Sign up now to subscribe!
To Larry Penner, letter writing is a fine art.
And he should know: Penner has had hundreds of letters published, practically in every New York newspaper, as well as many other publications outside the city.
The website Gawker calls him "one of the most prolific practitioners of the lost art of the letter to the editor."
He is keeping track of his own success as well.
"I put a dollar in the kitty every time I have a letter published," he said. "If it's a first time letter, it's five dollars. The kitty last year had $220 in it."
He spans a variety of topics. Mostly, though, he writes about local politics, with an eye for detail uncommon in the letters to the editor section. Penner, 53, is the consummate armchair commentator, the amateur wonk from Great Neck.
But in person he is a private man, hesitant to give out details about his occupation or background. Penner regularly skewers elected officials in his letters, but shuns the spotlight himself, preferring to let his words speak for themselves. He will not say where he works, or what his profession is, even in general terms.
He said he has turned down repeated requests for interviews from several newspapers.
But that does not stop him from speaking his mind.
"I definitely have opinions, like most people do," he said, stroking his neat, white beard. "The difference is I'm willing to act on my opinions and share my thoughts."
Like a true New Yorker, he can corner a conversation with a clear hunger for debate. When he uses phrases like "I would also point out to you," his voice echoes with the sounds of his letters.
A native Brooklynite and graduate of Long Island University, he moved to Long Island in the 1980s, where he wryly aligns himself with "poorer residents" who mow their own lawns.
Penner's letters have appeared in the Village Voice, the New York Press, the New York Times, BusinessWeek, am New York, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, the Wall Street Journal, the Seattle Times, Rolling Stone, Forbes, Queens community papers, most Brooklyn community papers, as well as City Hall and many of its sister publications like Our Town and West Side Spirit.
Penner has three rules for ensuring publication of a letter. First, the piece has to be timely. Second, he must be offering a divergent opinion. ("They're not interested in regurgitation," he explained.) And third, the letter must be concise.
Penner admits to regularly violating the last rule.
One of his top grievances is what he calls "sports pork": taxpayer dollars used to pay for the development of stadiums or arenas. In the January 15, 2002 New York Press, Penner wrote, "Mayor Bloomberg made the correct call to say no in the use of public funding for new Major League Baseball stadiums. In ancient Rome, government attempted to curry favor with the masses by offering free bread and circuses."
The City Council is another favorite punching bag. A self-described libertarian, Penner says he sees too much special interest and favor-currying amongst city lawmakers. He suggests abolishing the Council, which he calls "the Land of Oz," and elevating the city's 59 community board district managers to legislative positions.
Penner has particularly targeted Queens Democrat David Weprin, chair of the Council's Finance Committee and prospective 2009 candidate for city comptroller. Weprin recurs throughout Penner's oeuvre: an entire folder of Penner's letters, filed by topic, is devoted to the Council member. Penner says he thinks Weprin grandstands and is emblematic of dishonest politics.
Weprin's office refused to comment for this story.
One wintry night several years ago, Penner met his rival face to face in the offices of the Queens Examiner.
"It was a nice little debate," said Walter Sanchez, the Examiner's publisher. Sanchez convened the meeting in the hopes of settling their dispute.
"He was not comfortable being there by himself," Penner said. "He had to have his driver or his security guard with him and his press spokesman. So I said, ‘I got to bring my wife as my muscle to back me up.'"
Perhaps because of his ability to get under a politician's skin, Penner is celebrated by his fellow letter-writers.
"Larry Penner has already reached literary heights, in all matters that are pertinent to citizens of Queens—indeed for all," wrote Bayside resident Sylvia Bailen in the January 25, 2007 Queens Ledger, who goes on in the letter to dub herself "the Maureen Dowd of Bayside."
Gerry O'Brien, a political consultant and the 2000 New York State presidential campaign manager for Arizona Sen. John McCain (R), has known Penner for 35 years. He admits he may have created a "Frankenstein" when he helped set up Penner's computer and showed him how to use e-mail about 10 years ago.
"Larry's always been interested in public policy," O'Brien said. "It's an outlet for him."
When Penner picks up his paper in the morning (he subscribes to all the major dailies), he initially skips over all the pages dealing with current events.
"News can be depressing on the international scene," he said. "The first page I go to is the comics page."
He likes to start his day with a smile.
"The first one I read is Earl and Mooch," he said, referring to the main characters of "Mutts." "If they were real, I think I'd adopt both of them."