for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com JUNE 4, 2015 • The queens CourieR 39 oped Save our schools: A Look Back Pass the education tax credit now BY BISHO P NI CHO LAS DIMARZIO The Education Tax Credit bill is an idea whose time has come. For years, I have been a supporter along with Timothy Cardinal Dolan and the rest of the diocesan bishops letters Flushing Creek requires a real cleanup plan Most of us don’t think about what happens when we flush the toilet. But if you live in Flushing and it’s raining heavily, what you flush can wind up in Flushing Creek. Ever wonder why the creek smells at low tide? Decaying organic matter stinks. There’s no pretty way to describe Flushing Creek. It is an open sewer. Every year, more than one billion (yes billion) gallons of raw sewage and stormwater runoff are dumped into the creek during heavy rains when the water pollution control plant at Tallman Island in College Point is unable to handle the demand. Did you know that Flushing Creek along with Flushing Bay is ground zero for sewage overflows in NYC? Indeed, just one of the outfalls that dumps into the creek releases more raw sewage and storm water runoff than will be released into the entire Bronx River, or in Alley Creek, Bergen & Thurston Basin, Coney Island Creek, Gowanus Canal, Hutchinson Creek, Jamaica Bay and CSO Tributaries, Paedegat Basin or Westchester Creek. Ignoring these staggering facts, the city Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is seeking state approval for a plan that would continue the practice of releasing sewer overflow into the creek. Citing previous, yet inadequate investments, DEP offers no commitment to build additional holding tanks or additional capacity at the Tallman Island water pollution control plant for the outlets dumping into the creek. Instead, there’s a request to chlorinate sewage overflows during recreational seasons. That’s both shortsighted and dangerous. Environmental experts warn that chlorine is tied to breast and bladder cancer and starves the nutrients needed for healthy waterbodies. Chlorine is also toxic to shellfish and other beneficial organisms that are needed to help restore oxygen levels needed to meet water quality standards. Rising sea levels, increasing storm intensity, population growth and plans for future development along Flushing Creek require a better plan. A LOOK BACK A comprehensive plan would include building storage tanks, increasing the capacity of the water pollution control plant to handle the peak flows that our new climate requires, building green infrastructure projects to steer stormwater away from the sewer systems during heavy rains or during snow melts, and removing existing sediments that contain bacteria and toxic materials that brings the too familiar foul odors of low tides. The success of Flushing West’s open space goals requires the cleanup of Flushing Creek. Let’s make the new Flushing West a successful community with a waterfront that we can enjoy and maybe even ride a kayak ride in a thriving creek. Alexandra Rosa Friends of Flushing Creek Project Consultant Your votes do count, so don’t forget to vote Mark Weprin who is City Council member in the 23rd district for the city of New York is resigning his position to work for Governor Cuomo. There will be a special election called for by Mayor de Blasio in a few weeks. This will also lead to a primary, and a general election in November. I therefore call for all registered voters to come out and step up to the plate and vote, and to vote for the man or woman who can best serve the city and local communities. There are those who might say, “My vote doesn’t count,” or “The candidates will maintain the status quo of the rich and powerful who only want to line their own pockets.” Well, I believe there are those who are running for public office who truly want to make a difference and honestly want to help those who are hurting. All you have to do is to study the candidates and see who is truly right for that position. That’s not going to happen if we don’t vote in this special election coming soon. Remember this: Whoever gets elected will affect all of us. If the wrong person gets elected, it could mean an increase in taxes and cutting of services. Again, please vote, for every vote does count. Frederick R. Bedell Jr., Glen Oaks Village across New York. The bill also counts as supporters Governor Andrew Cuomo and a majority of legislators in the state Senate and state Assembly. So why isn’t it yet the law? Our dysfunctional state Assembly is set up in such a way that throttles democracy. The simple fact is that the Education Tax Credit has overwhelming bipartisan support. Time is running out. We have to act now to convince the state Assembly to pass this bill, which will substantially increase the funds that will be raised for scholarships in the Diocese of Brooklyn and every other diocese across the state. Introduced by Senator Marty Golden, the bill has passed the state Senate in each of the past three years. Governor Cuomo, who was also a supporter in previous years, is now a vocal advocate for the bill’s passage. He has appeared in commercial advertisements, attended rallies all over New York and even spoken from the pulpit alongside Monsignor John Delendick and Monsignor Kieran Harrington at the Shrine Church of St. Jude in Brooklyn on Sunday Mass on May 17. Recently, the governor renamed the bill to the Parental Choice in Education Act. By any name, it’s critically important that it become law this year. Let there be no doubt: the state Assembly simply must pass the tax credit now, so hardworking families in Brooklyn and Queens and across our state can have real educational choices. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Assembly Democrats — including Catherine Nolan of Queens, herself a graduate of Catholic schools, and Peter Abbate of Brooklyn — are keeping parents from having real school choices. Why? Because of special interest teachers’ union leaders who don’t want parents to have a choice of which school their child attends. Contrary to what the teachers unions and some news outlets are reporting, the Education Tax Credit benefits families making up to $60,000 a year. The average recipient of the Futures in Education Scholarship comes from families with median income of $28,000 a year. Some lawmakers are trying to have it both ways — they say they are with us but refuse to lift a finger. The time for action is now. And we need your help. Please take a few minutes to demand that your legislators enact the Education Tax Credit before they conclude their work in mid-June. Please click Education Tax Credit Now or go to www.nyscatholic.org to send an email to your lawmakers. You will also be prompted to call their office, which we urge you to do. Tell them to stand up for all children and make the Education Tax Credit the law. Thank you. Bishop DiMarzio leads the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens. It’s graduation season, and it’s the perfect time to look back through the archives at some class photos of the past. Above is a picture of St. Matthias School of Ridgewood graduates of the class of 1941. If you have a graduation photo you’d like to share with us, send an email to editorial@queenscourier.com.
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