for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com AUGUST 13, 2015 • The queens CourieR 37 oped A LOO K BACK letters A call to boost resources in Kew Gardens Hills Regarding your recent coverage of funding for Queens libraries: While the Queens Public Library system has improved since the firing of Tom Galante, much more needs to be done. One branch Borough President Melinda Katz failed to mention in her allocations list was the Kew Gardens Hills Library at 72nd Avenue and Vleigh Place. It was closed nearly two years ago for expansion, but reconstruction efforts are way behind schedule. All I see are plastic sheets covering scaffolding. We need that library not only for education and computer access, but also as a polling place to replace P.S. 164, which the Board of Elections denied us nearly three years ago. Unless the library reopens soon, Kew Gardens Hills voters will be disenfranchised in the fall election. Our representatives including Assemblyman Michael Simanowitz and City Councilman Rory Lancman apparently haven’t done much about this delay. They’re also missing in action on something else that used to be on Vleigh Place — the Q74 bus line — also called the Vleigh Place Shuttle. The MTA ended it three years ago due to financial cuts, but has since restored other bus lines. Why not the Q74? The Move New York traffic decongestion plan would fund this and other transit upgrades, but both representatives oppose it. What’s their alternative? A huge tax break for yacht and private plane owners, which the Democrat-led state Assembly and GOP-led Senate voted for? Speak up. Richard Reif, Kew Gardens Hills Reader doesn’t love Lucy tribute at taxpayer expense Your tax dollars at work? Governor Andrew Cuomo was proud to announce a $1.5 million dollar grant courtesy of the Empire State Development Corporation to help construct the new $45 million National Comedy Center in Jamestown, New York — birthplace of comedienne Lucille Ball. This will be supplemented by a multimilliondollar “I Love New York” campaign also sponsored by the ESDC to promote the facility. While Melissa Rivers, Lucie Arnaz, Kelly Carlin and the family of Harold Ramis were laughing at the groundbreaking ceremony, taxpayers footing the bill were left crying. This is just one of over $1 billion in 13 Regional Enterprise Zone projects funded by the ESDC around the state at your expense. There is little input on selection and oversight by either the state Legislature or state comptroller. It is Cuomo’s private member item pork barrel program for his friends and contributors. The joke’s on us! Larry Penner, Great Neck Why are failing students still getting promoted? The recent story regarding how students are being granted a diploma despite receiving non-passing grades is absolutely outrageous! Why are teachers pressured to pass students who are consistently failing? What is the UFT’s input in this very serious matter? There is no logical reason for this to be occurring in our public school system. Chancellor Carmen Farina needs to get on the ball and have this practice of social promotion and graduation of non-passing students halted immediately. There is some type of miscommunication within the Department of Education, and that needs to be corrected post haste, without delay. The last thing that the public school system needs is to have any more unnecessary problems. The new school year will begin in about one month, and there needs to be a peaceful, smooth and uneventful beginning to the new school year. John Amato, Fresh Meadows A Look Back This 1932 picture shows the construction of the Myrtle Avenue overpass above the then-under construction Interboro Parkway in eastern Glendale. Plans for the Interboro Parkway were in the works as early as 1897, but construction began in earnest during the early 1930s under the auspices of master builder Robert Moses. The five-mile parkway winds its way from the Grand Central Parkway in Kew Gardens and through Forest Hills, Glendale and Ridgewood before ending in Brooklyn at the corner of Jamaica and Pennsylvania avenues. Have a historic picture of Queens? Share it with us by emailing [email protected]. Planned Parenthood continues its care BY JOAN MALIN Once again, a group of anti-abortion activists has attacked Planned Parenthood doctors, nurses and patients with false accusations. And once again, its political allies are seizing on these accusations as an excuse to push the same dangerous agenda — ban abortion, shut down health centers and cut women off from care. But we will never let that happen. Planned Parenthood is the most trusted reproductive health care provider in this country, and nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of our patients. Planned Parenthood of New York City has provided high-quality sexual and reproductive health services to New Yorkers for nearly 100 years, and that’s not going to change. While anti-abortion extremists spend years attempting to make it harder for women to access the health care they need, Planned Parenthood’s caring, compassionate physicians, nurses, counselors and other providers continue to provide trusted, confidential care to everyone who walks through our doors. Patients come to Planned Parenthood of New York City (PPNYC) from all walks of life. And we provide them with high-quality, affordable care regardless of their age, gender identity, immigration status or ability to pay. PPNYC provides the full range of sexual and reproductive health services, including birth control, cancer screening, STD testing and treatment, HIV testing and counseling, and abortion. We also provide sex education to young people, parents and professionals. And as the evidence has shown, making birth control more accessible and teaching comprehensive sex education are the most important factors in reducing unintended pregnancy and the need for abortion. Every day, PPNYC works to expand access to preventive care and birth control for New Yorkers by providing high-quality care to 50,000 patients every year at our four centers, no matter what. We’re thrilled to soon reach new communities in Queens with the opening of our health center in Long Island City, which will bring us to five centers — one in each borough. To our patients, coming to Planned Parenthood of New York City and having providers who they can trust and who put them at ease means everything. In our patients’ own words: “I came PP to get an IUD to prevent pregnancy until I am ready to intentionally start a family. I choose Planned Parenthood because I feel secure and respected by the staff for my family planning choices. Planned Parenthood is able to assist me financially — I would not be able to afford this birth control if not for assistance. I am deeply grateful that I can receive the support that I need to be in charge of my body while being responsible in effectively planning for my future.” “Every time I come here I leave feeling safer and taken care of. My family lives on the other side of the country but with the staff here I did not feel alone. They care like family would. I am so thankful for Planned Parenthood and the positive impact they make in real people’s lives.” We truly provide care, no matter what. The care that people receive at Planned Parenthood health centers helps millions of people plan their families and shape their futures. This is not going to change just because a group of extremists use fraud and harassment to try to cut women off from the care they need. Joan Malin is president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of New York City.
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