manager's shoulders. And it's a crime
that Town Hall is populated by attitudes that aren't representing the majority vote but
fallen to pawns of a vocal and sue-happy minority. I sincerely hope Victoria Keller runs
for Council in the next election. And Burt Johnson and Robert
Gerenser and Sandy Trappen because I will enjoy casting my vote for sensible leadership. I
don't see positive change happening at all, I see more strong arm manuevering. Nasty,
nasty business. And didn't we all love the entire fire department filling the parking lot
and showing up for the meeting ? One of the uniformed even told me that the mall
fire a few years ago was started by fireworks. It wasn't. I'd like to see the video and
hear their reasons also, instead of their strong arm tactics. I think their energy could
be better spent selling a limited amount of tickets to our fireworks instead of grandiose
negative tactics meant to intimidate Bob Gerenser. How about educating the public instead
? Let's see a presentation instead of walking out of the meeting when the idea is
even mentioned. I go to meetings to hear what's gong on in my town, not to be told by a
polician what they're going to do, but to see for myself and to form my own opinions about
issues and to have my voice heard, not ignored. It's obvious Richard Hirschfield doesn't
have any respect for anyone even to feign interest. I watched, heard and saw. And I
didn't like it. Many citizens asked you questions in public participation, yet Richard
answered none. I'd like to hear other opinions about this matter. Let's use yenta for more
than vote gathering at election time.
Elaine J McNeely.
PS: Go to Borough Council meetings and learn what is happening in your community.
Let's issue the Borough President Richard Hirschfield, a warning about his job
performance. Unlike Richard, I believe in due process, and treating an employee fairly.
Letter to Yenta 6/15/00
Dear Yenta,
In respose to the following letter recently posted in the on-line
Yenta column: "Rarely do I agree with Mr. Gerenser, but his letter to the editor,
found in the June 8th edition of the Gazette, concerning the fireworks display [or lack
thereof], is right on the mark. Who is running this town... the fire company?"
Signed by, "Apolitical"
Apolitical, I hope you were at the council meeting on 6/13 and now realize the ignorance
of your statement. Of course the fire company does not run New Hope. You should thank your
lucky stars there are people who are looking out for the welfare of this town who will not
gain politically, financially or personally from voicing their years of experience
relevant to this matter. Can you imagine the law suit if even one person needed an
emergency vehicle and none could access the bridge or any New Hope street late day on July
4th?
No one from the fire company or the police or the officials in
Lambertville ever said "No" to fireworks because the fire company told them
"No", and, they never said "No" by the way. The involved officials
asked for a situation which will work so that the abnormally large multitude of vehicles
and people who would come here, all at the same time and leaving at the same time, never
again completely stop traffic and all traffic patterns into and out of New Hope with
stopped or temporarily abandoned vehicles, bumper to bumper, on every street.
If you have ever been in New Hope on the 4th of July, it is a most
unbelievable sight. By early evening, nothing moves. Traffic stops dead where it gets
stuck due to congested, blocked roads. People stuck on Main Street and the free bridge
stand on the top of their cars trying to see the fireworks. One year, on July 5th, a
tornado hurled through town. Can you imagine what might have happened had it struck the
day before? There would not have been any way for any emergency vehicle to get onto any
New Hope road.
Anyone who by now does not realize that Mr. Gerenser has become a loose cannon who appears
to be more interested in playing games than focusing on and dealing with the reality of
fact and issue is myopic. I think he has become an embarrassment to council and to New
Hope. He said he will not be intimidated nor will he go away. He is certainly entitled to
his opinion, his voice and his agendas, as we all are. We can agree to disagree on a
friendly, adult platform. Just get the "FACTS" straight first before misleading
people, especially when it sure looks like you had to put a lot of twists and turns into
it to mold and sway it into something other than the whole truth. Mr. Gerenser's childish
behavior and misguided rhetoric regarding this issue insults the intelligence of every New
Hope/Lambertville person who would be affected by an ill managed 4th of July. It keeps
bringing me to the same question. Instead of making imbecilic statements, why
not just provide your solution, Mr. Gerenser and Apolitical?
N. Dalton,
Solebury
T h e Y e n t a C o l u m
n 6 / 14 / 00
Business as usual. . . the faces have changed, but it seems
that the politics are still muddy. Horses of a different color. Well, maybe mules is more
appropriate -- but can't the people of this town -- ALL of the people of this town -- find
it in themselves to devote their energies to the issues and not to picking at each
other. Everyone is missing the point. If we keep aiming our guns at personalities and
minutia, the exact thing that everyone on all sides (how many sides are there?) is afraid
of will come to pass. It's real simple, while everyone is throwing darts at each other,
someone will come in and take away the dart board.
For example, now council is wasting their time trying to unload Victoria
-- instead of talking with her (not avoiding her and communicating by memo only) and
trying to help her improve her performance.
Then there is the mayor, trying to undo the drug-sniffing dog program
already in progress, just to get back at Frank. Or how about, rehiring the building
inspector to have to immediately turn around and deal with reprimanding him. And residents
groups defending and attacking personnel and other residents on hearsay -- we all know of
plenty of examples, so let's move on!
Here are some issues the Yenta suggests you all think about seriously --
NOW, not later.
Sewers -- that function at the level of open French drains (by the way,
duct tape on the pipe to Lambertville is all that is keeping a large dump from landing in
the Delaware!!!!!)
Polluted drinking water -- in the town's private wells (and for those of
you from the big city, no, your water doesn't magically appear from a pipe, it comes from
the ground right outside your window).
School taxes starting to rise with no end in site -- that pile of bricks
uptown is just the beginning. There is plenty more on the drawing board. Maybe it's time
for New Hope to bail out of the school district.
A village with no services, no meeting place and a waning sense of
community.
A tourist community with inadequate services to manage the tourists, and
yes that means toilets.
Voluminous amounts of history -- and a borough government that isn't
involved in any organization or serious effort to protect or promote their most important
asset. Who is going to the meetings of the Heritage Corridor Commission? Jim Magill?
It is time for personal agendas, power plays, egos and finger pointing to
end. These are big time problems. Groups and individuals need to start to work together
and not need to claim authorship of the solutions and ideas needed to deal with these
challenges.
The Yenta welcomes your thoughts and challenges you to shift your focus to
gaining an understanding of the problems by sharing researched information, not hearsay,
and by offering constructive methods for solving the problems. Sound like your town? --
everywhere USA!! - The Yenta
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