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m m m A L sn r u ~ r %u00bb c i r > %u2014 r x -------------------- a t t %u201e i %u00ab : -------i n c u - j i d u 5 i y e a c i v w n n e i p i i i g ,The statistics continue to stack up against the B-51 bus. In less than a month the Transit Authority will meet to decide the future of the Brooklyn-Manhattan run, and the bus %u2014 though more filled than the majority of TA buses %u2014 still falls short of the ridership requirements set by the TA. In other words, the bus doesn%u2019t pay for itself, and the TA will abandon the idea as promised.Never mind that it is the consistent choice of the elderly. That it is an inexpensive way for the handicapped to get to lower Manhattan. That it mobilizes an entire population who sit at home because they cannot or will not ride the subway.The TA ignores that human issue and sees the future only as the bottom line; dollars and cents instead of serving a population. While it%u2019s no secret that the TA %u2014 particularly President David Gunn %u2014 has not supported the project since the trial run began, the TA must realize that service is more than providing trains at rush hour. It is filling aneed %u2014 and that is where the B-51 bus has been successful.The TA doesn%u2019t like the B-51 in principle, because it replicates a subway route. They argue that there are other ways for Brooklynites to jump the river to Manhattan (and vice versa) and while this may be true, the loyal ridership of the B-51 proves that many would prefer not to take the subway %u2014 and many can%u2019t.The transit authority must look beyond the bottom line when deciding the fate of the B-51. Few buses pay for themselves %u2014 but are justified because they provide the only means of getting from here to there. The TA must realize that the B-51 provides this service and more, because it provides freedom to a population that is too often borough-bound by age and circumstance. Like the elderly and handicapped it serves, the B-51 could use a helping %u2014 saving %u2014 hand from the Metropolitan Transit Authority to keep it rolling.goum O%u2122 FEED B A C K F R O M READERSNot Tight LippedYour article concerning the Installation of Dr. Paul Smith of First Presbyterian Church, appearing on September 25th, was extremely irritating to this member of the church. It was condescending, inaccurate in some respects, and in reporting the seminars you clearly showed which side you were on without saying so in clear language, which is non-objective reporting.%u201cWe are not a %u201ctight lipped congregation of liberal Calvinists.%u201d This is in no way a stodgy group of people. Also, if you are going to e ffo rt on a church function a little reading is in order. It was John Knox in Scotland whose teachings led to the founding of Presbyterianism; John Calvin in Geneva was instrumental in the events leading to the founding of the Congregational Church. Some day stop in to the local Congregational Church (Plymouth) and you will find them to be a progressive thinking young group and not at all dour.You seem to feel that Dr. Smith will institute the interracial mix of congregants. While this is important to him and to us, stop in some Sunday morning and you will find whites, blacks, Chinese and East Indians worshipping together joyfully.Incidentally, I was offended by your frequent references to Dr. Smith as %u201cSmith.%u201d One word surnames are usually reserved for TV programs Kojak, Magnum, etc. You venture the opinion that some of the issues raised by Katherine Cornwell touched an open nerve. This is presumptuous.In the brief three month period since his arrival we have come to greatly admire Dr. Smith%u2019s warmth and compassion and his obvious intellectual qualities. Most of us look forward to helping him implement the programs he has in mind for the church.At this point, let me extend an invitation to you to return this time next year. I am sure you will find a church well on the way to a great future. %u2014 Genevieve B. Altman, Henry Street.Alarmed At GoldenIt is alarming news that Brooklyn Borough President Howard Golden will become a member of the Democratic National Committee.Mr. Golden has absolutely no concept of the real needs of Brooklynites and can be counted upon to misrepresent our problems to the Democratic Party.Like Mayor Koch, Mr. Golden thinks that it is desirable for the taxpayers to donate many millions of dollars to high-powered luxury real estate developers intent upon turning residential Brooklyn into a replica of Wall Street.We do not want to become Wall Street! We need HOUSING, not tall office buildings. We want those millions of our tax dollars to be allocated to affordable housing, not to subsidized commercial developments, luxury hotels or $250,000 