To the editor,
What a beautiful and devastating portrait on the passing of Linda Belfer.
(BroadsheetDAILY April 17, Matthew Fenton) When I first moved to New York City, Battery Park City was my home for four years. I, too, was pushed out by Gateway’s rising rents, but while I lived there, I spent time with Linda, who was very much a force to be reckoned with. I had no idea she had fallen on hard times, as I had already moved to Brooklyn by 2012, but I did think about her often as she seemed no longer to be a headliner in lower Manhattan news.
Serving alongside Linda on the GPTA board, I remember how she fought for BPC in matters both large (tenant protections) and small (such as when she made sure that locals were given seats for the Tribeca screenings that took place literally in our backyard). These smaller gestures really humanized a woman who never seemed to complain about her own circumstances but roared at the injustices faced by her neighbors.
While I am not a religious person, I do feel that a Christian quote from the Bible is apt (in this case, the Book of Mathew, chapter 5, verse 6): “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” I hope if there is a journey beyond this one, that Linda has been filled by peace after a life devoted to the rights of her community.
Astrid Cook
Resident of BPC from 2007-2011
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To the editor,
Thank you for remembering all the good work Linda Belfer did for Lower Manhattan.
She was larger than Life. She made a mark. And thank you, Rick Landman, for remaining a good friend.
Jean Grillo,
District Leader 66AD 1995-2015
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To the editor,
Thank you for the great article on Ms. Belfer; it was quite a story about a pioneer in our neighborhood, who was a very thoughtful and brave woman.
Joseph Swartz