Dinowitz is here to help

To the editor:

(re: “Dinowitz sworn in, but challengers ready,” April 22)

Some months ago, in a letter to the editor of The Riverdale Press, future councilman Eric Dinowitz expressed dismay over an accident at a local subway station.

A young mother descending the stairs with a baby carriage missed the step and plunged to her death. As he pointed out, this event should never have happened had an elevator been installed from the street to the platform, which had been mandated for several years previously and funds had been allocated and not been spent.

Eric’s concern was not a one-time event. For the past 14 years, he has served as a teacher of public school children with special needs. It seems that compassion for society’s most vulnerable exists within his DNA.

Decades earlier, my wife and I appealed to Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz for legislation to list familial dysautonomia, a rare genetic disorder, as a developmental disability. He willingly complied with our request. Eventually, the needed legislation was enacted.

I also know Eric to be a devoted husband and father. Given his personal and professional background — not the least of which is his capacity for compassion — I have no doubt he will fulfill his role of city council member with distinction.

Theodore Fettman

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