FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JULY 13, 2017 • THE QUEENS COURIER 27
oped
A LOOK BACK
This 1927 photo shows Old Newtown Town Hall, which was located at the corner of Broadway and Justice Avenue in Elmhurst. It was
constructed in 1892 and served as the town court; it would later become the headquarters of the 110th Precinct before it relocated to
its present home on 43rd Avenue. The old Victorian structure was torn down in 1966. 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
PROUD OF PATRIOTS
I would like to thank everyone
involved with the American Flag
Project in Broad Channel. A group
of patriotic men, women and children
who took on the job of collecting
donations and raised enough
money to fl y the American fl ag on
Cross Bay Boulevard and every block
in Broad Channel. It is so nice to see
that we still have people who respect
our fl ag, and our proud to honor it
and all its glory.
I love living in a community with
such patriotism. Th ank you for taking
the time to make this project possible.
Happy 4th of July & God bless
America!
Margaret A. Wagner,
Broad Channel
TIME TO ACT ON
CLIMATE CHANGE
I strongly urge the governor to
invest in renewable energy and wean
the state off our fossil fuel addiction.
New York must step up as the federal
government turns a blind eye to climate
change.
Constant warnings from experts
and calls from New Yorkers who
experienced Superstorm Sandy to act
are apparently not waking up our
policy makers suffi ciently. Melting
glaciers, rising sea levels, arid land
and crop reduction should be enough
to sound the alarm.
But if the fossil fuel industry cannot
think into the future, and about the
realities of climate change, then we
must cut ties, and cut ties now.
Grace Magee, NYPIRG Project
Coordinator, Queens
MASS TRANSIT
TRICKERY?
Governor Andrew Cuomo recently
announced the MTA’s salvation
by naming Joe Lhota as chairman
and designated savior. Lhota got the
MTA back on track aft er Hurricane
Sandy in 2012 when running our
mass transit system was his full-time
job. But that’s not true today. His
full-time job is executive director
of NYU/Langone Medical Center.
Maybe that explains why he’s only
taking one dollar a year for his MTA
post.
Th e MTA needs an executive director
to run daily operations, a post
it’s been trying to fi ll since Tom
Pendergast resigned fi ve months ago.
Cuomo also misled us about available
funds to overhaul the MTA.
Th e Empire Center, a public interest
group, says N.Y. State has $5 billion
in cash from legal settlements paid
by big banks for fraud and money
laundering. But rather than allocate
that money to the MTA, our governor
is spending it for upstate projects
like a new bridge named aft er his
late father.
Our Assembly & state Senate members
must demand that he redirect
those funds to the MTA. If not, his
2018 re-election hopes are zero.
Richard Reif, Kew Gardens Hills
WHAT IS A COCKLOFT &
WHY YOU SHOULD CARE
BY STATE SENATOR
JOSEPH ADDABBO
It may not be a popular
issue on the minds of my
constituents, like health care
or transportation, but I am
hoping that aft er reading
this article more people will at least think briefly
about this safety issue. Cockloft s have become
an increasingly dangerous hazard for homeowners
within my Senate district. More commonly
found in older connected row houses or mixed
use buildings, cockloft s consist of a concealed air
space, which puts residents, neighbors, fi refi ghters
and the entire community at risk.
Last month, a four-alarm fi re on Myrtle Avenue
in Glendale engulfed the building of a mixed
occupancy dwelling and because of the cockloft ,
the fi re quickly spread throughout the premises
and into the attached property. Th e severity
and expansion of the fl ames made it increasingly
diffi cult for fi refi ghters to put out the raging
fi re. Eleven fi refi ghters were injured at the scene.
Th at fi re was the sixth cockloft -related fi re in my
district in the last 18 months. Extensive fi res in
Elmhurst, Woodhaven, Ozone Park, Kew Garden
Hills, Middle Village and now Glendale have all
witnessed widespread fi re damage and injuries
due to the cockloft air spaces.
While for decades connected row houses have
not been designed or built with cockloft s, many
older residences in my district still have them.
Th at is why I have been fi ghting for legislation up
in Albany, which would provide residents with a
30 percent tax credit to eliminate these potential
hazards. Under my proposal, Senate bill (S.3065),
refundable credits of up to $500 would go to
assist eligible homeowners in aff ording the cost
to remove these structures from their homes. Th is
bill has passed the Senate a number of times, but
the same bill in the Assembly (A1878) has not
been approved there.
I fi rst introduced the bill in 2013, aft er a fi vealarm
fi re damaged seven homes in Middle
Village. Th e blaze, which also injured 11 New
York City fi refi ghters, was found to be exacerbated
by the existence of cockloft s in the structures.
In that blaze, the Red Cross had to be called in to
provide assistance for 144 adults and 31 children
aff ected by the fi re.
Although some have suggested alternatives to
eliminating cockloft s entirely, by having it retrofi
tted with fi reproof ventilation and a sprinkler
system, that could wind up costing the homeowner
a lot of money.
Tax credits would help incentivize homeowners
to take steps to totally remove these safety hazards
from their home, which could potentially save
lives and property, while preventing a tragedy.
Th at is why I feel that providing a suffi cient
tax credit to help residents remove these hazards
from their homes is the most sensible solution.
Th e bill recently passed the state Senate and
is currently under review by the New York State
Assembly Ways and Means Committee, which
does not reconvene until January of 2018. I intend
on continuing my eff orts to pass this state legislation
and inform people of this dangerous situation.
State Senator Joseph Addabbo represents the
15th Senate District, which covers much of southwestern
Queens.