FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com MAY 5, 2016 • THE QUEENS COURIER 39 oped As our nation and our borough commemorate Memorial Day later this month, we think it’s appropriate to take A Look Back at some of Queens’ military ties. Here’s a picture from Aug. 5, 1943, of troops walking across Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park. The Armed Forces used the race course as a training facility during World War II. The troops are pictured walking back from military exercises on the infi eld. Send us your historic photos of Queens by sharing them on our Facebook and Twitter pages, emailing them to editorial@qns.com or mailing printed pictures to The Queens Courier, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361. All mailed images will be carefully returned to you. letters & comments EAST RIVER TOLLS WILL ONLY MAKE THINGS WORSE The only thing tolls on the East River bridges will do is create more air pollution by slowing down traffi c. Any automotive engineer will tell you that engines run cleaner at higher speeds. If you want better traffi c fl ow, work on moving the existing traffi c. THAT is the area which needs to be addresses. City motorists are already overtaxed by the city and state. The NYC auto use tax was instituted as a temporary measure to save the city from bankruptcy in the mid-1970s. We were duped. My research through a local elected offi cial shows that there’s no sunset clause in the law. Additionally, (s)he could not even fi nd a corresponding line item in the city or state budget. Where does that money go? Where is the fi nancial transparency? QNS user Steven Katz WHERE IS THE FLUSHING JEWISH CENTER? The following letter was addressed to publisher Victoria Schneps. Dear Ms. Schneps, I read your column every week, when I get The Courier. Love your adventures, and reading about your wonderful family! I am writing about the Passover event with Rabbi Charles Agin. I know he retired from FSF. The “box” in color says Rabbi Agin retired from Flushing Jewish Center. Since I was born and still live in Flushing — went to Hebrew School at the Free Synagogue, and my daughters had their Bat Mitzvahs and Confi rmation there in the mid-1980s under Rabbi Agin’s teaching, I’m wondering where Flushing Jewish Center is. My husband and I were members at Free Synagogue and I have many fond memories of the teachers and Cantor Perlston, and, of course, Rabbi Agin. I still live on Sanford Avenue, near the Free Synagogue. I am hoping to hear from you regarding the above issue. Carole Josepowitz, Flushing NEGLECTING THE MEMORY OF 9/11 VICTIMS As has been reported lately a number of monuments dedicated to the heroes and those who have died on that day of infamy on 9/11, are in disrepair and some of which have been vandalized. There is much disrepair and decay with these sites. As a nation we have made a vow for future generations not to forget, but have they been forgotten? Visitors of Eisenhower Park in East Meadow have found a dirty and tattered fl ag and graffi ti facing a section of wall plaques honoring 344 county residents murdered on 9/11. In Green Bay, Wisconsin, 9/11 memorial names are illegible due to sub-par building materials which is found in many states around the country. In Brooklyn, the Wall of Remembrance at a park in Coney Island has been attacked by vandals. This is just a little in what is happening to mar the memories of that day of infamy. I fi nd this totally appalling and a disgrace. I think more must be done to protect these monuments which will keep the memory alive. If not, then the fallen will be forgotten! Frederick R. Bedell Jr., Glen Oaks Village WAS TRUMP THE BEST THE GOP COULD DO? During his foreign policy speech, Donald Trump looked like a child trying to give a book report on a subject he knew nothing about. Even reading off a teleprompter, Trump said nothing. Yet he succeeded in mispronouncing Tanzania and San Bernardino. Republicans should be cowering in shame that this is the best “candidate” they’ve got. Trump’s supporters believe what they actually heard was a speech on foreign policy. But to most people with intelligence, the words that came out of his mouth were truly foreign and truly embarrassing. One by one, opponents of Trump who had said “he will be a disaster for this country” are now lining up to support him. The reason? They don’t want to “split apart the GOP.” They are putting the Republican Party ahead of the United States of America! But that’s nothing new. Robert LaRosa, Whitestone CITY SHOULD HOLD M TA BOARD MAJORITY BY COUNCILMAN JIMMY VAN BRAMER In 1968, the state took over New York City’s buses and subways and created the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Nearly 50 years later, riders suffer as the MTA struggles with aging trains, bloated projects and long delays for needed upgrades. Meanwhile, the balance of power at the MTA board rests with Albany and the suburbs, preventing the city from governing its own transit system. Albany’s leadership on the MTA is lacking. It’s time for the city to take control. As a City Council member from western Queens and a regular subway commuter, I know in real time when the No. 7 train has a meltdown. My phone buzzes with tweets and texts about overcrowded platforms, stalled trains and poor communication from the MTA. I press MTA offi cials at oversight hearings, organize rallies, and host town hall meetings that bring MTA leaders directly to riders. But we can and must do more. Unfortunately, because Albany controls the MTA, our city can’t hold it accountable for the quality of service it provides. Earlier this month I hosted a town hall where No. 7 train riders asked questions of MTA offi cials. New York City Transit President Ronnie Hakim had some good answers, but on many issues, she left us scratching our heads. Hakim didn’t seem to know much about cross-honoring MetroCards on the Long Island Rail Road when service is disrupted. One of her colleagues dismissed our claim that service is worse on Mondays after weekend track work, only to have riders cite specifi c delays and disruptions that the agency forgot. A recent report by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli showed the MTA used misleading math to calculate how long riders must wait for a train — and found that wait times are actually increasing. The MTA is even failing to meet its own goals. The signal upgrades and track replacement needed to keep the century-old system from constant malfunction are decades away from completion. There isn’t even a timeline to bring modern signals — which allow countdown clocks and more frequent trains — to half of the subway system. Even worse, the MTA is mismanaging its biggest, most expensive projects. The new Hudson Yards station is leaking because the MTA’s contractors cut corners. Across town, East Side Access — a bloated project designed to benefi t suburban commuters, not New Yorkers stuck on the subway — is $6 billion over budget and 14 years behind schedule. Albany’s latest budget provides only a portion of the cash required for the MTA to make much-needed upgrades, and in fact raises the MTA’s debt ceiling. By requiring the MTA to borrow billions of dollars instead of funding improvements outright, Albany is setting New Yorkers up for massive fare and toll increases down the line. As straphangers get squeezed, Albany has little incentive to act. A recent Baruch College/NY1 poll found nearly half of New Yorkers think the city controls the MTA. Who can blame them? The MTA’s own numbers show that 94 percent of its annual ridership is within the fi ve boroughs. And yet, the city is only given four votes on the MTA’s 17-member board. Meanwhile, suburban counties, which include towns as far as Poughkeepsie and Montauk, control the same number of votes. Adding insult to injury, Albany inaction has held three of the city’s board nominees in limbo since last June. The city has increased its commitment to funding MTA capital improvements to $2.5 billion. Contrast that with Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk counties, which each have a full vote on the MTA board yet don’t contribute a cent to MTA upgrades from their budgets. The city deserves a bigger say. I’m calling on the state to increase the city’s representation on the authority’s board, and have sponsored a City Council resolution to this effect. The city, after all, stands to gain the most from improved service — or suffer the harshest consequences if the system is neglected. Now is the time. With the city’s future hanging in the balance, it makes no sense for Albany and the suburbs to call the shots for our subways and buses. Van Bramer represents the 26th City Council District, which covers parts of Astoria, Long Island City, Sunnyside and Woodside. This op-ed fi rst appeared in Crains New York. A LOOK BACK
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