editorial 34 THE QUEENS COURIER • APRIL 7, 2016 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com SNAPS QUEENS FREEDOM OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT PHOTO BY EMMANUEL LOZADA Send us your photos of Queens and you could see them online or in our paper! Submit them to us tag @queenscourier on Instagram, Facebook page, tweeting @ queenscourier or by emailing editorial@qns.com (subject: Queens Snaps). Only one answer for reported jail plan College Point is one of four locations that the city is allegedly considering as a site of a new jail, according to a DNAinfo report last week. Almost immediately, the gut reaction from residents, readers and public offi cials representing the neighborhood could be summarized in a two-letter word. No. Who could blame them? Who would want to invite the city to build a new prison for up to 2,000 violent individuals within shouting distance of a school, a business strip and hundreds of homes? The collateral damage of a jail in College Point would be disastrous: lost property value, lost businesses, lost residents who choose to pack up and get out. Even though the city is said to be eyeing an industrial site next to the NYPD Police Academy, a new jail in College Point could kill the neighborhood as we know it. The same thing could be said for the other three locations around New York City named in the DNAinfo report as possible jail sites. Why would the city consider this? Because some at City Hall — namely City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito — are considering phasing out Rikers Island. Reportedly, such a huge endeavor to shut the notorious correctional facility could take up to three decades and $7 billion to complete. Speaker Mark-Viverito announced in her February State of the City address support of various reforms to Rikers Island and other policies that would shrink the prison population to the point where the “dream” of closing it down completely becomes a real possibility. The problems at Rikers are well documented and must be addressed, but there’s no reason why the city can’t renovate Rikers and reform its operations without destroying other areas. Rikers Island is geographically isolated from other communities; its only physical link to the city is a bridge to and from Queens. No land needs to be condemned or purchased, no law-abiding residents need to be displaced, to renovate Rikers’ facilities or build new jails. The Mayor’s Offi ce has since indicated it is looking to move juvenile offenders off Rikers and is actively exploring other options aimed at improving its corrections system. We’re all for making the city’s jails more humane and safer for all prisoners. We simply believe it shouldn’t come at the expense of College Point or any other neighborhood in Queens. New York City must not approve any plan for any new jails in this borough. THE QUEENS PUBLISHER & EDITOR CO-PUBLISHER ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF VP, EVENTS, WEB & SOCIAL MEDIA ART DIRECTOR ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR ARTISTS STAFF REPORTERS WEB EDITOR CONTRIBUTING REPORTERS EVENTS COORDINATOR ASSISTANT TO PUBLISHER CLASSIFIED MANAGER CONTROLLER PRESIDENT & CEO VICE PRESIDENT VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS BOB BRENNAN ROBERT POZARYCKI AMY AMATO-SANCHEZ NIRMAL SINGH STEPHEN REINA RON TORINA, JONATHAN RODRIGUEZ, CHERYL GALLAGHER KATRINA MEDOFF, ANTHONY GIUDICE, ANGELA MATUA KATARINA HYBENOVA CLIFF KASDEN, SAMANTHA SOHMER, ELIZABETH ALONI JACLYN HERTLING DEBORAH CUSICK CELESTE ALAMIN MARIA VALENCIA VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS Schneps Communications, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361 718-224-5863 • Fax 718-224-5441 www.qns.com editorial e-mail: editorial@qns.com for advertising e-mail: ads@qns.com Entire Contents Copyright 2016 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 offi ce telephone numbers, where available, as well as affi liation, 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 fi ve 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 QUEENS 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. identifyP LACE this photo via Wikimedia Commons/Jim Henderson You’ve got to “sea” it to believe it! Here’s a picture of a beautiful development in a coastal area of Queens. Do you know what neighborhood it is? Check out our Facebook and Twitter pages on Monday for the answer!
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