FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JUNE 22, 2017 • THE QUEENS COURIER 37
oped
This 1940 photo from the Ridgewood Times archives shows the streetscape of Myrtle Avenue, looking west, near Seneca Avenue in
Ridgewood. In the foreground at left is what was then the Manufacturers Hanover Bank; the bank closed many years ago, and today,
the building is now a pharmacy. Send us your historic photos of Queens by email to editorial@qns.com or mail printed pictures to A Look
Back, The Queens Courier, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361. All mailed pictures will be carefully returned to you.
letters & comments
Making the case
for ‘Connector’
BY ANSUOM GERALDINO
As a longtime Coney Island resident, I’m no
stranger to long commutes. But now that I’m
balancing a full-time student schedule with parttime
work, I’m tired of spending so much of my
life underground.
Th at’s why I’m excited about the mayor’s support
of the Brooklyn Queens Connector, or BQX,
a streetcar that would run along the waterfront
from Sunset Park to Astoria.
As a double major in economics and marketing
at LIU, I don’t have a second to waste. But
right now, because there’s no direct connection
between Brooklyn and Queens, commuting from
home to my part-time job at Costco takes two
and a half hours each way — and that’s assuming
there are no delays.
By allowing me to get from Brooklyn to
Queens without connecting in Manhattan, the
BQX would drastically cut down on my commute
time. I could use those extra hours to study
at home, where I also help my mom around the
house, or grab breakfast so I don’t have to work
on an empty stomach.
I know the waterfront community very well.
I use to work at the Brooklyn Navy Yard as a
mechanic. I worked on merchant marine ships
and installed pipes. While I was working in the
Navy Yard, more and more companies started
to pop up every few months. Th e BQX would
be amazing for businesses because the streetcar
would allow workers to access them more easily.
Critics have suggested that the BQX will speed
up gentrifi cation along the waterfront, or that
other forms of transit would better serve the area.
But I know there are a lot of people out there with
gruelling commutes that have the same issues I
have with the subway and the buses. Th e BQX
will off er people in my community shorter commute
times and more options for getting to work.
Th e only way to ensure the waterfront reaches
its full potential is by investing in infrastructure
that makes it easier for people like me to get
to work and more attractive for companies to put
down roots.
Many of the new jobs in areas like the Navy
Yard are only accessible to those who can aff ord
a car or daily cab rides. While some companies
have started using private shuttles to get their
employees to and from work, such options don’t
allow people like me who don’t work for those
employers to share in the growing waterfront
economy.
And unlike buses, the BQX would be able to
keep up with the corridor’s increasing population,
transporting tens of thousands of people
per day — more than any bus route in the city.
As a born-and-raised Brooklyn resident, I love
that New York is a place you can live, work and
study. But we need more public transit options to
ensure that everyone can continue to share in the
city’s many opportunities.
Investment in more more transit options is
crucial for the city’s growth. Having the BQX
streetcar would open up more options for job
opportunities when my classmates and I graduate
college.
Ansuom Geraldino is a junior at Long Island
University majoring in economics and marketing.
He will graduate in 2018.
A LOOK BACK
STATE ISN’T DOING
ENOUGH TO
FIGHT CANCER
I keep reading about all the supposedly
wonderful things elected offi -
cials are taking credit for in the fi nal
state budget. But are any of them
talking about how they slashed funding
for Breast, Cervical and Colorectal
Cancer Screening for the Poor? Or
about how they caved to e-cigarette
companies?
Turns out the budget isn’t so wonderful.
Public health took a backseat
to special interests. Just one year
ago, all eyes were on New York when
it came to breast cancer screening.
Flash forward to today and lawmakers
and the governor cut $5.4 million for
the program that provides thousands
of uninsured women with a breast
cancer screening.
What will happen to the women
that need a screening? Will some
women simply be turned away?
As if the last minute behind the
scenes move to slash funding for
breast cancer screenings wasn’t
enough, a previously agreed to measure
to include e-cigarettes in the
Clean Indoor Air Act has mysteriously
vanished. Th is is appalling as
our kids are targeted to use e-cigarettes.
Over 20% of New York high
school students are now using e-cigarettes.
I ask the Honorable Vivian Cook
and State Senator James Sanders to get
back to work and support Lifesaving
Cancer Screenings and close the e-cigarette
loophole.
Rosetta Garrett, volunteer,
American Cancer Society
Cancer Action Network
QUESTIONS ABOUND
OVER RAILYARD
REPAIR SITE
Regarding the relocation of a train
repair facility from the Glendale Fresh
Pond Railyard: Th e question has to be
asked, “What’s NYAR getting out of
it, and at whose cost?” Is the community
going to pay in some way we can’t
yet foresee? How will NYAR’s track
use and operations at Fresh Pond
Yard change once this repair facility
moves? Is this change really going
to yield net community benefi ts —
less noise?
Remember when NYAR announced
a public benefi t — less noise and
emissions for Middle Village residents?
NYAR said they were moving
brake testing and pickup out of
Middle Village. However, within two
weeks, the pickup operation was right
back in Middle Village because NYAR
took the opportunity to increase the
length of the trains. In 2016 CUNY
scientists measured 100+ decibel levels
from NYAR’s night time classifi
cation operations inside homes.
Vibrations from these operations
cause cracks in residents’ properties.
Moving repair operations won’t fi x
poor training, supervision, car handling
and employees rushing through
tasks without employing best practices
that cause such excessive noise and
vibration.
QNS user Mary Parisen
Editor’s note: Th e author is co-chair
of Civics United for Railroad and
Environmental Solutions (CURES).
SALUTING SEVEN
SAILORS LOST AT SEA
Seven sailors died aboard the
destroyer, the USS Fitzgerald aft er
being hit by the Philippine-Flagged
ACX Crystal at about 2:20 a.m. on
June 17. As reported, the 300 sailors
went into action, containing the
fl ooding and saving the ship from
sinking.
I applaud these brave sailors who
did what had done. I myself served
during the Vietnam era aboard the
USS Leahy 16, a destroyer as a boiler
technician. I can tell you fi rst hand
that the Navy is not just a job, but
those aboard Navy ships are hard
working, dedicated and take pride in
the ships upon which they serve.
My heartfelt prayers go out to the
family friends, families and shipmates
who mourn at this time. To the memory
of sailors Rigsby, Martin, Huynh,
Hernandez, Douglass, Rehm, Sibayan,
may you all rest in peace for serving
our country.
Frederick R. Bedell Jr.,
Glen Oaks Village
