38 The QUEE NS Courier • march 28, 2013 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com editorial letters DISCONNECTED Apparently, no one can hear them. It’s been five months since Sandy and still some residents are without cell phone service from Verizon Wireless. So we gotta ask – WHY? In today’s age of high speed Internet, Wi-Fi, and smart phones, what’s not smart is the fact that the people living in the Ocean Bay Houses have no way of staying in touch. And adding insult to injury is the fact that these people are still being billed! Take 77-year-old Arquilla Heard, for example. She has received monthly phone bills since the storm, some reaching nearly $200. Despite not having service, she paid November’s bill, but has since refused to make payments. Verizon has kept quiet since the storm, leaving the community without an explanation for months about service or billing. As Councilmember Donovan Richards pointed out, “for seniors and youth who may have had an emergency and no phone to dial out, this is a crime.” Haven’t the people who suffered through Sandy dealt with enough damage, enough devastation, enough loss? Richards is demanding that Verizon Wireless issue a six-month credit for the services not received since October, as well as an additional three-month credit for the inconvenience. We say it’s not enough. If Sandy taught us anything, it’s that we need to be prepared in case of emergency or natural disaster. Verizon, as well as all utility companies, must plan ahead and make sure their infrastructure is sound so that we can bounce back quickly in case there’s another storm like Sandy. So we ask you, Verizon: CAN YOU HEAR US NOW? VOICES WERE HEARD A round of applause is in order for the parents of Astoria’s P.S. 122. After weeks of gathering to protest and express their disagreement with the proposed cuts to the gifted and talented program at the school, their voices were heard by Chancellor Dennis Walcott. The parents, along with other concerned and outraged school and community members, confronted Walcott at a Panel for Education Policy meeting in Brooklyn on Wednesday night, March 20, where the chancellor agreed to meet with them at a later date to go over the changes. And though no date has been set for the meeting, parents like Deborah Alexander are saying they feel “cautiously optimistic.” With their children’s education at stake, as parents wait for the date to be announced they will not be sitting idle – they will be filing a petition with the State Education Commissioner. Bravo to all who are standing up for their children, and bravo to Walcott for listening. Victoria Schneps-Yunis Joshua A. Schneps Bob Brennan Tonia N. Cimino Amy Amato-Sanchez Nirmal Singh Wayne Robins Graziella Zerilli Stephen Reina Ron Torina, Jennifer Decio, Cheryl Gallagher Melisa Chan, Terence Cullen, Cristabelle Tumola Maggie Hayes, Angy Altamirano Cliff Kasden, Samantha Sohmer, Elizabeth Aloni Cristabelle Tumola Bill Krese Jan DiGeronimo 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 Copy Editor Assistant to Publisher Assistant Art Director Artists Staff Reporters Contributing Reporters Web Editor Editorial Cartoonist Director, Business Developm ent 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 2013 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. A redistribution of wealth It is disconcerting to think that some of my fellow citizens want to expropriate my wealth. They believe I have more money than I need and fairness demands it be redistributed. They unashamedly and brazenly demonstrate and petition to transform the rule of law, i.e., the individual and property rights guaranteed by the Constitution, to a collectivist rule of expediency, a.k.a. mob rule. Who determines how much confiscation is “fair?” How long will it take to run out of other people’s money? The noted economist Dr. Thomas Sowell asks why is it “greed” for individuals to want to keep the money they’ve earned but not “greed” for bureaucrats to want to take their money. Socialism has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it. We’ve succumbed to a desire to replace what works with what sounds good. Sowell warns that people who think they can change the world are infinitely more dangerous than mere crooked politicians. It is difficult to imagine a more stupid way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong. If you voted for someone who promised to give you goodies at someone else’s expense, then you have no right to complain when they take your money and give it to someone else, including themselves. Ed Konecnik Flushing Quinn it is I’m writing this because I wanted to take a moment to speak candidly and share an observation about City Council Speaker and mayoral candidate Christine Quinn that you wouldn’t have necessarily read about in the headlines after Superstorm Sandy. I wasn’t directly involved with the city’s relief efforts after the storm, but some of my loved ones and friends were. In particular, I have a friend who worked out of the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) following the storm for what seemed like endless hours for many consecutive days. And, while it seemed to me that many of our elected officials, some of whom are now mayoral candidates, seized the moment to cast stones or grandstand for the media, I heard how Quinn put in the same endless number of hours at OEM to help with arranging and coordinating the relief efforts. I heard accounts of her calling in every friend and every favor that she could to make sure that people without basic resources were getting supplies and shelter. Quinn doesn’t come from a political lineage, nor does she require her staff to stand when she walks in the room, like some of her Democrat opponents. She comes from a middle-class home that raised her to care about basic things like keeping a roof over someone’s head without fear of wrongful deportation, not being able to get childcare while they work for a wage that can’t possibly make ends meet. For me that’s not a political philosophy, it’s humanity. That’s what this city needs and she’s my candidate come this fall. Nova Calise A nonsensical move The growth of street corner cigarette sales known as “loosies” will grow as a result of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s plan to keep cigarettes out of sight. Consumption of tobacco has been part of mainstream America, transcending generations. Despite the best efforts of government to limit consumption via excessive taxes and smoking restrictions, just like alcohol prohibition in the 1920s, both have been total failures. Creative entrepreneurs will always provide the citizens’ desire, regardless of government approval. Consumers have voted with their dollars, making tobacco consumption a multibillion dollar enterprise today. Our tax dollars would be better used if police and judges spend more time prosecuting those who commit real crimes against individuals, rather than going after those who openly display cigarette packages in stores. Law enforcement authorities should be free to pursue those who commit real crimes against citizens and property. At 18, you are old enough to vote, be a parent, pay taxes, own a car, take out a bank loan, serve in the military and die for your country — but not consume tobacco, which makes no sense. Larry Penner IDENTIFY THIS PLACE To find out the answer to last week’s “Identify this place” please visit www.QueensCourier.com THE QUEENS
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