Letters to the Editor | Feb. 19, 2024

The plan for FDR Park in South Philadelphia includes the replacement of two premier baseball fields with six athletic fields. Natural grass is the optimum playing surface for any sport. The rationale for replacing grass with artificial turf is to create more field time. This solution, however, will lead to new problems. Artificial turf is not maintenance-free. An artificial turf field will need to be replaced in about 10 years, and plastic grass fibers may leach into the groundwater and into the river, affecting aquatic life. Artificial turf is like a rug over natural grass; it gets very hot in the sun and is not a good playing surface. Artificial turf cannot be recycled and eventually goes into a landfill. Artificial turf suppliers sell their products for a lot of money with persuasive but spurious science. The solution to more and better athletic fields is to be found in the neighborhood playgrounds. At Mount Airy Baseball, where I am a volunteer groundskeeper, we maintain five grass baseball diamonds. It is possible to have a good field in your own neighborhood.

Gerry Givnish, Philadelphia

At this precarious time in the life of our country and the world, it is urgent to look at why the public is so focused on President Joe Biden’s age and to shed light on this damaging disruption. At first, it may seem this is due to our fear about our president’s aging, impairment, and death. However, the real reason is that when we look at someone who’s older, we are reminded of what we do not want to face in our own lives. To avoid this, we emphasize what we see as negatives, denying countless positives. In truth, there are enormous benefits to aging. For a presidential candidate, this one is major: leaders like Biden face challenges with far wiser judgment and perspective.

Biden, who boldly fought for and won the presidency, was handed what can be called the hottest of hot messes. He has done a magnificent job, yet any little thing will feed the narrative that he has issues with his mental acuity. Take a recent news conference, where, showing respect for the press, the president returned to the podium to respond to a question about Gaza. But because he is deeply concerned by impossible conditions and suffering at our southern border, he offers the name of the Egyptian president but misidentifies the border with Mexico. Why doesn’t this make complete sense? Put differently: How many times does a parent juggling countless responsibilities, and who obviously knows who his children are, look at one child and call another’s name?

SaraKay Smullens, Philadelphia

. . .

Am I the only senior in America who is appalled by the way the press is treating President Joe Biden? I find it disturbing and verging on elder abuse. Biden is a great president, who has already accomplished more than many others who have occupied the White House in recent times. His knowledge of national and international affairs is unmatched. His handling of complicated political situations is masterful. He pulled us out of the economic crisis created by COVID-19. Biden helped pass a bipartisan bill that will rebuild our decaying infrastructures and has tackled climate change and pollution. He is dealing competently with complicated international crises (from Ukraine to Israel) and has supported a comprehensive border bill.

So, why are people attacking him for his age? For forgetting a few names? I tend to do the same, and I used to do so even when I was young. Why doesn’t the press concentrate on Donald Trump’s mental fitness? He is in the same age group, and quite often mixes up names and routinely makes false statements. Trump has also said a lot of very dangerous things that he did intend to say, like wanting to be a dictator, admiring dictators, and encouraging Russia to do “whatever the hell they want.” Of course, this is in addition to his many declared bankruptcies, 91 charges in four separate criminal indictments, and his open disrespect for the Constitution and the rule of law. So, give me a break! What is happening to America and its free press?

Chiara Nappi, Princeton, crnappi@gmail.com

A better solution to Councilmember Quetcy Lozada’s attack on Savage Sisters and Prevention Point would be for her to urge Mayor Cherelle L. Parker to sign an executive order repealing former Mayor Ed Rendell’s Executive Order 4-92. Signed more than 30 years ago to address the HIV epidemic, it still provides cover to Prevention Point to distribute an average of about 24,000 sterile syringes daily. Anywhere else in the state, that’s against the law. Prevention Point is the only place in Pennsylvania allowed to break the law pursuant to Rendell’s order. It’s a crime to distribute paraphernalia to someone you reasonably know is going to inject drugs. All those syringes and orange caps you see outside homes and schools are courtesy of Executive Order 4-92 still being the law in Kensington. Another executive order can rescind it. The Kensington Caucus should urge Parker to take that step.

William McElroy, Ambler

Late last year, my Uber driver mentioned a name: Cherelle Parker. “Do you think she’ll turn this city around?” he asked. I snorted a laugh. “Absolutely not,” I said without hesitation. “I voted for her, but I have no confidence.” Parker had recently endorsed reprising stop-and-frisk in Philadelphia, infamously tied to increased police oppression of Black and Latino people. When pressed on avoiding these racist outcomes, she has been vague. Her push for increasing worker presence in Center City is purely optical.

Crime is down in Philly, despite scary conservative narratives. Ending remote work will not make our city safer or more efficient, it will dissuade many from joining and staying in the municipal workforce, including millennials and Gen Z, disabled workers, creatives, parents, and others. It’s telling that Parker kowtows to the private sector and conservatives rather than engaging with the workforce she leads. It seems she prefers the illusion of structure to creative forward thinking. Her disposition toward change appears conservative and averse to innovation. I encourage city employees to voice concerns not only for their own well-being but also for the sake of spending city time and resources effectively.

KB Thomas, Philadelphia

The Inquirer deserves credit for its yearlong “Crumbling City” series. Philadelphia is an aged city with some of the oldest housing stock — mostly rowhouses — in the country. It’s what makes construction and demolition work on rowhouses with shared walls so complex and potentially dangerous. The single biggest problem is not our old housing stock or aging infrastructure, however. No, the real problem is the legion of untrained, unsafe, and unpermitted contractors who have descended on our city like a swarm of locusts. Despite decades of building collapses and preventable construction accidents, only one contractor permanently lost their license. One. How is that possible?

A huge issue is that these fly-by-night, unlicensed, nonunion contractors can acquire fraudulent work permits through shady black markets. They are also inexplicably permitted by city government to hire their own third-party inspectors to approve their shoddy work. Things must change in the local construction industry to improve public safety. There are encouraging signs. Mayor Cherelle L. Parker is committed to change and is working closely with the building trades to implement new construction industry rules, regulations, and oversight. Likewise, Controller Christy Brady is auditing the Department of Licenses and Inspections to fix internal problems and close conflict-of-interest loopholes. All of us in the unionized construction industry appreciate these efforts to improve the safety of Philadelphians and our own hardworking members who do things the right way.

Ryan N. Boyer, business manager, Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council

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