A coach needs to coach his bench to greatness
Staten Island: Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau keeps saying players must put the team first, but he’s not doing it. He continues to put his style of playing before the team to prove a point to the world, even if they lose players to injuries. He’d rather run his rotation than put more guys on the floor to give a guy a minute to rest. Why do players have to sacrifice for the team but not him?
If I’m a fan and know his game strategy, then all professional coaches know how to beat it. And yes, he wins games, but not for long because he runs his best players into the ground and causes them all types of injuries, and that’s because he can’t figure out how to win games with average players.
Fair or not, the lingering memory of Thibodeau in the playoffs will forever be mediocre because he’s unwilling to make the necessary changes to get his stars rest. If Thibs wants to be among the coaching elite, he needs to adapt and change his way of doing things. For the team’s betterment, ensure that players get rest and that other players get to show their talent. Rookies are taking NBA and NFL teams to the playoffs and he’s still unwilling to play them. He always says that any team can beat you because they all have NBA players on them except for the Knicks. The team does have NBA players on the bench. Isn’t that what real coaches do, take an average player and make them great? You don’t inherit a dominant bench, you make it. Steven Formey
Drowning in deliveries
Manhattan: Media reports indicate that Gov. Hochul pushes the state Legislature to increase the “mobility” payroll tax on NYC businesses as a way of closing a massive MTA capital funding shortfall. The Legislature should reject this approach, which amounts to hazing the victim. Minnesota paved the way to a much better solution when, in 2023, it passed a law imposing a 50-cent delivery fee on online shopping orders. New York should follow this example, calibrating Minnesota’s approach and targeting giant internet retailers, like Amazon, which are also among the main congestion culprits. Such a solution would not only reduce traffic but help local brick-and-mortar businesses by encouraging New Yorkers to shop in person. By contrast, another increase in the mobility tax will continue driving businesses and residents away. Ilya Kapovich
More money?
Milford, Pa.: So, The MTA’s Janno “More Money” Lieber is at it again, this time demanding billions and threatening a “summer of hell” if he does not get it. It never ends, does it? City, state and federal handouts are not sufficient, nor are payroll taxes, congestion pricing, surcharges on phone and cable bills. The governor is “looking for additional revenue” to feed the beast. Just last month, Lieber said he needed $65 billion for his capital plan. Before he gets another dime, there needs to be a top-to-bottom audit of the MTA. Let’s see exactly where all the money goes. How about we start with him and his $400,999 salary (more than the president and far more than the mayor or governor). So glad I left. Robert K. Greco
Affordable HEAT
Rockaway Park: Al Sharpton is right! (“New York should lead on grocery affordability,” op-ed, March 23). It’s not just the cost of groceries, though. New York should also lead on energy affordability. The NY HEAT Act ensures that households won’t pay more than 6% of their income on energy bills. At the same time, the NY HEAT Act moves funding away from fossil fuels toward clean energy upgrades. This is good for New Yorkers’ pocketbooks and good for the environment. Gov. Hochul, don’t let Con Ed raise our bills and pollute our air. Pass the NY HEAT Act! Tammy Lewis
Homes before parks
Manhattan: To Voicer Carrie Tassa: How ironic that you mention Central Park without recalling the homes bulldozed to make it. Perhaps you don’t remember because they were poor, Black New Yorkers. Again, you flaunt your privilege and lack of respect or care for the homeless by choosing the aesthetics of your million-dollar neighborhood over actual human beings. And I’m from Hell’s Kitchen, where community gardens were removed — wait for it — to make space for affordable housing. Green spaces in a city will never, ever be more important than human lives. But you don’t care about that with your NIMBY talk. And yes, I am in real estate. I’m on the end that makes sure people can get housing, not pretty parks for the rich. T.S. Fallani
Attention: artists
Brooklyn: Arts Gowanus will provide updates on the first lottery for subsidized artist studio spaces, made possible by a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) negotiated by Arts Gowanus ahead of the Gowanus rezoning. There will be roughly 120 subsidized studio spaces across 11 development sites in the neighborhood. The first to open will be at The Shop, a coworking space at 420 Carroll St., this spring. The lottery application is now live, and the first drawing will take place in early April. Arts Gowanus will also discuss the simultaneous launch of two fully-funded fellowships. Low-income Gowanus- and Red Hook-based artists are invited to apply for the Arts Gowanus Artist Fellowship Program, which offers free studio space, material support and career development for one year. Johnny Thornton
Stressed out
Bellerose Village: Re “Don’s crew ripped on battle breach” (March 26): Boy, I bet Pete Hegseth could sure use a drink right about now. Peter O’Connor
Special delivery
Woodside: It’s unclear who’s responsible, but the White House received 27 clown costumes today. Sources said the costumes were all average size except for one, which was XXXL. Sheila M. Richardson
Hero dishonored
Charlotte, N.C.: How dare the Department of Defense scrub Maj. Gen. Charles C. Rogers from its website. He was presented with the Medal of Honor in 1970 by then-President Richard Nixon for his service in Vietnam. In 2025, however, he posthumously offended Trump and Hegseth by being Black, so his biography was removed from the website and some sophomoric fool in the DOD wrote “DEI medal” next to his name in his page’s URL. This is demeaning and insulting not just to Rogers but to everyone who served in that war. Barbara Haynes
Far worse
Manhattan: Sorry, Leonard Greene (“Trump in worst company,” column, March 23). Trump isn’t “as bad as any parent at a game who called Robinson a n----r in front of their children.” He’s worse. Much, much worse. H.D. Kayne
Call off the carnage
Hallandale Beach, Fla.: Turn to Gaza and witness Trump’s cruel, ice-cold shoulder to its desperate pleas for food, water, medicine, electricity and fuel. Citizens of conscience must not be as smug and indifferent as this toxic, unbridled support of Israel, which continues to block all such life-sustaining supplies into the strip. Even after dropping 85,000 tons of mostly U.S.-supplied bombs that wiped out thousands of civilian lives, Israel has renewed its fury and pledge to widen the destruction, again laying siege to Gaza’s killing fields after having declared the ceasefire agreement null and void. For independent, dedicated news reporting, tune into Al Jazeera TV for a heart-wrenching glimpse into Israel’s utter and sheer contempt, violence and destruction — an abomination aided and abetted by the U.S. and ignored by Europe, the UN and others. Make your voice heard to Congress, the White House and to Israel. Collectively, our voices can help stop the bloodshed. Sid Sussman
What is it good for?
Brooklyn: It has been said that war is hell. We have plenty of time for hell and we don’t need it on this planet. I myself can’t kill anybody. It goes against my very nature to kill anything, much less a human being. All the countries in the world should get together and sign a document making war off-limits. There should be no option for the declaration of war! Arthur Mazlin
Staycation photos
Bronx: Please continue “Photos from around the world.” They show us what some will never experience. It’s definitely an eye-opener, and kudos to the photographers. Lydia Milnar