To the Editor:
This letter is in response to Vicki Bejgrowicz’s letter in the Feb. 13 edition of the Bayonne Community News. I appreciate her feeling the need to have let our politicians know they did a “great job” during the hurricane back in October. The reality is that this is their job. What Obama did was his job. What the governor did was his job.
I saw as I read into the letter a little more that she thanked the mayor. This is where I will disagree. Let’s shed some light on a few things. He doesn’t volunteer himself to anything related to this town. He gets paid to do it. Personally, if I were his boss, I would fire him immediately. Nonetheless, he is the mayor of Bayonne.
Knowing that we have many seniors in Bayonne, why wouldn’t the city have their police vehicles or other city vehicles driving up and down the streets, talking on their loudspeakers, alerting the residents of what was going on? If you recall, many were without electricity for seven days and more. If you had no electricity, you had no telephones, unless you had an old telephone. If you had nothing but a cordless phone, you were out of luck. If you didn’t own a cell phone like most seniors, you heard nothing. You weren’t even lucky enough to hear the mayor’s automated calls. I must tell you, the best call was when he advised the residents to call and complain to PSE&G. Mr. Smith, you are the mayor. That is your job to be on top of the situation.
Where were the elected officials? The City Council? The Assemblyman? The freeholders? Where were all of you? I don’t want to hear they were in the shelters making sure everything was being done right. I don’t want to hear they were consoling the seniors because I know they were all very well taken care of. What about the people in the private homes? What about the neighborhoods that were in the dark for more than a week and longer? I guess they just want to keep the seniors happy and they will keep the votes coming. Same thing with the people who were at the shelters. What about everyone else? I guess to hell with everyone else in Bayonne.
I wonder how long the mayor sat in the dark. Or did he?
JOAN PRUDEN