FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM SEPTEMBER 21, 2017 • THE QUEENS COURIER 31
oped
A LOOK BACK
Anyone familiar with Laurel Hill Boulevard in Woodside today would fi nd it diffi cult to believe that it looked like this nearly 80
years ago. This 1938 photo shows a rather pastoral fl ower shop and restaurant at the northeast corner of Laurel Hill Boulevard
and 49th Street, adjacent to Calvary Cemetery. They were both popular stop-overs for visitors to and from Calvary, but they met
the wreckers ball many decades ago as Woodside became further developed, and more importantly, the city constructed the
Brooklyn-Queens Expressway above this particular stretch of the boulevard. Send us your historic photos of Queens by email to
editorial@qns.com, 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
Why Congress must
make ‘DREAM’ work
BY CONGRESSMAN JOE CROWLEY
As soon as President Trump announced his intention
to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
program earlier this month, DREAMers started hearing
words of encouragement from the unlikeliest of
places: Republican leaders in Congress.
Th e same Republicans who have stymied all attempts
to pass comprehensive immigration reform were suddenly
telling these young men and women that they
supported DREAMers and their quest to stay in the
U.S.
But the Republicans’ words were empty and lacked
action. Th ose promises quickly fell fl at.
And that’s left DREAMers in a dangerous position.
Unequivocally, it is action that the more than 800,000
young men and women living in the United States
through the DACA program desperately need. Words
are not enough.
DREAMers, and all who support them, need congressional
Republicans to commit to passing the
DREAM Act immediately. Th is legislation would give
those individuals who came to the United States as
babies and young children the ability to earn citizenship
over time. It’s the fair and moral thing to do,considering
that so many of the DREAMers are Americans
in their hearts and minds – they merely lack the paperwork
giving them full citizenship.
Th e DREAM Act would pass both the House and
the Senate – if only Republicans would allow a vote on
it. But they have refused to do so out of fear of political
retaliation from the anti-immigrant forces within
their own party. While some party leaders make vague
promises for the future, day aft er day ticks by without
them allowing a vote on this bipartisan bill.
But we can’t let their resistance stop Democrats’ allout
eff ort to help DREAMers live out their version of
the American Dream.
House Democrats have been aggressively pushing
for a solution to the problem President Trump created
once he called for an end to DACA. Th is has been and
will continue to be our top priority in the weeks ahead.
Many champions for the immigrant community
have said we shouldn’t vote for any government spending
bill or future increase of the debt limit – two critical
tasks that will be before Congress shortly – unless there
is a solution for the DREAMers. I stand with them.
Congress cannot continue as if this is business as
usual. Action is needed. Democrats will do everything
within their power to ensure DREAMers get the certainty
they need to continue studying, working and
contributing to their communities. We cannot turn
our backs on DREAMers.
Th at’s because in so many ways, DREAMers are
the true embodiment of the American Dream. Th ey
believe in America and want to see it grow and prosper.
I’ve oft en said that immigrants are some of the bravest
people I know. Th ey leave behind their lives and
their families to seek out a better life in an unknown
country surrounded by strangers. As the son and
grandson of immigrants, I personally understand the
courage it takes to leave home and start again.
Driven and motivated, DREAMers will be among the
next generation of business and community leaders if
we just give them a fair chance to achieve their dreams.
When Congress returns to Washington next week,
I’ll be fi ghting for the DREAMers. Th e time to act is
now.
Congressman Joe Crowley represents New York’s
14th congressional district, which includes Queens
and the Bronx. He also serves as Chairman of the
House Democratic Caucus.
YOU CALL THIS A
PRIMARY WIN?
Mayor Bill de Blasio shouldn’t
be proud of his 2017 Democratic
Party Primary win. Out of 3,100,000
eligible Democratic primary voters,
only 316,361 of them (10.2
percent) voted for de Blasio. Th e
other 90 percent either voted for
Sal Albanese (66,636, or 2.1 percent
of registered Democrats),
Michael Tolkin (20,445), Robert
Gangi (13,537) or Richard Bashner
(10,538), or they voted for None
of the Above by staying home —
2,793,639. In reality, when you add
up the combined votes of de Blasio’s
four opponents with those who
stayed home by voting for “None
of the Above”, less than 10 percent
of registered Democrats supported
de Blasio. He had the benefi ts and
perks of four years of being mayor,
including daily free media coverage.
In addition, virtually every NYC
Democratic Party elected offi cial,
county and district leader, local club
house along with most labor unions
endorsed him. Th is included mailings,
phone banks and get-out-thevote
drives. He raised and spent several
million dollars. De Blasio has a
two million media buy. In contrast,
his chief primary opponent former
NYC Council member Sal Albanese
only raised several hundred thousand
dollars. Albanese was vastly
outspent and could aff ord no media
buys to get his message out.
Larry Penner, Great Neck
WHY DIDN’T
SCHOOLS OBSERVE
9/11 SILENCE?
Last Monday marked the 16th
anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy that
remains an open sore for many
New Yorkers. Too oft en we take for
granted that there is now a new generation
who do not remember the
horrors of this day.
I tried explaining to my second-
and fourth-grade nieces what the
day meant and why they would
be having a moment of silence in
honor of those who perished. I was
however, shocked and troubled to
learn that there was no moment
of silence or even a mention of the
importance of this solemn day at
their NYC public school. Other parents
I’ve spoken with have reported
the same at other NYC schools.
Th e principal of my nieces’ school
stated that some parents complained
about such moments of silence in
the past because their children were
not alive during 9/11. As a product
of the NYC public school system,
I remember such refl ections,
i.e. the anniversary of the attack on
Pearl Harbor. It taught me respect
for those who sacrifi ced everything
so that I could be privileged enough
to live in this great country.
I think now, more than ever, the
excuses against 9/11’s recognition
in the classroom hold little weight.
Aft er a day fi lled with the echoes
of “Never Forget,” how can schools
within miles of Ground Zero fail to
honor the memories of those who
left their homes never to return? Th e
men and women who simply went
to work that day, the fi refi ghters,
police and EMTs who rushed into
the burning towers to save strangers,
and the people throughout this
great city who helped each other
without regard to gender, race or
creed all deserve to be honored. Th is
is New York City’s worst and fi nest
hour and the memory of which
must be imparted on the next generation.
If we as New Yorkers cannot
instill the signifi cance of what happened
that day on our future generations,
why should anyone else?
Timothy Furey, Bayside
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