26 The QUEE NS Courier • FEBRUARY 27, 2014 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com editorial IDENTIFY THIS PLACE Go to www.queenscourier.com and search “Identify This Place” to find out where this is letters Setting the record straight Mr. Isaac’s letter, printed in the February 13 edition, demonstrates why charter and private and parochial schools are needed. It is the Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution, which references our unalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. There is no “pursuit” of liberty; liberty is a given. Pursuing happiness is noble, but it does not mean that we will attain it. Rather than saying that his comment is evidence of public school training, I prefer to believe it was the result of “condensation,” or a slip of the tongue. Dennis J. Lynch Retired Queens Village Don’t make it a ‘snow job’ Let’s not read too much into what was a mistaken but not malicious judgment call to keep the schools open on a particular bad weather day recently. We lucked out that no school-related disasters were reported under these harsh conditions, but let’s see the big picture. Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina’s decision was perhaps thoughtless, but not insensitive. It wasn’t mean-spirited, conceived as a political power play. Maybe she didn’t have all the facts or the facts were still unfolding when a determination had to be finalized. The chancellor made a good-faith decision with the perceived interests of parents and students in mind. And certainly Farina’s calling it a “beautiful” day was flawed public relations etiquette, but it was not a character-defining moment, unlike the heartlessness displayed by her Bloomberg-appointed predecessor Chancellor Cathie Black, who essentially blamed overcrowded schools on the failure of inner city parents to practice birth control. By all means let’s hold Farina’s feet to the fire over policies related to the seminal issues of quality public education, but let’s not get bent out of shape over this event. The snow didn’t lighten up on that day, but critics should lighten up looking back. Farina’s education forecast is worthy of encouragement. Let’s hope she doesn’t quit her day job to become a meteorologist. Ron Isaac Fresh Meadows So much for that theory This has been one of the most brutal winters in over a decade. Since it began I haven’t heard the words “global warming” once. I’d like to know where Al Gore and all the others who claimed to have evidence that winters such as these were going the way of the dinosaur and the VCR are. They probably escaped to some warm weather location, or maybe, like most liberals and progressives, they keep a low profile when their theories are disproven. Edward Riecks Howard Beach MAKE ‘EM PAY Call it a lesson in responsibility. The Forest Hills restaurant that suffered thousands of dollars in damage from a Department of Sanitation plow truck accident wants the city to pay for the repairs. And rightfully so. Customers were sitting in Exo Cafe, at 70-20 Austin Street, on February 13 when the city snow plow struck a garbage can full of snow ice, which then hit the restaurant, police said. The accident damaged the eatery’s winter vestibule and shattered some of its windows, and sent a 36-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman to the hospital with minor injuries. Now the owners are asking the city for help in making the $50,000 in necessary repairs -- and we think they should pay. Exo owner Peter Kambitsis filed a claim through his own insurance and with the City Comptroller’s Office. “Why should we go through our insurance when they have their insurance,” After all, the Department of Sanitation conducted an investigation into the accident and said it “is taking disciplinary action against the operators of the equipment.” We strongly urge Comptroller Scott Stringer to make the city take responsibility -- and help a boro biz get back on its feet. WHAT’S GOOD FOR THE GOOSE . . . We’re all for the mayor’s Vision Zero Action Plan. In fact, pedestrian safety is one of our major concerns. But we feel like telling Mayor Bill de Blasio “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.” Last week the mayor’s motorcade was caught on video speeding and making multiple traffic infractions -- only two days after admonishing drivers that we all have each other’s lives in our hands. De Blasio spent a few days hedging the issue, but this week he admitted, “No one’s above the law.” “Every city employee needs to respect the law, myself included, needs to respect the traffic laws, needs to comport themselves in a way that’s safe,” de Blasio added. We couldn’t agree more, though the mayor made it very clear that “I don’t tell the NYPD how to do their work when it comes to protecting me, they’re the experts.” Well, Mr. Mayor, let’s all take our own advice in order to implement Vision Zero and bring traffic fatalities to a screeching stop. THE QUEENS Victoria Schneps-Yunis Joshua A. Schneps Bob Brennan Tonia N. Cimino Amy Amato-Sanchez Nirmal Singh Graziella Zerilli Stephen Reina Ron Torina, Jennifer Decio, Cheryl Gallagher Melisa Chan, Liam La Guerre, Cristabelle Tumola Maggie Hayes, Angy Altamirano Cliff Kasden, Samantha Sohmer, Elizabeth Aloni Cristabelle Tumola Maria Romero Louise Cavaliere Celeste Alamin Maria Valencia Daphne Fortunate Victoria Schneps-Yunis Joshua A. Schneps Kambitsis asked. Publisher & E ditor Co-Publisher Associate Publisher Editor-In-Chief VP, Events, Web & Social Media Art Director Assistant to Publisher Assistant Art Director Artists Staff Reporters Contributing Reporters Web Editor Events Manager Senior Acc ount Executive Classified Manager Controller Office Manager President & CEO Vice President Schneps Communications, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361 718-224-5863 • Fax 718-224-5441 website: www.queenscourier.com e-mail:[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Entire Contents Copyright 2014 by The Queens Courier All letters sent to THE QUEENS COURIER should be brief and are subject to condensing. Writers should include a full address and home and office telephone numbers, where available, as well as affiliation, indicating special interest. Anonymous letters are not printed. Name withheld on request. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, AS WELL AS OP-ED PIECES IN NO WAY REFLECT THE PAPER’S POSITION. 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