36 THE QUEENS COURIER • AUGUST 20, 2015 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com editorial THE QUEENS VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS BOB BRENNAN ROBERT POZARYCKI AMY AMATO-SANCHEZ NIRMAL SINGH GRAZIELLA ZERILLI STEPHEN REINA RON TORINA, JENNIFER DECIO, CHERYL GALLAGHER CRISTABELLE TUMOLA, ANGY ALTAMIRANO, KATRINA MEDOFF ANTHONY GIUDICE, ANGELA MATUA, ALINA SURIEL CLIFF KASDEN, SAMANTHA SOHMER, ELIZABETH ALONI CRISTABELLE TUMOLA DEMETRA PLAGAKIS LOUISE CAVALIERE CELESTE ALAMIN MARIA VALENCIA VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS PUBLISHER & EDITOR CO-PUBLISHER ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF VP, EVENTS, WEB & SOCIAL MEDIA ART DIRECTOR ASSISTANT TO PUBLISHER ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR ARTISTS STAFF REPORTERS CONTRIBUTING REPORTERS WEB EDITOR EVENTS MANAGER SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE CLASSIFIED MANAGER CONTROLLER PRESIDENT & CEO VICE PRESIDENT Schneps Communications, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361 718-224-5863 • Fax 718-224-5441 www.queenscourier.com editorial e-mail: [email protected] for advertising e-mail: [email protected] Entire Contents Copyright 2015 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. 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Submit them to us via our Instagram @queenscourier, Facebook page, tweeting @ queenscourier or by emailing editorial@ queenscourier. com (subject: Queens Snaps). “I’m not excited for any new TV shows. I don’t have time to watch that much TV.” Miriam Pico “I’m most excited for ‘Suits.’ It is such a great show.” Romalsa K. “I can’t wait for ‘Game of Thrones.’ It’s such a classic.” Linda C. “‘Lucifer.’ It is my favorite.” Michael Constantino “‘Big Bang Theory’ is coming back soon. It is such a funny show. It always makes me happy.” Aliovei Ssi “I’m most excited for ‘Supernatural.’ I love that show.” Lucy Dean “I don’t really get time to watch that much TV with work.” Mark Haiman I can’t wait for Vikings to come back on. It is my ultimate favorite. Kevin King NIMBYists unfairly target schools Whenever hearing about a big, new project in Queens, the instinct among many has been to say “no.” When asked why, opponents claim either the project is “out of character” with the surrounding neighborhood or simply too taxing on the local infrastructure, thus leading to other problems affecting residents. This concept has been rightly applied to large-scale projects in Queens such as the proposed transitional homeless shelter in Glendale and the planned opening of a juvenile detention center in Queens Village. However, there are times when opposition becomes so obstinate that it falls under the category of NIMBYism, such as the opponents of three proposed schools projects at the Bayside Jewish Center, the former Keil Brothers garden center in Bayside and a site on Linden Place in Flushing. These sites fall within School Districts 25 and 26, which are among the most overcrowded districts in the city, according to the Independent Budget Offi ce. Recent reports suggest the districts need a combined 11,474 new school seats, but as of March 2015, just 3,204 were planned. It’s simple math: the existing school infrastructure cannot accommodate the demand. The answer is to build new schools — and to build them where they are needed. But they can’t be built in northeast Queens, according to certain individuals who claim that the projects clash with the area’s “suburban” nature, or that the communities can’t withstand the strain of such additional large structures. It’s blatant NIMBYism at its worst. Northeast Queens needs new school space. Other Queens communities have lost sites to school construction in recent years; it wasn’t a matter of choice, but of necessity. Though some people gnashed their teeth at the idea, progress won out in the end. Unless the NIMBYists have a better idea of where to put some 8,000 schoolchildren who can’t fi nd a decent desk, they should get out of the city’s way and let these school projects move forward. Do your part to stop West Nile More than 15 years after fi rst being detected in New York City, the West Nile virus remains a large enough threat in Queens that pesticide spraying has become a rite of summer. Our borough saw the latest round of spraying on the night of Aug. 17, when communities north, south, east and west were visited by trucks delivering doses of the mosquito-murdering mist into the air. Though the fi rst human case occurred in Brooklyn just a few days ago, West Nile isn’t a virus to be taken lightly. Left untreated among the most vulnerable population — seniors, young children, persons with weakened immunity — it puts them at risk of contracting encephalitis. Because mosquitoes reproduce and thrive in standing water, Queens residents should do whatever they can to empty unused pools, buckets or any other containers left outside that may collect water. They should also be good neighbors and call 311 if they see standing water in an abandoned or unkept property in their neighborhood; the Health Department will make sure the condition is addressed in some manner. Taking these little steps may help someday wipe out the species of infected mosquitoes and put an end to the spraying.
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