Winter makes me think of dogs like Saint Bernards and Huskies. With the holiday season bounding away, and a new year skittering on linoleum like a puppy, it’s a swell time to evaluate relations between New York City and Washington, D.C. Lucky for all, the new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, hasn’t been in long, rendering evaluations, for now, short. I feel disappointed.
It seems, in the news, Donald Trump and Mamdani are snarling at each other, like dogs. The larger, more powerful animal, Trump, appears short-tempered as the meeker canine, Mamdani, barks his personal and professional animosity toward our panting furry president of the United States. How is that going to help New York City achieve affordable housing? New Yorkers may need the cooperation of the federal government in that agenda. Back when I was a whelp, the bigger dogs were all saying things like “don’t bite the hand that feeds you” and “don’t relieve yourself near the food bowl.”
Like a Jack Russell terrier, I feel compelled to point my tail at what appears to be senseless brinkmanship. Progress, these days, can best be realized in cooperative relations. No matter how anyone feels about Trump. Hostility doesn’t create affordable housing.
Bruce Reisner
Perry South