condominiums. Are you listening, Mr. Golden?Like the Mayor, Mr. Golden has no use for you unless you are a Yuppie earning $80,000 a year. If you%u2019re not a Yuppie, get lost.Mr. Golden participates in the destruction of the Brooklyn residential community, and then goes to the Democratic National Committee to represent %u2014 Whom? Not us. %u2014 Rachel Stang, Brooklyn Heights.Cheers For CB6Hooray for Community Board #6! The members made the right decision in voting AGAINST the Nicaraguan Sister City Project. Why should the residents of Community Board #6 be on record as favoring a special relationship with a Communist city. Let%u2019s make no mistake about it; the Sandinista government in Nicaragua is a totalitarian, communist government. There are no civil liberties or religious freedom in Nicaragua. Let us hope that the Nicaraguan freedom fighters (Contras) can overthrow that Marxist government and bring a truly democratic government to the oppressed people of Nicaragua.The vast majority of people who support the Sister City Project are sympathetic to the communists in Central America. They only see the U.S. intervention in Central America. They are deliberately blind toward Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, Central America, Africa, and other parts of the world. To these Nicaraguan supporters only the U.S. is bad for helping people fight communism. I am pleased at the result of the vote and wish to thank the members who opposed the Sister City Project. %u2014Edwin Ramos, Sixth AvenueCan Luck Hold Out?For forty-one years, earth%u2019s people have lived under what President Kennedy called %u201cthe nuclear sword of Damocles, hanging by a slender thread.%u201d How long can our luck hold out before it is cut %u201cby accident, miscalculation or madness%u201d ?The Russians have not tested nuclear weapons for thirteen months, and extended$ i g n o f t h e 'J a im e stheir unilateral moratorium three times. Deadline is now January.President Reagan refuses to stop testing, claiming tests are necessary to make nuclear weapons safe and to make sure they work. Current American five-year defense strategy is to prepare to prevail in a protracted nuclear war.The House of Representatives has acted. They cut off funds for nuclear tests. Now it%u2019s up to us to pressure our Senators. %u2014 Marion Kronheim, Chairwoman, Flatbush SANE.We Must Not FailThe Soviets have not tested nuclear weapons since August 6, 1985. Three times they have extended their moratorium on testing.The C.I.A. said it does not believe the Soviets can deploy new nuclear weapons without additional tests. Congress has sown a willingness to join the Soviet test ban. Obviously, this is in our best interests. It would put a brake on the deadly nuclear arms race. President Reagan, however, stubbornly refuses. He has stepped up nuclear testing.A warning came from Carl Sagan, the renowned astrophysicist: %u201cWe have a Soviet moratorium %u2014 but in the face of the Reagan rejection of the test ban, how long will the Soviets continue their moratorium?%u201dReaganites believe that by testing for %u201cStar Wars%u201d and a readiness to spend another trillion or so to develop nuclear weapons in space, we will make the Soviets blink by bankrupting their economy as they try to catch up. But our fantastic (military buildup is bankrupting us! The U.Sj lead in technology is fast fading. Japan ahd West Germany, focusing on non-military technology, are able to take over our markets. That%u2019s one reason why 12 million Americans lost jobs during the Reagan years through plant closings. A mid-westerner summed it up: %u201cSeems to me like some folks somewhere are trying to dismantle America %u2014 the steel mills, the farms, the textile industry.%u201dOnly the powerful military contractors profit from nuclear testing and luscious %u201cStar Wars%u201d contracts. Other Americans must look towards their own life interests: an end to the arm s race; an end to nuclear testing as long as the Soviets don%u2019t test; a return to a peace economy so we can start rebuilding public transportation, schools, and homes for people instead of missiles. The Iceland pre-summit and the coming Washington Summit provide another chance to choose co-existence over no existence. Hopefully, many voices will be heard to insist that we must not fail. %u2014 Alice Gordon, Surf Avenue.W E IN V ITE R EA D ER S TOS H A R E T H E IR V IE W S INT H IS S O U N D O FF SPACEThe editors welcom e letters fromreaders on all subjects that relate to ourDowntown Brooklyn area c mmunities.To make certain that yr %u25a0 < letter ispublished, we ask that you keep it to lessthan 500 words and that it is typed. Longerviewpoint pieces may be considered for\our Community Forum column which runsfrp n n e n tlv in thnetp npnp