FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com FEBRUARY 18, 2016 • THE QUEENS COURIER 27 oped letters & comments PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLERS SHOULDN’T SPEND SO MUCH Students at a high school in Queens claimed that they were spending around $25-$50 per year on books that according to regulations they should have been issued for free yet had to purchase at the school’s bookstore. They’re right. They should not be out-of-pocket. It’s irrelevant, though it helps keep things in perspective, that the cost they laid out amounts to around a dime a day for kids who not uncommonly own smartphones and sneakers not much under $200. This has been going on for generations in public schools, whether the costs involve school supplies, class trips or graduation dues. What went on at that Queens high school was no scandal and not a suitable allegory about exploitation. But there is a bigger story here. It’s that every school should have suffi cient resources to give every child all basic supplies and materials, as set forth in the Department of Education-United Federation of Teachers contract. With a $30 billion budget, there’s no excuse for nickel-and-diming schools, especially in view of the DOE’s morbidly bloated budget for its cadre of administrators. Ron Isaac, Fresh Meadows IDLING TRUCKS MAKING IT HARD TO BREATHE IN QUEENS Have you ever noticed the many unattended, idling vehicles spewing out their toxins? Despite EPA laws, these toxic fumes fl ow unabated. Why? The current law is not enforceable. The police, EPA or Traffi c Agents cannot ticket unattended vehicles left with the engine idling for extended periods of time. The City Council needs to make prolonged engine idling of an unattended vehicle a parking violation in addition to the current EPA violation. This will give both police and traffi c agents the power to ticket these polluting vehicles. The fi ne should be substantial and double for diesel trucks. In the interest of cleaner air and helping to mitigate the breathing problems of folks who have lung conditions, could we not begin to address this threat to our health? William Herbert, Kew Gardens CIVIC LEADER WANTS ACTION ON MASSAGE PARLORS A resident reported at the Feb. 10 Community Board 6 meeting that at least three massage parlors have opened on Metropolitan Avenue. One location is less than one block from the Metropolitan Avenue school campus. Additionally, one has been reported at the Dunkin Donuts location on 71st Avenue and possibly another at Eliot Avenue and Saunders Street in Rego Park. The Forest Hills Community and Civic Association strongly opposes allowing this type of establishment to open in or near residential neighborhoods unless it is licensed and registered as a health facility. Either the City Council or the state legislature must impose restrictions on the location and license these under existing or new laws. If they are “health massage” parlors, the Board of Health should monitor and license these establishments. If they are for recreational massages, restrictions must be imposed, they must be investigated and, if necessary, the NYPD should oversee activity. We cannot allow the quality of life of our residents and the welfare of our children to be compromised by improper types of business to locate in our communities without oversight. Barbara Stuchinski, President, Forest Hills Community and Civic Association TIME TO MAKE ASTORIA PARK MORE PLEASANT FOR ALL Closing the bathrooms for repair was the right thing to do and as an Astoria resident am very thankful something so horrible was discovered and is being dealt with. It would be wonderful if they also cleaned up the littered riverside. It’s a shame that such a beautiful park with so many people isn’t properly maintained. Even in the summer the grass goes uncut for quite a while. How can we make our park better, cleaner and more attractive to all the visitors? I want to get involved here! QNS user Rachel Collier QUEENS IS NO PLACE FOR HATE BY ASSEMBLYMAN DAVID WEPRIN We hear of a new hate crime almost every week, and unfortunately, New York City, and Queens, have not been immune to these senseless crimes. While others resolve their disagreements with violence, we look to break bread; whether they be pitas, rotis or challah rolls. Recently, a Korean man followed a Flushing woman to her home and attacked her because she was Chinese. This was the reasoning given by the attacker. That same day, a Hasidic man was randomly stabbed in a possible hate crime in Brooklyn; this was a week after somebody scrawled a Swastika on some pavement in an adjoining neighborhood. Three days prior, a 52-year-old white Brooklyn commuter was punched while waiting for the train, some of the words he heard before the attack were, “You don’t belong here.” The day before that, a transgender woman was attacked on the subway for being part of the LGBT community, and she would later require emergency surgery for her eyes. And I am sad to say that this is just some of what happened in February. Over the previous two months, thanks to the hateful rhetoric of the GOP presidential candidates, we saw a rash of hate crimes against Muslim-Americans and the greater South Asian Community. In the Bronx, a Bangladeshi Muslim man was attacked by two teens yelling “ISIS” as he waited to pick up his niece outside her school. In Queens, an Astoria shop owner was assaulted in his own store as his assailant yelled, “I kill Muslims.” On Thanksgiving morning, a Hindu family in Woodhaven awoke to discover that an unknown person spent the previous night burning more than 40 religious fl ags in their front yard. This rise of culturally motivated crime is not unique to any ethnic or religious group. In January, when I rallied against rising anti-Semitism with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, I learned from Rabbi Abraham Cooper that African-Americans face the highest occurrence of hate-related incidents in the country. And although we are still waiting to hear the 2015 statistics on hate crimes against Muslim communities in the United States, I am sadly convinced that we will see a sharp rise in these incidences when the data is released. This is not the America I know, and this is not the New York I know. These acts are surely not representative of the “World’s Borough,” Queens. We are the most diverse place in the world and a prime showcase of cultural harmony. We live with neighbors from all over the world, work with people from every background, and our children are fortunate enough to make friends from many cultures. This diversity inspired me to sponsor the Religious Garb bill in Albany. The bill, A2049, prohibits employment discrimination based on religious attire and/or facial grooming, as long as it does not pose a hazard to that person or to the public. And although this bill’s primary objective is to protect those wearing kippahs, turbans, hijabs, beards and crosses from employment discrimination, the legislation also serves as a means to combat the ignorance that breeds fear, hate and violence by increasing awareness and engagement. Let us be the state that continues to promote diversity, inclusiveness and service in our communities and businesses. With hate-related incidents rising, it is time to pass A2049 in the Assembly, and its sister bill, S2049, in the Senate. While the Assembly bill has passed with overwhelming support the past three years, it has yet to pass the state Senate. Queens and its diversity also inspire me to stand with all of my fellow Americans when I hear of a hate crime on any group. A hate crime against one of us is a hate crime against all of us, an assault on our inclusive New York Values, and a threat to our identity as Americans. We must stand together as a borough against each and every incident, and I look forward to continuing to stand with each and every one of you. Weprin represents the 24th Assembly District of central and south Queens, which boasts one of the most diverse constituencies in the state. A LOOK BACK All the talk about building a new streetcar line between west Queens and Brooklyn got us thinking about a time long ago when trolleys were the way to get around our fair borough. Here’s a picture from 1910 of the electric trolleys at the “car barns” that once occupied a location near the intersection of DeKalb and Onderdonk avenues in Ridgewood. Look carefully and you’ll see the steel tracks curving through the cobblestone pavement and the overhead catenaries carrying the electric lines that powered the trolleys. When trollies were taken out of service later in the 20th century, the trolley garage were demolished and replaced by an athletic fi eld for nearby Grover Cleveland High School. Still, to this day, longtime residents of Ridgewood still refer to the fi eld as the “car barns.” Share your historic pictures of Queens with us! Email them to editorial@qns.com or mail printed pictures to The Queens Courier, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361. All printed images will be carefully returned to you.
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