FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JUNE 29, 2017 • THE QUEENS COURIER 33
oped
Five years ago, a group of Queens veterans brought the “Moving Wall” to Middle Village’s Juniper Valley Park just before the
Independence Day weekend. The wall, a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., has the names of the more than
50,000 American soldiers who died in the decade-long confl ict. This picture from the Ridgewood Times archives shows a bugler playing
“Taps” at the closing ceremony after the wall’s four-day stay in Juniper Valley Park. 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
THE GOOD & BAD
ABOUT LHOTA’S
MTA RETURN
Th e appointment of past Metropolitan
Transportation Authority Chairman
Joe Lhota to assume his old position is
a mixed blessing.
Th e good news is no doubt that as
MTA chairman and CEO between
November 2011 to December 2012,
he did a great job bringing MTA
transportation back from the damages
brought by Superstorm Sandy.
Th e bad news is that it is disappointing
to learn that he will retain his position
as a senior vice president of NYU
Langone Medical Center. Now more
than ever, his MTA assignment is a
full-time job well beyond the standard
9 to 5 hours most New Yorkers work.
Lhota can’t serve two employers at
the same time. Transit riders, taxpayers,
transit advocates and elected offi -
cials can accept no less.
Larry Penner, Great Neck
MTA RESCUE TAX WILL
BE AROUND FOREVER
Regarding the proposed MTA rescue
tax: While it might be a nice idea,
I would not be in favor, for the following
reason.
In the mid 1970s, with the city
in a fi nancial crisis, the state created
the NY City auto use tax. It was
supposed to be temporary, to help
the city out of the crisis. I found
out, with the investigative help of
a local elected offi cial, that the law
was created without a sunset clause.
Th erefore, some 40+ years later,
this temporary tax is still penalizing
owners of NY City registered vehicles,
including commercial vehicles
which pay many hundreds of dollars
per vehicle.
It’s time to rescind it, and to stop
taxing residents more. It’s time to
make the government less expensive
to operate and to fund things with
the existing revenues.
QNS member Steven Katz
THANKS FOR THE BIG
‘WIN’ FOR CHARITY
Editor’s note: Th e following letter
was addressed to Victoria Schneps,
publisher of Th e Queens Courier and
Ridgewood Times.
The When In Need (WIN)
Foundation wishes to extend our
profound gratitude for the donation
of $1,300 from the Queens Power
Women Event.
Th is donation will go a long way to
support the foundation in improving
the lives of individuals in need.
Th e When In Need Foundation is
based on kindness and humanity, and
includes the vision of touching lives
and creating impact even if it’s one
person at a time. Please feel free to follow
us on all social media platforms
(Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram,
Twitter) and most importantly our
When In Need Foundation website at
www.winfound.org.
Dr. Chetachi Ecton, CEO/Founder,
When in Need Foundation
Cable company must
make deal with labor
BY CITY
COUNCILMAN
RORY LANCMAN
Back in March,
1,800 members of
IBEW Local 3, who are
employed by Charter
Communications
(formerly known as
TimeWarner cable),
decided to go on strike. Th e workers did not
make this decision lightly, but felt it necessary
aft er Charter proposed cutting their health care
and benefi ts and refused to compromise. Th e
strike has now gone on for more than 90 days, as
Charter refuses to negotiate in good faith.
IBEW Local 3 is headquartered in my Council
District, in a neighborhood literally founded and
built by the electrical workers union, Electchester.
I know many of the workers impacted by the
strike personally and I see its devastating impact
as families struggle to pay the bills and put food
on the table. Th ey are our friends and neighbors,
who want nothing more than to make a good living
with dignity and security.
It is sadly far too common in America today
for a major corporation to try to undercut the
pensions and health benefi ts its workers rely on,
all in the interest of its own bottom line. Local 3
workers are not just fi ghting for their own livelihoods,
they are standing for every working person
in this city.
As IBEW Local 3 workers push for a fair deal,
Charter has turned around and given away their
jobs to out-of-state contractors. We have the evidence:
Charter contractors have been spotted
in my district and all over the city with license
plates from California, Georgia, Illinois, New
Hampshire, Texas and beyond.
I stood with more than 150 striking Charter
workers last week to denounce this latest example
of corporate greed. We made clear that
Charter’s decision to outsource these jobs is a
violation of its Franchise Agreement with New
York City, which requires that city vendors must
be used to the extent feasible. Charter is clearly
not following through on its responsibility to
hire New York City workers, and that is completely
unacceptable.
Not only does Charter’s use of out-of-state
workers violate the Franchise Agreement, but
it goes against the values that we hold as New
Yorkers. We want New York City work to be
completed by New York City workers, like Local
3’s members, who have the skills and expertise
to get the job done right. We want our money to
be spent here in New York City, instead of being
handed off to workers from elsewhere.
It is time for New York City to do its job and
hold Charter accountable for its disregard for
both the Franchise Agreement and New York
City workers. Th ere must be no ambiguity: if
Charter wants to do business here, it must live
up the terms of the agreement it signed with New
York City.
I will continue to proudly stand with Local 3
members. Instead of using out-of-state workers,
Charter should return to the negotiating table
and hammer out a contract with Local 3 that is
fair and reasonable for all.
City Councilman Rory Lancman represents
the 24th Council District based in Hillcrest.
A LOOK BACK