28 The QUEE NS Courier • MAY 30, 2013 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com editorial letters 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, 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 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. 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IDENTIFY THIS PLACE To find out the answer to last week’s “Identify this place” please visit www.QueensCourier.com THE QUEENS Danger on our roads As summer approaches, millions of Americans will be hitting the road. As we hop in our cars to celebrate with friends and family, we hope all travelers will arrive and return safely. Yet, even as we buckle up and follow the rules of the interstate, one threat that cannot be prevented with the click of a safety belt is a staged accident. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, questionable claims from staged accidents have more than doubled since 2008. Worse still, high density areas such as New York City continue to be hot spots for these irresponsible scams. Always dedicated to making our streets safer for locals and travelers alike, Assemblymember David Weprin has recently introduced “Alice’s Bill,” a bill that would make the practice of staging auto accidents to defraud insurance companies a felony. Although insurance fraud is a felony, the staging of accidents is not. By fixing this oversight, Weprin is protecting future individuals like Alice Ross, the bill’s namesake, who lost her life in a staged accident gone tragically wrong. Weprin is continuing his fight to make us safe. Patrick Morrison Friends of David Weprin Not ready for emergencies Our planet’s climate is changing. The impact on our daily weather has been extreme. Look at the Sandy disaster, the number and severity of recent tornados in Oklahoma and other parts of our country, serious drought in some areas like Mississippi, huge snowfalls in other states and gale force winds causing spreading fires. One of my concerns with this problem is how to communicate with people when disaster is about to hit. Where do you go? What precautions should be taken? How do you protect yourself and your family? Does everyone know what to do in an impending weather danger? When I asked where to go in an emergency, I was told Bayside High School or York College. But what if everyone showed up at these locations? What would senior citizens and those with limited mobility and other handicapping conditions do? There would never be enough room to shelter and protect thousands of people at these sites. It would be chaos. This is a citywide problem and probably a state-wide and nation-wide one as well. It seems to me that we need to think NOW about future emergency situations. People must be prepared. It does not appear that we are adequately ready. And remember, we live on an island with only a limited number of bridges and tunnels to use. Most of us would be unable to leave. Perhaps we should consider using a siren system to alert people of a weather danger. Upon hearing the siren, people would then be able to take appropriate action to protect themselves and their loved ones. We are living in scary times. It brings to mind these words from a spiritual, “I ran to the rock to hide my face, And the rock cried out, There ain’t no hiding place down here.” Mandingo Osceola Tshaka Bayside Debt of gratitude As our nation celebrates Memorial Day, it is very important that we remember all of our brave men and women who fought to keep our nation free. From the Revolutionary War to the Civil War, from World War 1 and 2, the Korean War and Vietnam War, as well as the Afghan and Iraqi Wars, our nation owes a very deep debt of gratitude to all of these brave people for sacrificing their lives in defending us so that we may continue to enjoy the freedoms that we have in our great nation. God Bless all of these true heroes and heroines our military personnel. All of America is forever indebted to you for your bravery. John Amato Fresh Meadows VISIT QueensCourier.com TELL US WHAT YOU THINK... Come on, ROLL THE DICE Imagine being able to play blackjack, roulette, poker and more – “minutes, not hours away.” That’s exactly what the Queens Chamber of Commerce and local leaders are making a push for. At a press conference on Tuesday, May 28, the Chamber and elected officials called for a better plan to give Queens a casino if voters approve table gaming this November. They said Resorts World Casino New York City could become a full casino just months after the referendum is passed. It makes perfect sense. Assemblymember Phillip Goldfeder noted that the tools were already at Resorts World to set up expanded gaming at the facility. “Infrastructure is already in place,” he said. “Anybody who’s been there knows there’s a third floor ready to expand, to house the table games. You have a trusted partner that is willing. You have a location that is perfect and now is the time.” Aside from establishing itself as a destination location in Queens, the Racino has boasted more than a billion dollars in total revenue – a large amount of which goes back to the state for education. And Resorts World gives back in other ways, too. Of 1,750 jobs, leaders say 1,200 of them have gone to locals – meaning, in an area hard hit by Sandy, there is economic activity. Full casino gaming, if and when it comes to Queens, will mean an additional 1,000 jobs, not to mention the trickle down economic effect. Patrons will spend money not only inside the casino, but in the surrounding communities as well – local stores, hotels, even the airport potentially as more and more people flood the area, ready to ante up. Look, we’re all for a casino upstate, where Governor Andrew Cuomo has said if complete gaming is approved, will be the first to reap the benefits to drive tourism north. As Jack Friedman, executive director of the Queens Chamber of Commerce, pointed out, both upstate and downstate New York will have an opportunity for full casinos if voters approve them. We think waiting five years for Queens to get a casino is a long time, especially since we are on the mend after Sandy. So we’re urging the governor: roll the dice on a Queens casino!
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