FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM SEPTEMBER 7, 2017 • THE QUEENS COURIER 37
oped
Today, only diesel locomotives cross the Montauk branch of the Long Island Railroad between Long Island City and Jamaica. However,
as this 1929 photo demonstrates, the line once had third rails powering electric cars along the line. This picture was taken in August
in the vicinity of the present-day 88th Street crossing. Have a historic photo of Queens that you’d like to share with our readers? Email
it to editorial@queenscourier.com, and we may use it in a future issue of A Look Back. Have a historic picture of Queens? Share it with
us by emailing editorial@queenscourier.com.
letters & comments
WE HELP TEXAS,
SENATORS’ HYPOCRISY
BE DAMNED
Senator Ted Cruz, who is from
Texas, is nothing but a true hypocrite.
Aft er Hurricane Harvey’s passage,
he immediately lobbied his
fellow senators to pass legislation
immediately to release funds to help
Houston and its surrounding communities
begin to rebuild.
Five years earlier, when Hurricane
Sandy slammed our region, causing
billions of dollars in damage,
Senator Cruz and his some of his
fellow Republicans in Washington
voted against emergency funding to
assist New York and New Jersey in
recovery eff orts following the devastating
storm. Th e bill was delayed
until the following January, because
it was claimed by the senator that
there was too much extra “pork.”
Th at was all a lot of unsubstantiated
baloney.
Th e senator should hang his head
in shame for what he did to the
Northeast in 2012.
We are all one country united
under one fl ag. In times of calamity,
the American people always have
given so generously and unselfi shly
to help those aff ected by all types
of disasters, both natural and manmade.
Th at is what makes this country
the best in the whole world.
John Amato, Fresh Meadows
When Hurricane Sandy hit the
East Coast, all but one Republican
representative from Texas opposed
the aid bills for hurricane victims.
Th ey adjourned a January voting session
for weeks as storm victims were
twisting in the wind. Ted Cruz and
John Cornyn were two of the most
adamant senators opposed to the
Sandy aid bill. In the end, 39 senators
opposed the bill along with 179 GOP
members of the House.
But I guess it’s diff erent when it’s
your state, huh?
Robert LaRosa, Whitestone
MORE KIDS SHOULD BE
SCOUTING & SERVING
Th ere was a report recently that the
Boy Scouts of America is thinking
about changing their 100-year history
that made the organization for
boys only. Now they want to make
it for girls also. Th e reason is that
there has been a reported 33 percent
decrease in membership since 2000.
I don’t know if that will work, and
perhaps it may cause a rift with the
Girl Scouts, but who knows. I myself
have been a Cub Scout, Boy Scout and
later on an Explorer Scout in the ‘50s
and ‘60s. I found it to be a great organization
for young boys to belong to.
It teaches a young boy good morals,
charity to others and good citizenship.
Th is is an organization that
instills loyalty to God and country.
In my book, this a very good thing
for either a young boy or girl. Th is
organization prepares these young
people to become compassionate and
responsible adults. We need more
young people to volunteer and parents
everywhere should consider
enrolling their child in the Boy
Scouts.
Frederick R. Bedell Jr.,
Glen Oaks Village
Email your letters to editorial@qns.
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leave a comment to any of our stories
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not be considered for publication. Th e
views expressed in all letters and comments
are not necessarily those of this
publication or its staff .
Fixing the broken
NYC bail system
BY CITY COUNCILMAN RORY LANCMAN
New York’s bail system is completely broken. Every
day, individuals are sent to Rikers Island, not because
they have been convicted of a crime or cannot aff ord
bail, but simply because they cannot come up with
the money quickly enough.
Aft er someone is arraigned in Criminal Court, they
have only two hours, or three hours in Manhattan, to
navigate the city’s confusing and cumbersome bail system
and have a family member or friend gather the
funds needed to post bail. However, if bail cannot be
posted at the courthouse during the designated “hold
period,” the individual is then sent to Rikers Island.
Even a short stay on Rikers can have life-changing consequences,
including loss of employment or housing.
As a result of our nonsensical bail system, we are
populating our jails with individuals charged with
nonviolent, low-level off enses — at a great cost to taxpayers.
Th e Independent Budget Offi ce (IBO) found
that the city pays $325 per day to house one individual
in a city jail, and $118,693 for the entire year. For
an individual who will be able to post bail in a matter
of hours, the cost of transport and intake alone is a
staggering waste of taxpayer resources that would be
better spent combating serious crimes. What’s more,
unnecessarily sending low-risk individuals to Rikers
Island — individuals who can pay the bail the judge
sets — serves no legitimate public safety interest.
If New York City is going to make substantial progress
in closing the nightmare that is Rikers Island and
reducing the jail population, then reforming our bail
system is critically important. Th e city has the power
on its own to fundamentally reform our bail system,
and better ensure that no one is sent to jail who
should not be there.
Last week, the city took a meaningful step toward
helping more individuals pay bail before being sent
to Rikers with the expansion of the Bail Expediting
Program (BEX). In its current form, BEX assists individuals
whose bail has been set below $3,500 (or
$2,500 in the Bronx) by contacting family and friends
who can help post bail and providing valuable information
about the bail process.
Th e city’s new investment of nearly $500,000 in the
BEX program will expand its resources to individuals
whose bail has been set below $5,000. Importantly,
the Criminal Justice Agency, which operates the BEX
program, will now be able to request a four- to eighthour
hold with the Department of Correction to
delay transportation to Rikers Island and give friends
and family more time to pay bail. Not only will this
make our bail system more effi cient, but it will help
marginally lower the city’s jail population.
Th is crucial development comes aft er the City
Council in June passed legislation, which I co-sponsored,
allowing the Criminal Justice Agency to
request a hold time from two to 12 hours.
While the expansion of the BEX program is signifi
cant, there is plenty more that needs to be done
to improve our bail system. Th e city must follow
through on its promise and implement a system to
allow family and friends to pay bail online without
having to spend hours trekking to a courthouse
or jail. Passage of my legislation to provide judges
with defendants’ fi nancial capacity to pay bail would
help prevent people from being sent to Rikers solely
because they are poor.
I will continue to challenge the city to step up and
take action to make our bail system fairer and work
better for all city residents.
Councilman Lancman represents the 24th
Council District in Queens.
A LOOK BACK