FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM SEPTEMBER 14, 2017 • THE QUEENS COURIER 27
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A LOOK BACK
It’s been many decades since stoplights in Queens had just two colors: red and green. You can’t see either of them, of course, in this 1939
photo of the stoplight at the corner of Cooper Avenue looking eastbound at Cypress Avenue in Glendale. Look carefully at the streets, and
you’ll see new asphalt paved directly atop the cobblestones that once lined both roadways. In the background (behind the stoplight) is a
sign for Mobilgas; a service station remains at the location today. Send us your historic photos of Queens by email to editorial@qns.com
(Subject: A Look Back) or mail printed pictures to A Look Back, The Queens Courier, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361. All mailed pictures
will be carefully returned to you.
letters & comments
FED UP OVER ASTORIA
PARK POOL CONDITIONS
As born and raised Astorians, we
grew up going to the Astoria Pool since
the early 1970s with fond memories.
We still go to the pool today but with
memories that are not so fond.
Th e past two years especially of going
to the Astoria Pool for me has been
nothing but a horrifi c nightmare to
say the least, and the thing that ruins
this the most is the way that the Parks
Department staff , which includes Parks
offi cers, PEP offi cers, lifeguards, some
night owl aquatics staff and most of
all their women’s locker room pool
staff , treat the patrons. Th ey are horrible!
Th ey are rude, demanding, very
unfriendly, unprofessional and criminally
harassing. Th ey are bullies to say
the least. Th is year’s staff was even better
than last year’s.
Although they have toned it down a
little bit towards the end of this summer
from over the years, they still run
the locker rooms like it is a state penitentiary
as if they are correction offi -
cers and as if we are all inmates in a
prison instead of patrons at a public
pool for a day out of fun and recreation.
Up until last year, there weren’t
even any toilet seats on the toilets in the
bathrooms. Th e men’s locker rooms
to this day still don’t have any doors
on them, also creating an atmosphere
which is very intimidating and uninviting.
Th e whole set-up is very disturbing.
Employees must be held responsible
for their actions at all times. Th e Parks
Department’s main offi ce needs to provide
the public with a working phone
number to call and speak to someone.
Donna M. Van Blarcom and
Richard Melnick, Astoria
WHAT IS THE CITY DOING
ON WOODHAVEN BLVD.?
Th e DOT has just started reconstructing
another section of Woodhaven
Boulevard that will not help buses fl ow
in any way, shape or form. But it
will undoubtedly increase traffi c and
endanger vehicles as well as schoolchildren.
Th ey are adding a bus lane to southbound
Woodhaven Boulevard between
Union Turnpike and Myrtle Avenue.
Th ey are eliminating the left turn from
southbound Woodhaven Boulevard
onto Union Turnpike as well. In their
foggy mind, they feel by having traffi c
fl ow straight through the intersection
and having that traffi c turn instead at
81st Road is a good idea.
All that was needed next was to add
a left turn arrow at Myrtle Avenue and
all would be great. Instead, the DOT
continues to spend taxpayer dollars
to go through with this insane confi
guration. Th e accidents are inevitable
at 81st Road. Th e gridlock is without
question. Th e bus lane is not even
painted yet, and vehicles and trucks fl y
up along the curb timing the 81st Road
light. If a pedestrian has not fully across
the street, they will get hit.
Ray Klein, Queens
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be considered for publication. Th e views
expressed in all letters and comments
are not necessarily those of this publication
or its staff .
America’s
DREAMers must be
allowed to stay
BY JOHN DURSO
Deferred Action
for Childhood
Arrivals (DACA)
has protected hundreds
of thousands
of young adults who
were brought to the
United States by
their parents as children.
Due to their age when they immigrated,
they cannot and should not be held accountable
for violating any laws.
When DACA was passed in 2012, these
young men and women were given the opportunity
to get driver’s licenses, attend school,
obtain good jobs and purchase their fi rst
homes. Th rough this program, these young
men and women have gained the confi dence
to chase the American Dream, a dream that all
of our ancestors had when they arrived in the
United States, too.
DREAMers have worked tirelessly to better
their lives and the lives of their families, and
there is no justifi able reason why they should
be punished for a decision that was made when
they were infants or young children.
If DACA is taken away from these recipients,
they will live in constant fear of deportation
to a country that is not theirs. America is
the only country they have ever known. Th ey
may have no recollection of their place of
birth, and for many, English is their fi rst and
only language.
Th reatening to remove 800,000 people from
the workforce and out of the country that they
have called home since they were children is
a threat to the integrity of our country and all
that it stands for. DREAMers have been raised
here in the United States, grown to be successful
and productive members of their communities.
Th ey do not have criminal records, they
attend college, and they have fought bravely in
our military. DREAMers have been raised as
proud Americans just like you and me.
Ending DACA would also have a devastating
impact on our national and local economies.
DREAMers
are in fact taxpayers, many of whom own
homes with mortgages, and some of whom
even work for prestigious Fortune 500 companies.
We will lose billions of dollars without
their contributions to our economy.
Employers will also lose a very important asset:
their skilled and hard-working employees.
Th ese are just a few of the reasons why we
must not simply fi ght back against the administration’s
plan to end DACA, but rather, fi ght
for legislation that will protect the DREAMers
and put these hardworking men and women
on a path to citizenship through the DREAM
Act.
We must show our unity in support of the
DREAM Act to preserve the American Dream
for all, to be that shining light on the hill, to
continue to be the land of not only the free and
the brave but of compassion and hope.
John R. Durso is the president of Local 338
of the RWDSU/UFCW and the Long Island
Federation of Labor.