for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com august 22, 2013 • The queens CourieR 43 oped street talk What do you think about the proposal I agree with it from a personal standpoint, but socially I disagree with it because I don’t see the necessity in marijuana. Alex Babbitt BY JOHANN HAMILTON I feel like people are doing it anyway, and if it were being regulated then there would be a lower risk of it being contaminated, so it would be safer overall. Debbie Night I agree with it. I personally feel like making all drugs illegal is stupid, because if you legalize, regulate and tax them it’s good for the economy and fewer people wind up in jail. Chris Cogswell I think they may as well legalize marijuana because even if they don’t, it’s not going anywhere. Also, it would make money for the economy. Lilly Vega I’m for it, but I don’t think it’s going to happen because we’re not ready for it. We would need to legalize it for medical use first. Drew Nickerson I know that if this were to happen a lot of people would abuse it. People will still do it anyway, but I think ultimately it should be illegal because it would just cause trouble. Kellin Jansen There should be a holistic policy on it. It would definitely make New York City a more exciting place if it passed, though. Pessy King I believe that people with medical problems should be able to get it, but I don’t think it should be legal for recreational use. Robby Hazel to make marijuana legal? COMPREHENSIVE INITIATIVES TO MAKE NEW YORK CITY’S WATERFRONT STRONGER BY MAYOR MICHAEL BLOO MBER G EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is from Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s weekly radio address New York City’s waterfront is an incredible resource that contributes to the great quality of life we New Yorkers enjoy. It’s also a backyard for millions of families and our first line of defense against future storms and flooding. We’re hard at work strengthening those defenses - including in the Rockaways and nearby Jamaica Bay, where last week we made major progress on several initiatives that will make the area more resilient than ever, as well as benefit our entire city for decades to come. The first is our work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to complete an all-out sand replenishment effort in the Rockaways. It will help fulfill one of the pledges we outlined in “A Stronger, More Resilient New York,” our comprehensive plan to protect our city from the effects of climate change. In the next couple of months, the Army Corps will bring about 3.5 million- cubic-yards of sand to Rockaway Beach, and last week I visited the beach with Parks Commissioner Veronica White to inspect our progress. A first phase of about 600,000-cubic- yards of sand is being pumped now from Beach 89th to Beach 149th Streets. Replenishing the sand at Rockaway Beach complements our earlier work there, including building a series of protective walls and installing sand-filled “trap bags” that will serve as the core for a new dune. Together, these measures will not only reverse damage to the beach done by Sandy - they will make the beach stronger than it was before the storm, and more protective for nearby communities. Rebuilding our beaches is vitally important; but in addition to building back stronger, we’re also continuing the coastal protection work that we began before Sandy struck. That includes our effort to both protect one of our great natural treasures - Jamaica Bay - and create a world-class Science and Resiliency Institute there whose focus will be protecting and preserving urban ecosystems from development and from the effects of climate change. Last summer, the city and the National Park Service signed a historic cooperative agreement for co-managing Jamaica Bay’s 10,000 acres of federal and city-owned parkland. I joined Interior Secretary Sally Jewel to announce the formal establishment of the new Jamaica Bay - Rockaway Parks Conservancy. The organization will help raise funds for the parkland covered by the agreement, collaborate with the community on programming, and help promote the parkland as a destination. We also announced that a consortium led by the City University of New York, in partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation, will head the new Science and Resiliency Institute at Jamaica Bay. The Institute will serve as a coordinating body for the fieldwork taking place around the bay, and provide lab space for researchers and students. We expect the Institute’s work will do a lot to help reduce dangers to our city from future storms, and help other cities around the world confront the challenges of climate change as well. From restoring our coastline to establishing a new ecology research center, we’re helping to prepare our city for all the climate risks we face, both now and in the future.
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