30 The QUEE NS Courier • may 15, 2014 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com editorial “Identify This Place” to find out where this is letters IDENTIFY THIS PLACE Go to www.queenscourier.com and search BUS LANE NIGHTMARE Having a bus lane taking away a car lane for 12 hours a day on Woodhaven Boulevard will be a driver’s nightmare. There are many, many more cars, vans and trucks than buses on the road. To have that many automobiles have one less lane will cause more congestion and longer travel time, not to mention more air pollution and more gas consumption. I would like to suggest eliminating parking and meters between the hours 7 to 10 a.m. Monday to Friday going north on Woodhaven Boulevard to create the bus lane thereby creating an extra lane, which is more practical for better traffic flow. Then in the afternoon from 4 to 7 p.m., do the same thing in the opposite direction. Howard Kamph President, Ozone Park Civic Association COUNCIL MEMBERS SHOULD USE MASS TRANSIT Why not amend NYC Council member Dan Garodnick’s bill requiring employers with 20 or more workers to sign up for transit checks to also include all 51 NYC council members, along with several hundred council staff? Council member Garodnick and his 50 colleagues can all give up their free parking spaces at City Hall. They and their staff can use transit checks to purchase MetroCards. This will afford them the opportunity to join several million constituents who use public transportation on a daily basis and also contribute to a cleaner environment. Larry Penner Great Neck REMEMBERING OUR WAR DEAD Memorial Day is fast approaching, and I hope the many will not forget the importance of this day. Memorial Day in my book is not just another day off to shop for sales or backyard barbecuing. In my opinion Memorial Day is a time to remember all those who gave their lives to protect the freedoms we enjoy today. This Memorial Day I find myself thinking what it means to be an American. The answer is crystal clear, and that is the pride to live in a country that allows us the personal freedom to speak our minds. These freedoms come with great personal sacrifice for those who leave family, friends and jobs to serve the greater good. I myself have served in the Navy during the Vietnam era. Although I never saw combat, I had friends who did and died serving our country. So, please honor Memorial Day and honor those who gave their lives for all those things we hold most dear. You can do this by attending parades in your local communities and saluting those who serve our nation so well. Let’s not forget those who serve on the home front like policemen, firemen and EMS workers who served us so well. You can also call a veteran you know and tell them thank you for serving and keeping us free from tyranny. Remember this, too: our flag is red, white – and blue and these colors don’t run. Frederick R. Bedell Jr. Glen Oaks ENOUGH COMPLAINING ABOUT WTC MEMORIAL The decision to place the unidentified remains of the World Trade Center victims into the underground repository at the World Trade Center Museum and Garden was perfectly correct to do. So, why are certain relatives of those lost complaining and making it sound as if the crime of the century was committed by placing those remains where they were placed? The Fire Department had a very solemn service that was respectful of the victims and the families, yet a certain few continue to vent their anger at the way that this was done. These few do not represent the feelings of all of the families, nor of all New Yorkers, and they should stop rocking the boat. Enough is enough! John Amato Fresh Meadows VISIT THE QUEENS Victoria Schneps-Yunis Joshua A. Schneps Bob Brennan William J. Gorta Amy Amato-Sanchez Nirmal Singh Graziella Zerilli Stephen Reina Ron Torina, Jennifer Decio, Cheryl Gallagher Liam La Guerre, Cristabelle Tumola Angy Altamirano, Katrina Medoff 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. FOR MORE STORIES QueensCourier.com WORLD’S FAIR On Sunday, the World’s Fair Festival in Flushing Meadows Corona Park commemorates the 50th and 75th anniversaries of two magnificent moments in New York City history — the 1964 World’s Fair and the 1939 World’s Fair. The letters and memorabilia submitted by our readers brought back floods of memories for those of us old enough to remember the 1964 Fair — and gave those too young to have experienced the Fair a good idea what the fuss was all about. We thank everyone who participated in the project and we are humbled that so many of you trusted us with your precious souvenirs and memories. We urge everyone to turn out for the festival; it should serve both as a celebration of our shared memories and a way to highlight the greatness of our borough. DECORATION DAY As a writer in the Letters to the Editor points out, Memorial Day is a much bigger deal than the unofficial start of summer or the time to buy an air conditioner on the cheap. It is the day we honor the soldiers who died in the defense of the United States of America. Many of us grew up hearing our elders call it Decoration Day. That’s because it was time put aside to place wreaths and flowers on the graves of the fallen warriors. Let us all reflect a moment on that, that it’s not a day to bask in the reflected glory of our armed forces or to worship some abstract American hero. It is a solemn day in which we recognize the sacrifice of those who died — and the sacrifices of their families. NYPD TO THE RESCUE, AGAIN It’s one thing to solve a crime, but it’s another to solve the problems caused by the crime. Well, the cops at the 109th Precinct went a long way trying to do the latter. When two aged sisters were robbed of their monthly Social Security stipend, the men and women in blue had a collection at the station house to replace part of the women’s sole source of income. We salute them for their generosity and we thank them for their service. SPECIAL CASES The Courier was appalled at the charges leveled by the Queens D.A.’s office against a Far Rockaway provider of services for special needs kids: the alleged embezzlement of $12.4 million intended to help the kids who need it most. While we withhold judgment on the defendants, we are happy to laud Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, who has proven himself a friend and protector of special needs kids in Queens. But the other side of the coin this week is as shiny as the obverse is tarnished. The Utopia Barbershop, a new salon in Whitestone, is going out of its way to make special needs kids, especially the autistic, comfortable with dim lighting, quiet clippers and video games for kids who are waiting. We applaud their sensitivity and wish them the best of luck.
QC05152014
To see the actual publication please follow the link above