FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JANUARY 30, 2020 • THE QUEENS COURIER 35
‘AGEISM’ SHOULD
NOT BE TOLERATED
There is a new bias in America and
it’s called “ageism.”
There was a most informative
report in the AARP Bulletin in
this month of January, that reported
about age discrimination in
America, in the work place and in
hiring by companies and corporations.
This report stated that 35 percent
of the U.S. population is now
over 50 years old. Now, to discriminate
against older Americans, I find
most sad. You see older Americans
have much to offer in the workplace.
We are experienced, dedicated and
devoted to the companies we work
for and need to be respected for our
loyalty.
A case in point: I have worked for
a plumbing supply house in Mineola
for more than 40 years and I am now
70 years old. Five years ago, I came
down with aggressive prostate cancer.
I survived, and I also had three
operations after that. Now, I work
part-time for the same company. I
am in remission five years later.
Now how many companies would
have done that? I guess they had realized
my worth?
If a person is being discriminated
against, they can contact the AARP
for help. Power to all of us seniors
who have made America great!
Frederick R. Bedell Jr.,
Glen Oaks Village
IT’S TIME TO REVISIT
CLOSED SUBWAY
ENTRANCES
NYC Comptroller and 2021 mayoral
wanna-be Scott Stringer's recent letter
to NYC Transit President Andy
Byford, inquiring about the large number
of closed entrances and passageways,
including what the MTA’s plan
is to reopen them, reveals nothing we
did not already know. With record
NYC Transit subway ridership, everyone
acknowledges it is time to revisit
the closed entrances and passageways
to numerous stations over past decades.
According to a past 2015 NYC
Citizens Budget Commission report,
it will take until 2067 for all 471 NYC
Transit Subway Stations to reach
a state of good repair. It has always
been a question of fi nding funding to
reopen many of the 119 subway station
entrances and passageways closed
during the late 1970s.
Th is decision was based on a combination
of declining ridership, along
with security and safety concerns.
Th ere is insuffi cient funding under the
NYC Transit Capital Stations Program
contained within the $51 billion MTA
2015-2019 Five-Year Capital Program
to support this work.
Mayor Bill de Blasio is withholding
$3.5 billion from the MTA that would
help fi nance the new $51 billion plan.
Does Stringer agree with de Blasio?
Will he do the same if elected mayor
in 2021?
Some of these funds would be needed
to pay for reopening the very same
entrances and passageways that Stringer
mentions in his letter.
Why not ask any major business,
business improvement district, college
or hospital who benefi t from subway
stations adjacent to their facility to
sponsor reopening entrances and passageways?
How about also installing elevators
to bring more stations into compliance
with the Americans with Disabilities
Act?
Let them split the cost 50 percent
with NYC Transit in exchange for naming
rights to the reopened entrances,
passageways or installation of new elevators.
Never shy around a camera or microphone,
Stringer will continue issuing
a series of useless audits and reports,
including those critical of the MTA and
various municipal agencies. What he
will not tell you is that he travels around
town by car with driver and police security
detail rather than a bus or subway.
Unlike the millions of New Yorkers,
he doesn't own a MetroCard or use
public transportation on a daily basis.
“Do as I say, not as I do” is his motto.
With term limits, Stringer is just
another term limited career politician
using the perks of his current position
while seeking another public offi ce.
As a former state Assembly member,
Manhattan borough president and the
current NYC Comptroller, he has never
worked an honest day in his life.
Larry Penner, Great Neck
oped letters & comments
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The least intrusive
option is the best
for Queens
BY THOMAS GRECH AND SETH
BORNSTEIN
Th e Federal Aviation Administration recently
hosted public listening sessions near LaGuardia
Airport as it continues an independent review of
AirTrain LGA project. We welcome this engagement
and the opportunity to set the record
straight about some of the fl awed alternatives
fl oated by critics of this project.
Instead of the FAA’s preferred route from the
LIRR Willets Point Station to the airport, some
opponents want the subway extended through
Astoria. But that three-mile route would require the
use of eminent domain to acquire dozens of homes
and businesses and parts of St. Michael’s Park.
Other opponents think money allocated for
AirTrain LGA should be used to improve the
subways — but they fail to recognize the project
is being funded by the Port Authority, Passenger
Facility Charges, and maybe private capital. Th is
is revenue that simply cannot be used for projects
that aren’t related to airports.
Facts we can agree on: AirTrain LGA will
be a reliable trip of 30 minutes or less between
Midtown Manhattan and LaGuardia, support
thousands of good-paying union construction
jobs, and create an opportunity to invest millions
of dollars in improvements and beautifi cation
of the Flushing Bay Promenade and waterfront.
Th e current preferred route does not force
Queens residents from their homes or businesses,
does not require the use of tax dollars,
and continues to go through a transparent process
that’s included public hearings and listening
sessions conducted separately by the Port
Authority and the FAA. Th is transparent process
in which all stakeholders have a voice is far
better than what is required by ULURP.
Th e new LaGuardia Airport will soon be one
of the most impressive airports in the world.
We are already seeing this state-of-the-art reality
inside the new Delta terminal. Let’s use this
moment to improve access to LaGuardia by
building a rail link that will take cars and taxis
off the roads, improve air quality, spur economic
activity throughout the tri-state region and
shorten the commute for airport workers.
We applaud Governor Cuomo for his eff ort
to modernize New York’s infrastructure. We
need a bold vision to get commuters moving
throughout our region and to ensure New York
City remains the premiere destination for business
travelers. Th is is an opportunity to build up,
not tear down. Th e time for AirTrain LaGuardia
is now.
Th omas Grech is the President and CEO of
the Queens Chamber of Commerce and Seth
Bornstein is the Executive Director of the Queens
Economic Development Corporation. Both organizations
are members of the “A Better Way to
LGA” coalition.
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