AVOIDING REAL ISSUES IN HACKENSACK?

As an African-American, I've been quite amused by the news coverage
and the stream of letters to the editor in The Record regarding the
shootings that took place in Hackensack last month.

All the ink so far seems to be centered around the spat between the
Hackensack mayor and his brother, the police chief, and the Bergen
County Prosecutor's Office. The finger pointing and blame shifting is
hiding a much more important story -- and that is the concerns of the
African-American community in the city of Hackensack.

Let's not forget that two young black men lost their lives and no one
in city government seems to give a darn about that. And let's not
pretend that this shooting was the first time something has gone wrong
in the city's black community.

African-Americans have had numerous complaints about conditions in our
neighborhoods -- everything from flooding to drug dealing. Yet,
nothing ever seems to be done about our legitimate concerns -- even
though the African-American community is within a quarter of a mile
from City Hall.

Drugs are a problem in our community, yet we see no drug arrests being
made before Election Day. Is that because the administration is trying
to pretend there is no drug problem in Hackensack?

The insult to the African-American community is only heightened when
we see a tragedy in our neighborhood get swallowed up in a political
battle between the city police and the prosecutor's office.

Rhonda Bembry, Hackensack