26 The QUEE NS Courier • march 6, 2014 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com editorial letters Wi-Fi threatens subway passenger safety The MTA announced plans to extend Wi-Fi service to more subway stations, including 29 in Queens. Not so fast. A young woman was nearly killed when she fell onto subway tracks while texting. Expect similar incidents as Wi-Fi spreads to more subway stations. Texting & talking riders will accidently fall on the tracks or get pushed on them by thieves stealing their gadgets. Digital dummies ignore police warnings not to display their devices in public and pay close attention to their surroundings. The only solution is to disconnect them, below and above ground. Distracted drivers and walkers increase the number of pedestrian accidents. Wake up, mobile morons. Don’t be wireless & brainless. Turn off your toys and tune in to the real world. Richard Reif Flushing EDITOR’S NOTE: BELOW IS A LETTER DISTRICT LEADER LEW SIMON SENT TO GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO Eradicate toll Dear Governor Cuomo, As the Democratic District Leader of the 23 A.D. and Chair of the Rockaway-Broad Channel Bridge Toll Committee, we have been on record as requesting that the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge toll should be free for all Queens residents. This is the only place in New York City where there is a toll to move from one part of a community to another. We share a community board, school district, council district, assembly district, state senate district, police precinct and zip code, but our guests and potential visitors must pay this toll or be deterred from visiting or moving about in our community. We have been blessed with a body of water called Jamaica Bay and our roadway runs from Rockaway through Broad Channel. You have been gracious enough to maintain the Cross Bay Bridge toll rebate program. Now we are asking that you do the right thing for other Queens residents and the delivery trucks that regularly serve our community. Rockaway residents pay more for goods and services because the cost of bridge tolls is passed on to the consumer. The toll serves as a deterrent to the revitalization of local business that we are all trying to help with other programs. When the bridge was built and then when it was rebuilt, we were told that all tolls would be ended when the construction costs were paid. Now is the time to move in the direction of redeeming that promise. We love New York and especially Rockaway. We want other Queens residents to be able to spend a hot day at our beaches and walking on our rebuilt boardwalk. We are confident that you will find a way to help all of us. Hon. Lew M. Simon Assembly District Leader 23rd A.D. Part B The meaning of Lent The Lenten season is now upon us and it reminds us Christians that it is a time to get in touch with our spiritual nature. This is a time that many of us think of giving up those material things and giving up negative thoughts and trying to live in peace. But I feel it is more than that. In my opinion, it is a time like Christmas -- to not to think of ourselves but a time to think what we can do for others in need. To begin with, let those who can volunteer their time to those organizations like churches, Catholic charities, community and civic groups. Also please donate to food pantries and food kitchens, for this is a time of great need for the many. Those who can please donate blood, for this has been a most harsh winter and blood donations are very low. I know this very well, for I run a blood drive twice a year for St. Anastasia Knights of Columbus Council #5911 at St. Anastasia Parish in Douglaston. To donate blood go to http://www.nybloodcenter/ .org Lent is a time for all of us to truly live out our faith. Frederick R. Bedell Jr. Glen Oaks Village A clarification: On last week’s blotter we incorrectly identified the yoga studio from which $7,000 worth of handbags were stolen. We regret the error. 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 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. No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without prior permission of THE QUEENS COURIER. The publishers will not be responsible for any error in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. Errors must be reported to THE QUEENS COURIER within five days of publication. Ad position cannot be guaranteed unless paid prior to publication. Schneps Communications assumes no liability for the content or reply to any ads. The advertiser assumes all liability for the content of and all replies. The advertiser agrees to hold The Quens Courier and its employees harmless from all cost, expenses, liabilities, and damages resulting from or caused by the publication or recording placed by the advertiser or any reply to any such advertisement. IDENTIFY THIS PLACE Go to www.queenscourier.com and search “Identify This Place” to find out where this is QUEENS LEADS THE WAY Once again our borough is ahead of the curve – and above the fray. Recently, politicians, chiefly Mayor Bill de Blasio, made headlines when he announced that he would break tradition and boycott the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the city after officials prohibited marchers from carrying gay-pride banners. Parade planners have said gays are not banned from joining the procession on March 17, but from declaring any sexual orientation. Following de Blasio’s announcement, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito hopped on the boycott bandwagon and pledged to not march, but said individual councilmembers can make their own decision. City Councilmember Eric Ulrich has said he will be a part of this year’s festivities “rain or shine.” But, here in Queens, we’ve already put our Irish pride on display – and have let one and all, no matter race, religion or sexual orientation – take part. The annual St. Pat’s for All Parade ran down Skillman Avenue. Known to be the city’s most diverse St. Patrick’s parade, embracing LGBT groups, community organizations, school bands, Irish organizations and religious and civic groups, it drew such names as de Blasio, Mark-Viverito, Public Advocate Letitia James, City Councilmembers Jimmy Van Bramer and Daniel Dromm, Senators Michael Gianaris and Grace Meng, among others. In our borough of diversity, it is yet another example of how Queens is THE place to be. From the days of the Flushing Remonstrance we have – and continue to – embraced one and all. VOTE OF SUPPORT And speaking of the Remonstrance, we are supporting a bill by Congressmember Grace Meng that would make historic Flushing sites part of the National Park Service. The measure would require the Secretary of the Interior, who oversees federal parkland, to look into whether sites connected to the Flushing Remonstrance could be included in the national park system. The Remonstrance, a historic 1657 petition, was signed by Peter Stuyvesant and 30 citizens to protest a policy that banned Quakers from practicing their religion in the colony of New Netherland. Other sites mentioned in the bill are Flushing’s John Bowne House, where the Quakers held meetings, and the Old Quaker Meetinghouse, which was built in 1694 by Bowne and other Quakers. We’ve been breaking boundaries for centuries and Queens deserves its due. Meng’s bill has our vote of support.
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