editorial 28 THE QUEENS COURIER • JULY 28, 2016 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com SNAPS QUEENS NIGHT SCENE ASTORIA // PHOTO BY ORESTES GONZALEZ Send us your photos of Queens and you could see them online or in our paper! Submit them to us tag @queenscourier on Instagram, Facebook page, tweeting @queenscourier or by emailing editorial@qns.com (subject: Queens Snaps). THE QUEENS PUBLISHER & EDITOR CO-PUBLISHER ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF VP, EVENTS, WEB & SOCIAL MEDIA ART DIRECTOR ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR ARTISTS STAFF REPORTERS DIGITAL EDITOR CONTRIBUTING REPORTERS EVENTS COORDINATOR ASSISTANT TO PUBLISHER CLASSIFIED MANAGER CONTROLLER PRESIDENT & CEO VICE PRESIDENT VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS BOB BRENNAN ROBERT POZARYCKI AMY AMATO-SANCHEZ NIRMAL SINGH STEPHEN REINA RON TORINA, JONATHAN RODRIGUEZ, CHERYL GALLAGHER KATRINA MEDOFF, ANTHONY GIUDICE, ANGELA MATUA BRIANNA ELLIS KATARINA HYBENOVA CLIFF KASDEN, SAMANTHA SOHMER, ELIZABETH ALONI JACLYN HERTLING DEBORAH CUSICK CELESTE ALAMIN MARIA VALENCIA VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS Schneps Communications, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361 718-224-5863 • Fax 718-224-5441 www.qns.com editorial e-mail: editorial@qns.com for advertising e-mail: ads@qns.com Entire Contents Copyright 2016 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 offi ce telephone numbers, where available, as well as affi liation, indicating special interest. Anonymous letters are not printed. Name withheld on request. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, AS WELL AS OP-ED PIECES IN NO WAY REFLECT THE PAPER’S POSITION. No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without prior permission of THE QUEENS COURIER. The publishers will not be responsible for any error in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. Errors must be reported to THE QUEENS COURIER within fi ve days of publication. Ad position cannot be guaranteed unless paid prior to publication. Schneps Communications assumes no liability for the content or reply to any ads. The advertiser assumes all liability for the content of and all replies. The advertiser agrees to hold THE QUEENS COURIER and its employees harmless from all cost, expenses, liabilities, and damages resulting from or caused by the publication or recording placed by the advertiser or any reply to any such advertisement. identify Bring the Islanders to Queens They’ve been in Brooklyn’s Barclays Center for just one season, but it seems the New York Islanders are pondering a move to Queens. Reports surfaced that the Islanders’ new owners were trying to work out a deal with Sterling Equities, owners of the New York Mets and partners in a long-running effort to redevelop the industrial wasteland of Willets Point, adjacent to Citi Field. The Islanders, spurned by Nassau County voters and offi cials in previous efforts to build a new hockey arena there, relocated to Brooklyn just last year. Almost from the outset, it looked like a bad fi t. Built primarily for the NBA’s Nets, the Barclays Center has one of the lowest seating capacities in the NHL (just under 16,000 seats). Its confi guration also leads to obstructed views from many vantage points. One end of the hockey rink has few seats at all. Transportation is another problem, as the Barclays Center is only accessible by subway or the Long Island Rail Road’s Atlantic Terminal branch. For many fans across Queens and Long Island, that means transferring at Jamaica to get a LIRR train heading toward downtown Brooklyn. Add it all up and it’s easy to see why the Islanders’ attendance last year was 28th out of 30 NHL teams, drawing in an average of 13,626 fans to their home games, according to ESPN.com. Building an arena for the Islanders in Queens would be benefi cial not only to the team but to the area’s economy. For years, city planners long desired a convention center at the heart of a reimagined Willets Point complete with affordable housing units and retail outlets. An Islanders arena could replace the convention center as the centerpiece of a new neighborhood while drawing in new attractions to Queens beyond hockey. A new Queens arena could potentially give St. John’s University in Jamaica a home for its basketball teams without having to cross the East River to Madison Square Garden. It could also host boxing and professional wrestling events, concerts featuring world-renowned performers, trade shows and even political conventions. A new arena would also bring thousands of new construction jobs and thousands more new permanent jobs to the area. This would pump millions of dollars every year back into the Queens economy. Situated near the 7 train, the LIRR, three major highways and parking lots at Citi Field and near the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, a Willets Point arena would be far more accessible than the Barclays Center for Islanders fans across Queens and Long Island. The Islanders seem willing to give Queens a one-time shot at adding another pro sports team and building another major sports venue. The city and borough should jump at the chance. THE COURIER/Photo by Katrina Medoff this PLACE
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